Oro alla Patria
Oro alla Patria, meaning “Gold for the Fatherland,” was a national campaign in Italy that started on 18 December 1935. It was organized by the Fascist regime to raise money for the war in Ethiopia, which had begun in October 1935.
The campaign happened after the League of Nations condemned Italy’s invasion, but the sanctions it imposed were weak and not all countries joined. This stirred resentment in Italy and helped push people to support the war effort at home.
On 18 December, called the Day of Faith, Italians began giving wedding rings and other gold to the state. The main ceremony took place at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome. Queen Elena of Montenegro was the first to donate her ring, followed by Rachele Mussolini and many others. In Rome alone, more than 250,000 rings were given; Milan collected about 180,000.
Many notable donors contributed, including King Victor Emmanuel III (gold ingots), Queen Elena (her ring), Prince Umberto, and famous figures such as Guglielmo Marconi, Luigi Pirandello, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Luigi Albertini, and Benedetto Croce. The church also encouraged participation. The football club FC Vado even donated the 1922 Coppa Italia, which was then destroyed.
There were some dissidents, such as Prince Filippo Andrea VI Doria Pamphili and his wife Gesine, who refused to donate. For a time a street in Rome was renamed in honor of Prince Doria Pamphili, though it was changed back after the war.
Donors received an iron ring stamped “ORO ALLA PATRIA – 18 NOV. XIV.” In total, about 37 tonnes of gold and 115 tonnes of silver were collected and said to have been sent to the State Mint as national assets. Later, two jugs with wedding rings were found in 1945 among the valuables of fleeing fascists in the Dongo area.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:09 (CET).