Let me help a little with the research... this is stuff I gound on-line.
1. That is Benito Mussolini's profile in the helmet.
2. The angel (?) is holding a fasces... this from Wikipidia: "Numerous governments and other authorities have used the image of the fasces as a symbol of power since the end of the Roman Empire. Italian fascism, which derives its name from the fasces, arguably used this symbolism the most in the 20th century. However, unlike for example the swastika, the fasces have avoided the stigma associated with fascist symbolism, and many authorities continue to display them."
3. 1922: Benito Mussolini, 39, became Prime Minister of Italy. Son of a poor blacksmith, formerly a journalist and schoolmaster, a corporal in the First World War (as was Mussolini's close ally, Adolf Hitler), seriously wounded in 1917, he founded the Fascist Party. The Fascists derived their name from the Fasces of Imperial Rome, an axe wrapped in a bundle of elm or birch rods symbolizing unity and power. The Fascist Party also adopted the ancient insignia as its emblem.
Kind of interesting stuff... cannot account for the medal or it's origins, except to say there are several other Italian medals with the same profile...
Interesting and very cool find! If I learn more I'll post it here for you.
Montana Jim
RR
