Feste cinquantenario dell'Unità italiana
Catalog Level
Items (Cataloging Focus)
Title Proper/Title Text
Feste cinquantenario dell'Unità italiana
Date of Publication/Creation Date
1911 ca.
General Subject Terms
Descriptive Note Text
This is a commemorative postcard for the Feste Cinquantenarie dell’Unità Italiana (the 1911 celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of Italian unification). It’s printed in blue and gold on cream card stock, with embossed elements.Two Roman numerals sit across the top: MDCCCLXI (1861) at upper left, the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, and MCMXI (1911) at upper right, the jubilee year.
The focal point is an embossed profile of Italia turrita, the female personification of Italy wearing a turreted crown. The left branch appears to be laurel and the right oak, a common pairing for glory and civic strength. A blue ribbon bow ties the wreath at the base. Above the wreath is a gold, rayed five-pointed star, the Stella d’Italia, the nation's traditional emblem. Two shields, each topped by a gilt mural crown, flank the medallion. On the left, the arms of Rome show the Capitoline she-wolf suckling the twins above the letters S.P.Q.R. On the right, we see Turin's arms: a rampant gold bull on a blue field. Flowing blue ribbons with rolled, striped edges link each shield to the central wreath.
Current Repository/Geographic Location
Cristina Della Coletta Private Collection (San Diego, USA)
Current Repository Numbers
CDC-PC-PATR-0015