Italy C.1960 Olympic Sports Award Medal – Hercules at the Stadio dei Marmi EF-

Italy c. 1960 – Olympic Sports Award Medal – Hercules at the Stadio dei Marmi

Italy – c. 1960

Olympic-themed sports award medal featuring Hercules, based on the monumental statue by Silvio Canevari at the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome.

Obverse

Hercules standing frontally, nude, with his club at left and the head and skin of the Nemean lion at right.

A stylised sporting complex or stadium landscape appears in the background.

The composition is closely based on Silvio Canevari’s monumental marble sculpture Ercole, created in 1931 for the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome.

Reverse

Olympic torch with flame at left and the five Olympic rings above.

Two laurel branches tied with a bow surround a large blank central field, evidently intended for the engraving of a recipient, competition or result.

Specifications

Country: Italy
Date: probably late 1950s–1960s
Type: Olympic-themed sports award / prize medal
Obverse subject: Hercules after Silvio Canevari’s Ercole at the Stadio dei Marmi, Rome
Material: silvered copper alloy
Diameter: 34 mm
Weight: 19.39 g
Suspension: integral loop
Issuer: unidentified
Manufacturer: unidentified

The Stadio dei Marmi formed part of the Foro Italico sports complex in Rome and was incorporated into the sporting infrastructure used for the 1960 Olympic Games.

The combination of Canevari’s Hercules, the Olympic rings, torch and laurel branches strongly connects the design with the Olympic sporting culture of Rome around 1960.

No maker’s mark, date or official organising-committee inscription is visible. The medal should therefore be regarded as an Olympic-themed Italian sports award rather than as an official Olympic winner’s or participation medal.

The unused reverse engraving field indicates that the medal was intended to be personalised for a sporting achievement or recipient.

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