Circular gilt bronze medal with bar for ribbon suspension; the face with the head of King Vittorio Emanuele III facing right, circumscribed ‘VITTORIO EMANUELE III RE D’ITALIA’, signed ‘SJ’ (for S. Johnson); the reverse inscribed ‘UNITÀ D’ITALIA 1848-1918' within a circular laurel wreath; gilding faded; on original ribbon. The medal was instituted on 19 January 1922 and awarded to combatants in the war of 1915 to 1918 since it was regarded as the final phase of the Risorgimento (the unification of Italy) begun in 1848. A number of versions are known by different makers.
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