"Italian Castles" Award (D.C.I.) is issued from Section A.R.I. of Mondovi (Cuneo) for O.M. and S.W.L. with the purpose to let know the Castles built in the different points of the Italian geography and to valorise its historical and architectural patrimony.

For obtaining the Award, that will have released in an single category, the applicant will have to show to have contacted the following number of Castles:

In every case it will be obligatory to contact at least a castle of the Province of Cuneo for the HF.

Contacts on all ham radio bands, from 2 to 160 meters, and in the SSB, CW, RTTY, SSTV and any other digital mode are valid. There is not differentiations of mode or band.

Contacts with working stations from the Castle are valid since January 1st. 2001.

The D.C.I. Award is issued to each OM or SWL by presenting to Award Manager temporary (Fabio Fulcheri, IW1FTE) or to Technical Award Manager (Massimo Balsamo, IK1GPG) of the Section A.R.I. of Mondovi, P.O.Box 4, I- 12084 Mondovi (Cuneo), Italy, as follows:

1. A form of a dated and signed letter, on which the applicant declare to have respected the rules of its own Country and the detailed extract of the log in order of reference showing: reference DCI, call-sign of the station worked, date and time GMT.
2. From 01/01/2008 the QSL cards won't owe to be sent to the Checkpoint because the control will automatically be effected by the Award Managers during the elaboration of the data with the Software I0SSH-Log-DCI-Dbase. The award fee is 8 € or 11 $.
3. The endorsements are free. For the application to enclose SASE or SAE+IRC.

The possessors of the D.C.I. Award can use this title on own QSLs and in correspondence

The D.C.I. Award consist of personalized parchment paper to colours of the dimensions 297x420mm in size.

The endorsements consist in an adhesive colour sticker showing the Italian Regions, and it will be granted to have worked at least 3 Castles for every Region.

The list of the Castles is available from the Technical Award Manager to the cost of 6 € or 8 $, as contribution for the postal expenses and photocopies or consultable on Internet: http://www.dcia.it

The Radio Amateurs that have activated at least 3 Castles, has right to apply automatically the D.C.I. Operator Award with the relative sticker of the activated Region and he can accredit own activity.

Whoever has information about Castles not enclosed on the Directory, could get in touch or write to Technical Award Manager; helpers own calls will be mentioned on first page of the Directory as contributor.

There is not limits for up to date.

The activity for the Award is valid only if the followings requisite will have respected:

1. The station (antenna, radio, current, etc.) will have to transmit to a maximum distance from the Castle of 500 meters.
2. The station will have effected at least 100 contacts in HF or 30 contacts in VHF.
3. The station will have effected at least 80 contacts in HF or 15 contacts in VHF for an activation already accredited also from others operators.
4. It is not possible to activate contemporarily more than 2 references: in this case the operator can add at his score the 2 references, but to the special classification " operator " will be valid only as 1 activation.
5. Electronic submission of logs in TXT, ADIF or DBF format, as indicated in the FAQ form, clear documentation photographic that confirms the activation (for the resident it requires topographical map of his city with marked the distance between own residence and the reference), application form and eventual authorizations will have to be send to the Technical Award Manager within 15 days from the activation by e-mail to: dci_info@tin.it
6. To the attainment of the 500 QSOs already accredited for the same reference it won't be more necessary to send the logs and photo.
7. It is obligatory to send the QSLs to all the station via Bureau or via direct if he received a SASE.
8. Before to start a new activity is necessary to have all the previous activities accredited (see points 15.2 and 15.3), unless the impossibility to complete the activation of that reference in the future. The documentation will be sent to the Award Manager whose decision is unquestionable. Before to start a new activity is necessary to send by e-mail log, photo and application form as attached file within 15 days.
9. The activation HF must be completed within a period of 90 days beginning from the first activity, to exception the precedent paragraph.
10. The activator that behaves in different way from the rule or other incorrectness, after having been informed to half letter (also in electronic form), can be suspended by the activations for a period from 1 to 6 months or, definitely disqualified as activator DCI, to unquestionable judgment of the Award Manager and of the President of the titular Section of the diploma, previous to seem of the Technical Award Manager and of the members of the Staff Operational D.C.I.
11. The document FAQ is integral and explanatory part of the present rule.
12. The activator that incorrectly behaves, contravening to the rules of the diploma, will can be suspended or disqualified to unquestionable judgment of the manager and the member of the Technical Staff.
13. For activation (in the same day) to which participates more than an operator, the reference will be accredited to the holder of the nominative (100 QSOs if it is the first activatios or 80 QSOs if it is the second activation). To get the accredit for other operators they will can at least other 50 QSO with home call.
14. It is obligatory to send copy of the documentation to the Technical Support DCI, IK1AWV and IK2UVR.

The Castles will be considered valid if indicated on geographical map 1:25.000 or on the General Castles Repertory of Italy.

The Castles will receive a number of reference formed in the following system: DCI-CN001 (Castle - Province - progressive Number).
The new references will be attributed from the responsible Regional or from the Technical Award Manager.

Список замков можно получить у технического дипломного менеджера по e-mail: dci_info@tin.it или на сайте диплома в Интернет – http://www.dcia.it

The Responsible Regional are the followings:

The Foreign Checkpoints are the followings:

Definition of Castle. Castles, towers, bastions, house-forts, house-towers, walled city or villages, bastioned and fortified city, citadels, fortresses, forts, shelters, civic or fortified doors, ducal Palace bastioned or fortified, castle or imperial villas, and all Italian buildings of the Middle Ages, royal building and palace, renaissance and to the second world war excluded. Forts, bunkers, batteries and refuges, not logistically attainable or not accessible and the Baronial Buildings will be not valid. If some DCI references assigned don't have these characteristics can be cancelled through the special predisposed form.