Grades
Investiture takes place biannually on 2 June, anniversary of the foundation of the Republic and on 27 December, anniversary of the promulgation of the Italian Constitution. However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio, related to termination of service or granted to foreigners may be made at any time. The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (the liberty of the people) encircling the head of Italia Turrita on the reverse. The five degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to June 2012):
| Ribbon (1951-2001) |
Ribbon (since 2001) |
Class (English) | Full title in Italian | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight Grand Cross with Collar | Cavaliere di Gran Croce Decorato di Gran Cordone Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | |||
| 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross | Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | 8,761 | ||
| 2nd Class / Grand Officer | Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | 24,063 | ||
| 3rd Class / Commander | Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | 45,482 | ||
| 4th Class / Officer | Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | 29,201 | ||
| 5th Class / Knight | Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | 124,867 |
The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic, as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers. Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for the first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35.
Read more about this topic: Order Of Merit Of The Italian Republic
Famous quotes containing the word grades:
“He suggested that there might be men of genius in the lowest grades of life, however permanently humble and illiterate, who take their own view always, or do not pretend to see at all; who are as bottomless even as Walden Pond was thought to be, though they may be dark and muddy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“There are no grades of vanity, there are only grades of ability in concealing it.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Kindliness seems to exist primarily as an animal instinct, so deeply rooted that mental degeneracy, which works from the top down, does not destroy it until the mind sinks to the lower grades of idiocy.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)