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Tag: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The Portrait Medal of Cosimo de’ Medici

The Portrait Medal of Cosimo de’ Medici celebrates Cosimo I de’Medici and is the earliest example of item created by the Florentine school.

The Portrait Medal of Cosimo de’ Medici celebrates Cosimo I de’Medici (1389-1464) and is the earliest example of a product created by the Florentine school.

Cosimo I was the head of the de’Medici family, a family of bankers who were the de facto rulers of Florence during most of the Italian Renaissance. He was granted the title Pater Patriae by the Florentine Signoria after his death on 1 August 1464.

The idea of a ʽportraitʼ on coins, as well as the title pater patriae, was inspired by the rediscovery of Roman coins in the Renaissance (medieval coinage did not have portraits). Ancient coins were the subject of interest and intense study among scholars from the early fifteenth century onwards, and admired by humanists for their large size, their high relief, and the use of bronze.

The Portrait Medal of Cosimo de' Medici Design

The medal was not produced after 1469, and the effigy on the obverse was copied from the manuscript by Francesco del Chierico (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Ms Plut. 84, I, c. 3), and on behalf of Piero di Lorenzo de’Medici. Although many different artists have been proposed for the medal’s creator, for example Niccolò di Forzore Spinelli, Donatello, Michelozzo, Cristoforo di Geremia, and Bertoldo di Giovanni, the question concerning the author’s identity remains a mystery.

The obverse of the medal bears the bust of Cosimo I in profile, facing left. He’s wearing a flat beret (proper for persons of high rank) and a buttoned cloak. A circular legend in Roman capitals reads: “MAGNVS COSMVS MEDICES P(RIMVS) P(ATER) P(ATRIAE).”

The reverse shows a female figure allegoric of Florence (inspired by Graeco-Roman coins depicting Concordia), seated on a throne. The exergue reads “FLORENTIA“. She’s wearing a peplos and is veiled, likely as a sign of mourning for Cosimo. She holds an olive branch in her left hand, and her right is stretching forward and grasping a globe – which might recall the Medici family emblem. The circular legend of the reverse reads “PAX LIBERTASQVE PVBLICA“.

The Order for Civil and Military Merit (Tuscany)

The Order for Civil and Military Merit is a military order of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The medal is struck in gold.

The Order for Civil and Military Merit is a military order of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. 

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed from 1569 to 1859, succeeding the Duchy of Florence. In the 19th century, it had a population of about 1,815,000 inhabitants.

The order was established to recognize significant contributions in both civil and military fields, reflecting the Grand Duchy’s rich history and commitment to honoring exemplary service and achievements within its territories.

The Long Service Decoration Design

The medal is struck in gold and reads “MERITO MILITARE” (“Military Merit“). The initials in the obverse are those of Leopoldo II. The reverse is plain.

The Order of Saint Stephen (Tuscany)

The Order of Saint Stephen is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order created by Cosimo I de’ Medici and approved by Pope Pius IV.

The Order of Saint Stephen (or “Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire”, “Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr“) is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order is dedicated to the martyred Pope Stephen I, whose feast day is 2 August – the date that coincides with Cosimo’s victories at the Battle of Montemurlo and the Battle of Marciano (Scannagallo).

The order was created by Cosimo I de’ Medici, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany with the approbation of Pope Pius IV on 1 October 1561. The order was permanently abolished in 1859 by the annexation of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia, with the last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader being Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. 

The objective of the order was to fight the Ottoman Turks and the pirates that sailed the Mediterranean Sea in the 16th century. Cosimo needed a symbolic fight to unite the nobility of the different cities that conformed his new grand duchy, as well as to demonstrate his support of the Roman Catholic Church. It was present at the siege of Malta (1565), the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the capture in 1607 of Annaba in Algeria.

Initially, the Order was financed by the Grand Duke. Later and thanks to prudent purchases of agricultural estates, it increased its heritage by becoming one of the major wheat producers and merchants of Tuscany. Before being enrolled in the Order, three years of novitiate had to be followed, during which notions of geometry, cosmography, arithmetic, drawing, cartography, history and practice of firearms were taught and tested.

Today, Archduke Sigismund, Grand Duke of Tuscany awards an Order of Saint Stephen which he claims to be a continuation of the order founded by Grand Duke Cosimo I. Some 80 individuals are currently associated with this order.

The Order of Saint Stephen Design

The badge of the order is shaped like a star, struck in silver with a thin sheet of gold (not gold plated), and decorated with red enamels. It’s surmounted by a golden crown.

The Second Class Star (pictured above) measures 63mm by 64mm.

The ribbon is red.

The Order of Saint Joseph (Tuscany)

The Order of Saint Joseph was instituted in 1807 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and awarded for services towards culture.

The Order of Saint Joseph was instituted in 1807 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (during his reign as Grand Duke of Würzburg), and transformed in 1817 into a Tuscan Roman Catholic Dynastic Order. It is awarded for services towards Tuscan culture and civilization and to the Grand Ducal House as a whole.

The order was originally divided into civil and military categories, although these are now defunct. It is now divided into three levels:

  • Knights Grand Cross (30 members),
  • Commander (60 members), and
  • Knights (150 members).

Sovereigns, Heads of State, and Princes of the Grand Ducal House and other Royal Houses, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church and Tuscan Metropolitan Archbishops were excluded form the count. All members had to be Catholics and the number of women could not exceed fifty (excluding Princesses of the Grand Ducal and other Royal Houses, wives of Heads of State and Dames of the Order of Saint Stephen).

The Order of Saint Joseph Design

The medal is struck in gold with white enamels. It measures 38.02 mm (w) x 57.01 mm (h – inclusive of ring suspension) and weighs 14.7 g. The shape of the medal is a six-armed cross with ball finials and exhibits three delicate red-enameled gold rays between in each quadrant. The cross is surmounted by a classic royal crown in gold.

The obverse depicts, in gold, a figure of St. Joseph surrounded by the Latin inscription “Ubique Similitus” (or “Everywhere the Same”) with a red-enameled border. The reverse, also in gold, bears the inscription “S J F 1807”(the date of institution).

The ribbon is red with white edges.