History

This Medal was instituted by King Victor Emmanuel III, and it was conferred upon individuals and institutions who had provided humanitarian aid and donations to victims of the Marsica earthquake that occurred on January 13, 1915.

To be eligible for the Medal, recipients had to have delivered aid and donations between January 13, 1915, and June 1915.

There are two main versions of the Medal, medals with a right facing portrait and medals with a left facing portrait.

The medals with a right-facing portrait of King Victor Emmanuel III on the obverse medallion may be stamped with the engraver mark "MOTTI" (an engraver at the Royal Mint in Rome), "S.J." (Stefano Johnson, Milan), or have no marks at all, and they have the obverse inscription “VITTORIO EMANUELE III.”

The medals issued with a left-facing portrait of King Victor Emmanuel III are not stamped with any engraver marks, and they have the obverse inscription “VITTORIO EMANUELE III RE D’ITALIA.”