Oro alla Patria ("Gold for the Fatherland") was a nationwide campaign organized by the Fascist regime on 18 December 1935, during which Italians donated their gold to the state.
Oro alla Patria ("Gold for the Fatherland") was a nationwide campaign organized by the Fascist regime on 18 December 1935, during which Italians donated their gold to the state.
On 3 October 1935, the Kingdom of Italy attacked and invaded Ethiopia, following the Abyssinia Crisis. [1] On 6 October, the League of Nations officially condemned the Italian attack and, four days later, its Assembly created an eighteen-member committee tasked with studying economic sanctions against Fascist Italy . [2] On 3 November, the sanctions discussed by the committee were approved, with entry into force scheduled for 18 November. [2]
The sanctions proved ineffective, as many countries were not members of the League and several members, including some major powers, did not strictly comply. The measures banned the export of Italian products abroad and prohibited Italy from importing materials useful for military purposes, [3] but they did not cover materials of vital importance such as petroleum and coal, which Italy lacked. [3] [4]
The United Kingdom and France argued that denying oil supplies to Italy could easily be circumvented by obtaining fuel from the United States and Nazi Germany, which were not League members. The United States, while condemning the Italian attack, considered it inappropriate that sanctions had been voted by colonial powers such as France and the United Kingdom. [5]
The adoption of even mild sanctions sparked resentment among Italians toward the League of Nations and triggered domestic mobilization. The collection of metals for the war effort began, [3] and Italy launched the Oro alla Patria campaign. One month after the League’s decision, 18 December was proclaimed the "Day of Faith" (Giornata della fede), when Italians donated their wedding rings to support the costs of the ongoing Second Italo-Ethiopian War. [6]
The main ceremony took place at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome. The first to donate her wedding ring, together with that of her husband, was Queen Elena of Montenegro. [7] [8] She was followed by Rachele Mussolini and numerous women from Rome. [7] In her memoirs, the head of government's wife recalled also donating half a kilogram of gold and two and a half quintals of silver, gifts received by her husband. [9]
In Rome alone, more than 250,000 rings were collected, while about 180,000 were gathered in Milan. [7]
Many prominent figures of the time, even those not supportive of the regime, described the ceremony as the greatest mass patriotic expression in Italian history. [10] Notable donors included the royal family (King Victor Emmanuel III donated gold ingots; Queen Elena her ring; Prince Umberto the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation collar), as well as famous figures such as Guglielmo Marconi, Luigi Pirandello, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Luigi Albertini, and Benedetto Croce. [11] Church hierarchies also encouraged clergy participation. [12] The football club FC Vado donated the 1922 Coppa Italia, which was consequently destroyed. [13]
Among the dissidents stood out Prince Filippo Andrea VI Doria Pamphili and his wife Princess Gesine Doria Pamphili. [14] After Princess Gesine refused Queen Elena’s invitation to donate her ring, authorities temporarily renamed "Vicolo Doria" as "Via della Fede"; the original name was restored after the Liberation of Rome.
Donors received an iron ring stamped: ORO ALLA PATRIA – 18 NOV. XIV. [15]
A total of 37 tonnes of gold and 115 tonnes of silver were collected and, according to regime statements, sent to the Italian State Mint as national assets. [16]
Two jugs filled with wedding rings were found on 27 April 1945 by the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade "Luigi Clerici" among the valuables of fleeing Fascist leaders with Mussolini, the so-called Dongo Treasure. [17]