5° Reggimento Artiglieria da Montagna Badge

[Brig]

Picked this neat badge up. When I purchased it, I thought it was about an inch, but once it arrived I see it is double that. Very nice badge, however can anyone tell me what it is or where it was worn? I originally thought lapel or cap divisional badge, but not sure with the larger size.

[OldSteel]

Morning Brig,
it is a badge made of enamelled brass for the 5th Alpine Artillery Regiment, made by "F M Lorioli Fratelli", (FM = "Fabbrica Medaglie") this maker was based in Milan and Rome; was worn on the left pocket of the jacket.
This example dates back to the WW2 period, I can say quite rare in these conditions.


Regards
Roberto

[OldSteel]

This military unit will participate in the following military campaigns:
-1935-1936 East African Campaign
battles of:
AMBA ARADAM
ANTOLO'
AMBA ALAGI,
PASSO MECAN
-1940 - 1943 Western Alpine Front and Greek-Albanian Front.

The flag is decorated by
- Gold Medal for Military Valor, for the "Bergamo" group (Russian front, August 1942 - February 1943);
- Bronze Medal for Military Valor (Greek - Albanian Front November 1940 - April 1941).

Regards

[Brig]

So it was a uniform item worn every day? Or on dress uniforms? Did every unit have a badge like this with their crest?

Excuse all the questions, I am very new to collecting Italian items. I saw one of these on a dealer site for nearly $250, but he is known to be very overpriced. (Don't worry, I didn't pay nearly that much!)

[OldSteel]

Hi Brig,
for what I know, even if I am not an expert of Alpine Troops, these badges, despite being an established tradition, were the result of initiatives by individual units and their own commanders.
They were born to consolidate belonging to the military unit, or to commemorate the military campaigns in which it had participated.
In fact they were not regulated, but at the same time tolerated by the Headquarters, which is why their use was also quite varied, but generally I think they were worn on the left pocket of the combat or service jacket and when the soldier was discharged it always ended up positioned on the alpine hat worn by Veterans during gatherings and commemorations.

Regards