The Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–12 was a decoration granted by the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

to personnel who participated in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

of 1911–1912. It was abolished in 2011 after the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

deemed it obsolete.

History

The

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

fought the

from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. To commemorate participation in the conflict,

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

established the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912 by royal decree on 21 November 1912. The decree went into effect on 12 January 1913. After deeming the medal obsolete, the

abolished it on 10 February 2011. in ''G. U. serie generale n. 20 del 26 gennaio 2011, supplemento ordinario n. 18, in vigore dal 10 febbraio 2011'' ("Official Journal general series n. 20 of 26 January 2011, ordinary supplement n. 18, in force from 10 February 2011").

Eligibiity

Italian and colonial military personnel and civilians were eligible for the medal if they served in the Italo-Turkish War between 29 September 1911, when Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire, and 18 October 1912, when Italy and the Ottoman Empire signed the First Treaty of Lausanne, often called the

Treaty of Ouchy The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

, which ended the conflict.

Appearance

Medal

The medal consisted of a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

disc 32 millimetres (1¼ inches) in diameter bearing on the obverse the face of King Victor Emmanuel III facing right, encircled by the inscription "VITTORIO • EMANUELE • III • RE • D' • ITALIA" (). The signature of the engraver, Luigi Giorgi, was under the king's neck. On the reverse was the inscription "GUERRA ITALO-TURCA 1911-1912" () surrounded by two

laurel branches A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

in the form of a crown. Although medals manufactured at the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

were made of silver, other companies who obtained the minting contract made some of the medals silvered

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

rather than silver. The

Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns The Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns was a decoration granted by the Kingdom of Italy to personnel who served in military campaigns in Libya after the conclusion of the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. It was abolished in 2011 after ...

, created in 1913, was virtually identical to the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912, differing only in the inscription on the reverse.

Ribbon

The ribbon was made up of six blue stripes alternating with five dark red stripes. The ribbon of the Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns, created in 1913, was identical.

Clasps

Bronze clasps were authorized for the ribbon to represent the years of the campaign in which the recipient of the medal served. Three clasps were authorized, for "1911", "1911–12", and "1912". In some cases, recipients of the Commemorative Medal of the Libyan Campaigns, which differed from the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912 only in its motto and had an identical ribbon, were authorized to wear clasps commemorating those campaigns with the Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911-1912 1913 establishments in Italy 2011 disestablishments in Italy Awards established in 1913 Awards disestablished in 2011 Italian campaign medals Victor Emmanuel III Italo-Turkish War