Bronze wall plaque, 4 x 8.5 in., a Roman helmet and fasces at the bottom, an eagle with raised wings stemming from a helmet at the top, and a medallion at the center bearing a profile image of Benito Mussolini and reading ‘S.E. Avanzo Seguitemi Opera Balilla’ (‘If I Advance Follow Me Opere Balilla’). A rather decorative piece displaying exceptional craftsmanship. The Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was an Italian Fascist youth organization functioning from 1926 to 1937, when it was absorbed into the Gioventu Italiana del Littorio (GIL), a youth section of the National Fascist Party. The organization takes its name from Balilla, the nickname of Giovan Battista Perasso, a Genoese boy who, according to local legend, started the revolt of 1746 against the Habsburg forces that occupied the city in the War of the Austrian Succession.