A few medals to share ...
Gregory XIII - New Roman Collegeby Bernardino Passero, 1582
Cast, Bronze, 59 mm ØObverse: Bust of Gregory XIII facing right, with hand raised in
benediction, wearing camauro and mozzetta. Around, GENERALI · COLLEG · SOCIETATIS · IESV ·
ROME · EXTRVCTO · ET · DOTATO . Smaller, and within the outer text, · GREGORIVS · X · III · AN · PON · X .
Reverse: Gregory XIII kneeling in prayer facing left with
head uplifted towards a figure of Jesus in clouds, who is gesturing to the building of the
Roman College below, in front of which is a flock of
sheep. On the ground in front of Gregory is the papal
tiara; a pastoral staff lies in the foreground; behind him is a tree. Around, GREGORIO · PASTORI ·
OPTIMO · PATERNA · CARITATE · OVES · PASCENTI · . In smaller text, around the figure of Jesus, PASCE · OVES · MEAS .
Foundation
medal for the new building for the Jesuit College in
Rome.
The Jesuit College in
Rome was originally established by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, on February 18, 1551. The school was raised to the rank of university when Pope Paul IV authorized it in 1556 to confer degrees in theology and philosophy. Over the years, it grew in enrollment and reached over a thousand students. Gregory XIII sought to give the college a better suitable, leading to the construction of a new edifice, as illustrated on the
reverse of the
medal. Great sums of
money were spent on the project, which was largely supported financially by the pope himself. The Florentine architect Bartolomeo Ammannati was placed in charge of the project, and the
work was overseen by the Jesuit Giuseppe Valeriano. The first
stone was laid on January 11, 1582 at a ceremony which was celebrated by Cardinal Gustavillani.
Work proceeded quickly, and the college was operating in the building by 1584. Final completion however would not occur until after the death of Gregory. Due to
his patronage, the college would become known as the Gregorian University.
References: CNORP 781,
Toderi-Vannel 2355
Urban VIII - New Fortifications for the Port of Civitavecchiaby Alessandro Astesano, 1631
Struck, Bronze, 42 mm ØObverse: Bust of Urban
VIII facing right wearing decorative cope. Around, VRBANVS ·
VIII ·
PONT ·
MAX · A ·
VIIII . On the truncation, A · ASTESSANO · F · .
Reverse: Bird's eye view of the
port and city of Civitavecchia. Above and around, NVNC RE PERFECTO , bordered by two bees.
Annual
medal for the ninth year of Urban VIII's reign, issued on June 29, 1632. The original emission consisted of 230 examples in gold, 450 in silver, and 100 in bronze.
Civitavecchia was the major
port for
Rome, being important not only as a major commercial
port but also as the
home of the pontifical navy on the
west coast of
Italy. Like
his predecessors, Urban
VIII ensured that the
port was always kept in continuous repair, and he also ordered stronger fortifications to be built to protect this important location. Nathan
Whitman notes that, "By featuring on a
medal the defensive and commercial aspects of this major
port Urban was making as assertion of strength that was simultaneously
military and economic."
Provenance: From the
collection of Michael Hall.
Exhibited in
Roma Resurgens: Papal Medals from the Age of the Baroque by Nathan T.
Whitman and John L. Varriano. [n. 60, p. 79]
References: Miselli 245,
Modesti "Annuale" 99,
Roma Resurgens 60
Alexander VII - New Arsenal at Civitavecchiaby Gioacchino Francesco Travani, 1659
Cast, Silvered Bronze, 69.0 mm ØObverse: Bust of
Alexander VII facing left, wearing camauro, cassock, and undecorated stole. Around,
ALEXANDER ·
VII · P · M ·
PIVS ·
IVST ·
OPT · SENEN ·
PATR · GENTE · CHISIVS · MDCLIX · . On truncation, FT · F .
Reverse: Bird's eye view of the fortified
port of Civitavecchia. Above, on scroll, NAVALE CENTVMCELL .
From 1659-1660,
Alexander VII undertook a project of constructing a new ship-building arsenal at Civitavecchia, led by the famed artist and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. This
medal shows the initial layout for the proposed six bays of the arsenal, present as a row of six parallel openings at the rear of the harbor, directly to the left of the
fort which is present on the right. For the final design, the bays were split into pairs which were set at an angle of 30° to one another. A smaller, struck
medal was later made in 1660 with this final design. On the
reverse, the
inscription NAVALE CENTVMCELL (
Port of Centumcellae) refers to the original name for the harbor, which
had been constructed by the emperor
Trajan.
References: Miselli 566,
Roma Resurgens 91
Alexander VII - Construction of the Church of the Assumptionby Gioacchino Francesco Travani, 1662
Cast, Bronze, 66 mm ØObverse: Bust of
Alexander VII facing left, wearing
tiara and decorative cope featuring a scene of the Annunciation. Around, ALEX ·
VII ·
PONT ·
OPT ·
MAX · . Beneath the
bust, · A ·
VII · .
Reverse: Frontal view of the
Church of the Assumption. Above and around, BENE · FVNDATA · DOMVS · DOMINI · B · VIRGINI · . Below and around, ARICINORVM PATRONAE .
Foundation
medal for the
Church of the Assumption in Ariccia. Though unsigned, the piece has been traditionally attributed to Travani on the grounds of
style due to similarity to several other
cast pieces of
Alexander VII from this time.
This particular design is unlisted and unknown in any of the major
collections, and is possibly unique. Medals are well-known which are based on the same general design, though the details between this
medal and those differ significantly. On the other medals, the regnal year of the pope is included in the large
inscription around the edge on the
obverse, and the
area underneath the
bust contains the date 1662 in Arabic numerals. Also, the scene on the cope shows Jesus carrying the
cross, rather than the Annunciation. Turning to the
reverse, the positioning of the inscriptions is slightly different. Above and around is BENE · FVNDATA · DOMVS · DOMINI , while below and around is B · VIRGINI · ARICINORVM · PATRONAE . This lower
inscription is also on a scroll in the other version.
In late 1661, Gian Lorenzo Bernini began
work on the design for a new
church across from the ducal palace in Ariccia (which he would also renovate). The final design for the
church is given on this foundation
medal, though the two flanking loggias are not shown. Construction began in 1662, and was completed in time for
Alexander to hold mass there on May 16, 1664, consecrating the new
church.
Provenance: From the
collection of Francesco Calveri.
References: c.f.
Miselli 592, c.f.
Roma Resurgens 98