Featured here is a torch used in the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics flame relay. The Italian capital was supposed to host the Games of the IV Olympiad way back in 1908 but after the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius (the volcano that buried Pompeii in the year AD 79) drained city funds to assist struggling Naples the Games went to London instead. Thus the 1960 Rome Olympics took place a half century later than planned. Even today they rank among the most celebrated in Olympic history. There was the gold medal performance of a teenaged Cassius Clay in the Light Heavyweight boxing division. Former polio patient Wilma Rudolph claimed "fastest woman on Earth" with three golds in track & field. And the USA men’s basketball team led by Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson Jerry West and Jerry Lucas staked their claim as the most talented sports team of the era.

This torch helped carry the flame to Rome's Stadio Olimpico to light the cauldron and officially launch these historic Games. The design is based on drawings of torches on ancient Etruscan ceramics. The circular hilt is stamped "Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade" while the base of the handle calls out the manufacturer "M.F. Curtisa - Bologna" with a serial number we can barely make out as "3328." Made of bronzed aluminum it measures 16 inches (40cm) in length and 4” at its widest and weighs 586 grams. It remains very well-preserved showing light to moderate wear most notably a very small ding to the upper rim. As is typical of all surviving Rome torches the disposable flame guard that once separated the body of the torch from the fire is no longer present. Rome torches in any form are scarce as there were only 1529 torchbearers and only 1500 torches are believed to exist.