Fascist Art Deco Italo Balbo Table Medal

[Dennis S]

This is a Italian Fascist Table medal to Commerate the famous Trans Atlantic Flight taken by Italo Balbo a famous Italian Aviater who would become a Marshal of of the Air in the Italian Air Force. Beutifully done in the ArtDeco style and rarer than most german awards that bring several times in price. The Case must have sat in the sun because it appears to have been originally red or marroon as can seen on the bottom .
I have had this for a while and is not really my cup of tea. Does anyone know of
any History behind the receivership of these medals and what is a fair market value.
The case measures about 4" X 4"

Thanks

[Dennis S]

#2

[Dennis S]

reverso

[Dennis S]

inside case maker

[Dennis S]

Top of case

[Dennis S]

bottom of case

[Fabio]

Nice medal

Hell there in NJ.
Nice medal, one of the many medals created to celebrate the 10 yerars anniversary of the Balbo's cruises.
Designed by Morbiducci (very famous medal designer) Good maker (Arte della medaglia in Rome). Nice case. Price: all I can honestly say is that I bought another kind in in silver without case for 90 euros and another kind again in bronze also without case without for 40 euros.
Now some history, if you don't mind!
By the time of 1922 March on Rome, he was a prominent fascist leader. In 1923 he was charged with murder of anti-fascist parish priest Giuseppe Minzoni in Argenta. He fled to Rome and in 1924 became General Commander of Fascist militia and undersecretary to National Economy in 1925.

In November 6, 1926, despite of the fact that at the time he knew nothing about aviation, he was appointed Secretary of State for Air. He went through a crash course of flying and set up to build the Regia Aeronautica, the Italian air force. In August 19 1928 he became Marshal of the Air Force and September 12 1929 Minister of the Air Force.

Balbo led two cross-Atlantic flights. The first was 1930 flight of 12 Savoia-Marchetti SM.55X flying boats from Orbetello, Italy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between December 17 1930 and January 15 1931. In July 1 - August 12 1933 he led a flight of 24 flying boats on a round-trip flight from Rome to Chicago, Illinois; the flight ended on Lake Michigan. New York City named Balbo Avenue after him and staged a parade in his honor. President Roosevelt invited him to a lunch. Back home in Italy, he was promoted Air Marshal. After this, the term Balbo entered common usage to describe any large formation of aircraft.

Later the same year Balbo was appointed governor general of Italian-held Libya where he moved in January, 1934. At that stage he had apparently caused bad blood in the party, possible because of jealousy and individualist behavior. He began road construction projects, tried to attract Italian immigrants and to draw Muslims in the fascist cause.

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Balbo visited Rome to express his displeasure of the fact that Mussolini supported Hitler. He suggested that Italy would side with Britain but attracted little following. In Libya he continued to lead air patrols over North Africa.

June 28 1940 he was killed when he was returning from a patrol flight in Tobruk, Libya, when his plane was shot down by an Italian anti-aircraft gun of an Italian cruiser. The government in Rome maintained that the incident was an accident of friendly fire but Balbo's widow, Emanuela Florio, believed that it was in intentional assassination on Mussolini's orders.[/RIGHT]

Hope it helps.
Cheers
Fabio

[Chet Sowersby]

Dennis,
A intresting medal. Something about the ArtDeco style really appeals to me.

Fabio,
Thanks for the historical backdrop and the wonderfull picture. I had heard of the flight but knew nothing of the mans history.

Chet

[Fabio]

Art Deco

[QUOTE=Chet Sowersby;2255737]Dennis,
A intresting medal. Something about the ArtDeco style really appeals to me.


Well Denis and Chet, if you like the art Deco of Denis medal you could probably like also this other aeronautical one from the same designer P. Morbiducci

[Fabio]

other side

The other side of the same medal.
Fasci littori and the words Aeronautical Ministry
The Denis one is in bronze, this one in silver.
Here is it!

[Fabio]

case

Oh, I forget to tell that the previous medal was made by Arte della Medaglia in Rome (like the Denis one) and is cased too.

[Fabio]

Cruise anniversary

!

[Fabio]

new medal

Thanks Dennis for your hospitality.
Hope I do not disturb!
This one, like yours, is for the celebration of a Balbo's cruise.
Is in bronze and, as you can see, had a very charateristic mini ribbon.
Hope you like it.

[Fabio]

the other side

on the back you can read: Italian atlantic cruise Italy - Brasil with the map of the flight.

[Fabio]

decennale della RA

This one is not for celebrating Balbo but for celebrating the first 10 years of the birth of the Italian Royal Air Force aka Regia Aeronautica.
But Air Marshall is stil there, like a nightmare
He's on the back of Mussolini who's giving the official flag to air army