Description

Italy, Savoy, Carlo Alberto — Medal commemorating the inauguration of the Sesia Bridge, from the Royal Savoy Collection In 1845 the new bridge over the Sesia River in Vercelli was inaugurated. To mark the occasion, a large commemorative medal engraved by Giuseppe Ferraris, the official mint engraver, was struck at the Royal Mint of Turin. Measuring 108.5 millimetres and weighing 852.38 grams, it is among the largest European medals of the 19th century. The obverse shows the portrait of King Carlo Alberto, while the reverse depicts the figure of Fame inscribing the date, with the bridge in the distance. Only twelve examples were struck before the reverse die broke, making this medal exceptionally rare; in fact, all examples seen in public sales in recent years were later casts. A contemporary account records that a specimen in gold was presented to the King and Queen, another was placed at Superga on the King’s tomb, and a third was offered to the royal ship Carlo Alberto. The example offered here comes from the collection of Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy by descent from the kings Victor Emmanuel III and Umberto II. It is one of very few surviving pieces from this extremely small issue, and one of the rare instances with direct royal provenance. Inv: G2560