Italy, 100 Lire, 1931

Designer: Giuseppe Romagnoli
minted from 1931-1933
AV: Vittorio Emanuele III,
RV.: Woman at the bow

Historical 

Principe Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia, Principe Ereditario d'Italia (1869-1947), was King of Italy from 1900 to 1946. His marriage to Elena of Montenegro produced 5 children, the second oldest of whom, Mafalda, died as an inmate in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1944. Vittorio succeeded his father to the throne in 1900 after the latter was assassinated in Monza by an anarchist assassin. Italy's political instability meant that the king had to intervene in day-to-day political affairs ten times between 1900 and 1922. After Italy's victory over Austria-Hungary in World War 1, the monarch was nicknamed "Re Soldato" (Soldier King) or "Re vittorioso" (Victorious King).
Although Italy was one of the victorious powers of World War 1, the situation remained tense. Numerous economic, social and political crises shook the country in the post-war period. The king also clearly showed that he was dissatisfied with the postwar arrangements. The continuing grievances ensured that the Fascist movement around Benito Mussolini gained influence. In 1922, when the king refused to give his approval to the incumbent prime minister, Luigi Facta, for an emergency decree that would have allowed him to deploy the army against Mussolini's attempted coup, the latter resigned from office. The next day, the monarch appointed Mussolini head of government and tolerated the establishment of the one-party dictatorship in the following years. Only after the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 did he turn his back on Mussolini and actively contribute to his overthrow. In 1946 he abdicated in favor of his son Umberto II. When the entire family was expelled from the country after the end of the monarchy, Vittorio Emanuele III went into exile in Egypt, where he died in 1947. The reburial of his remains in the Basilica of Vicoforte stirred great controversy in 2017 over the king's role during the period of fascism and World War 2, especially since the transfer from Egypt to Italy was made in a state military aircraft.

The Italia turrita, or Italia for short, is the national allegory or national personification of Italy. She is a woman with typical Mediterranean attributes, in pictures she is depicted with a colorful, vibrant complexion, dark hair and elegant looks. She is often portrayed with a bundle of ears of corn, the symbol of fearfulness. During the fascist era held the Italia en Facis, a bundle of wooden rods.