5 euro - 650th anniversary of the death of Francesco Petrarch

The Vatican Mint commemorates the 650th anniversary of the death of Francesco Petrarch (Arezzo 1304 - Arquà 1374) with a 5 euro Proof bimetallic coin. Artist Gabriele Di Maulo pays tribute to the great poet from Arezzo, Italy, by transforming into an image one of the poems dedicated to his beloved Laura. In the bottom right-hand corner of the coin’s reverse side, we see a profile of the poet while offering a laurel branch to Laura, whose figure “angelic in form” appears with her hair “scattered like an aura” stirred by a light breeze. The image is expressive and leads us back to the notion of idealised eternal love, expressed several times by Petrarch in the Canzoniere collection of poems, one of the most important works of Italian literature.