ORDER OF SANTA MARIADI BETHLEHEM. Perfect gilding and exceptional blue enamels , attributed, at thetime, to an officer of the Kingdom of Italy. HISTORY The Order of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, better known as the "Ordo militaris hospitalarius de Sanctae Mariae de Bethlehem", was established with the bull "Veram semper et solidam", dated 1 February 1459, by Pope Pius II in the framework of a general political action to counter the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks. The assets of many other pre-existingorders were given as a dowry to thenewly established Order, promotingthe Christian Crusade, with a declaredpolitical aim even before a religious one. Upon the Pope's death, his ideals wererenewed by his successors but with lessconviction, so much so that, finally, PopeInnocent VIIl ceded all the assets of theBethlehemite Order to that of Rhodes,effectively extinguishing the existence ofthe Order. Deprived of its assets and militarypurposes by the papal bull, the BethlehemOrder, transforming itself into a dynastichonour, changed the color of the crossfrom red to blue, while maintaining theideals of defense of Christian principles. Careful Packing and Shipping from JMEDALS -Lithuania I'm do not Combine Shipping Good luck