History of Arco dei Fileni (L'arco dei Fileni de Mussolini) - Italian Afrika medal

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- The marble arch on the Italian Afrika medal.

For many years I have collected the Italian-German AFRIKAKORPS Africa Campaign Medal aka Medaille für den italienisch-deutschen Feldzug in Afrika. I have also collected some information regarding this medal and original photos of the marble arch that can be seen on the medal: Arco dei Fileni.

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The medal was created and produced in Italy by the Lorioli factory in Milan. In the very beginning the medal was sold to German and Italian soldiers, some already acquired the medal in 1942. It became official in January 1943 after Il Duche 25/12/1942 gave authorization for this medal to be official. It was instituted 7/01/1943 as an official award (Comando Supremo) and given to German and Italian soldiers taking part in the African campaign in North Africa.

But first: The Italian made medals can be found in bronze and war metal/grey metal/zamac versions. Under the crocodile (symbolizing United Kingdom being fought by an Italian and a German gladiator) the name DE MARCHIS is either in relief or engraved. A third version of the medal in Zink is known and this is without DE MARCHIS. This version is believed to be of German manufacture.

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I have borrowed this photo from another post here on the forum:

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The Afrika medal has been discussed many times here on the forum and my main contribution with this thread will be to show a German Heldenfriedhof located near Arco dei Fileni (in the end of this thread). I have also searched the internet for photos and information and I will show some photos of the arch and medals from my own collection. I hope my presentation of Arco dei Fileni will be a nice story to ad to your Afrika medal – and maybe you now want to buy one more

I have seen many collectors wonder: Which building can be seen on the Afrika medal?

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This is how many German soldiers wore the medal on their uniforms. This explains why many medals have a safety needle attached to the ribbon:

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As mentioned Arco dei Fileni is also known as the Marble Arch or "Tor der Wüste". The Marble Arch (Italian: Arco dei Fileni), formerly known in Libya as El Gaus (i.e. The Arch), was a monument in Libya built during the days of Italian colonization. It was located on the Libyan Coastal Highway. The monument was erected on the Via Balbia between Ras Lanuf and El Agheila, the coastal road in Libya between the provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and it marked the border between these provinces.
The arch was designed by the architect Florestano Di Fausto after a request by the Italian governor-general Italo Balbo, who was in office from 1934 until 1940. It was unveiled on March 16, 1937. It was 31 meters high; the opening was at 15.75 meters high and 6.5 m wide. Arco dei Fileni was made to celebrate early Italian Fascist victories.

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Arco dei Fileni

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The monumental arch was named after the legendary Philaenus brothers of Carthage. The two bronze figures in the open frame on top of the arch represented the Phileni brothers. A interesting story behind its location goes back to ancient history:

About 350 BC, a dispute over the boundary between Carthage and Cyrenica was to be settled by a foot race; two runners from Carthage running west while two from the Cyreneans ran east. The point at which they met was to be the boundary. The Phileni from Carthage were very much faster than the Cyrenean pair, and reached the point where, more than 2,000 years later, Mussolini built his arch.
The Cyreneans objected that the new border had lost them too much of their land, and wanted men from Carthage to go back a bit. They refused. The Cyreneans finally agreed the border, but buried the Phileni brothers alive, and erected two altars to mark the graves. These became first, the agreed border, and much later, the site of Mussolini's Folly.

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There was an inscription at the top of the structure which read: Alme Sol, possis nihil urbe Roma visere maius (Latin for "Oh kind Sun, may you never look upon a city greater than Rome"). It was demolished in the 1970s by the new revolutionary regime in Libya headed by Muammar al-Gaddafi.

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All that remains now of this arch is the two large bronze statues of the Philene brothers and parts of the marble reliefs left on the ground near the small museum in Medinat Sultan, around 50 km from Sirte.

Detail of a bronze statue. One of the Fileni brothers. While the arch was standing, one of them was facing east, the other one was facing west:

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One of the Philene brothers, detail:

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Fragments of the relief that once could be seen inside the monumental arch lie scattered on the ground:

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Another fragment of the relief. An angel blows a trumpet to celebrate Benito Mussolini:

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Angel, detail:

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The Capitoline wolf and the two twins Romulus and Remus: