San Marino

2020

Commemorative coin

500th anniversary of the death of Raphael

Official Journal of the European Union

The design reproduces the profile of the Virgin Mary, which is part of the Madonna di Casa Santi fresco, the first masterpiece by a very young Raphael painted in the family home in Urbino, which now houses the prestigious Accademia Raffaello. The fresco depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus on her lap and is imbued with the delicacy of the intimacy between mother and son, a recurring theme in Raphael’s artistic works. In the top right of the coin, there is the name of the issuing country ‘SAN MARINO’ and the years ‘1520’ and ‘2020’. At the bottom is the inscription ‘RAFFAELLO’, on the right the initials of the designer Annalisa Masini ‘AM’, and on the left the letter ‘R’, indicating the Mint of Rome. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483-1520) was a painter of the Italian High Renaissance, active in Florence and at the papal court in Rome and - after the death of Donato Bramante - in 1514 as architect construction manager of St. Peter's Basilica. The motif of the coin is a detail of the fresco of the Madonna of Casa Santi, one of the very first works by Raphael, who was fifteen years old at the time.

Edge lettering

Designer