Italy, Kingdom. A Medal for the Visit of Italian Aviator Francesco De Pinedo to Philadelphia in May 1927

In bronze, obverse illustrating an airplane flying now over the waves of the ocean below, surrounded by the inscription "GLI ITALIANI IN RICORDO DELLA SUA VENUTA A PHILADELPHIA / MAGGIO 1927", reverse illustrating the left-facing bust of Italian aviator Francesco De Pinedo, surrounded by the inscription "AL COMANDANTE MARCHESE FRANCESCO DE PINEDO / EROE DEI CIELI", measuring 38.5 mm in diameter, very light contact, original ribbon, near extremely fine.

Footnote: Francesco De Pinedo (February 16, 1890 - September 2, 1933) was a famous Italian aviator. A Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) officer who transferred to the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force), he was an advocate of the seaplane, who is best known for his long-range flying boat flights in the 1920's that demonstrated the feasibility of global air travel. After Pinedo's successful Rome-Australia-Tokyo-Rome flight of 1925, Fascist leader of Italy, Benito Mussolini, suggested that Pinedo next make a flight to the Western Hemisphere to inspire pride in people of Italian ancestry who had emigrated to the Americas. This idea developed into the "Four Continents" flight of 1927, intended to demonstrate the ability of a flying boat to fly from Italy to Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil, followed by several stops in South America and the Caribbean, a tour of the United States and Canada, and a transatlantic flight back to Europe ultimately ending in Rome.