Circular bronze medal with laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the escutcheon of Rome with vertical hatching signifying the heraldic colour ‘gules’ (= red) and inscribed ‘S.P.Q.R.’ (Senatus Populusque Romanus = The Senate and the People of Rome) on crossed fasces, symbol of authority, on an oak wreath, the wolf with Romulus and Remus above; the reverse inscribed ‘ROMA RIVENDICATA AI SUOI LIBERATORI’ (Rome recognisant of its liberators), a five-pointed star above; on original ribbon. The medal was created by decree of the Provisional Government of Rome on 28 September 1870. The independence of the Papal States from a uniting Italy had been guaranteed by France through the 1850s and 1860s but the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War on 19 July 1870 meant this protection was effectively removed. On 20 September the Italian Army entered Rome and the City and the Latium were annexed. The capital of the kingdom of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome early in 1871.
|