Italian Renaissance Medal: Giuliano della Rovere / Fortress at Ostia

Giuliano della Rovere / Fortress at Ostia

Anonymous Roman artist, 1483.


Bronze, 36.2 mm Ø, 28.4 g

Obverse: Bust of Giuliano della Rovere facing left, tonsured, wearing decoratively engraved cope. Around, IVL · EPISC · OSTIEN ; the beginning and end of the inscription are broken by a rosette.

Reverse: The fortress of Ostia, with three towers. Around, CARD : S : P : ADVINC ; the beginning and end of the inscription are broken by a rosette.

Giuliano della Rovere, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, was created cardinal in 1471 and named Bishop of Ostia on January 31, 1483. He decided to build a fortress to defend the city, protect maritime trade, and control the mouth of the Tiber in order to prevent enemy ships from reaching Rome. The architects Giuliano da Sangallo and Baccio Pontelli were involved in the design and construction of the fortress, which featured a triangular plan with ditches, walls, and towers. Construction began in 1483 and was completed in 1486. Sixtus IV visited the site on November 9, 1483, to personally view the work. A slightly larger medal was also created for Sixtus IV, utilizing the same model of the fortress for the reverse. Medals of both types were likely placed in the foundations of the fortress. Giuliano would later be elected to the papacy on November 1, 1503, taking the name Julius II.

References: Hill 1930, no. 817; Vannel and Toderi 2003, nos. 251-252; cf. Modesti 2002, p. 502

 

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A very nice medal, I like it.