During the the time of the Roman Empire the Mediterranean Sea was sometimes known as the Roman Sea. The Romans themselves referred to it as Mare Nostrum (“Our Sea”). It’s fitting that Italy, whose capital is Rome, should provide an Amateur Radio award promoting contacts with modern countries that now line its shores. For this purpose, Italy’s national Amateur Radio organization, Associazione Radioamatori Italiani, promotes the Certificato del Mediterraneo.
Countries bordering the Mediterranean lie on the European, Asian and African continents. Though an important waterway even today, two thousand years ago it was the center of all civilization as they knew it.
To achieve the award applicants must have confirmed contacts with at least 24 of the 32 entities that surround the sea. Entities here mostly conform to DXCC countries but the island of Sicily counts separately from Italy. See the official CDM web page for the complete list.
The award is issued for a variety of modes (Mixed, Phone, CW and RTTY) and bands (HF, VHF and UHF). Shortwave listeners (SWL) enthusiasts can also take part.
QSL cards need not be sent with your application though the award manager reserves the right to request them if need be. This resolves any concern about rising postal rates or the possibility of irreplaceable cards being lost in the mail.
The award site has a link to a handy application form. As of 2020 the paper form of the award costs either 5€, or 8 IRC or $8 US. A more economical option is to receive the award in electronic form as a JPEG file. There is no charge at all for that option.
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