Vatican

2020

Commemorative coin

500th Anniversary of the death of Raphael Sanzio

Official Journal of the European Union

The design features a portrait of Raphael and two angels. At the right, in semi-circle, is the inscription ‘RAFFAELLO SANZIO’. Above the image of the two angels are the years ‘1520’ and ‘2020’ and underneath it is the name of the issuing country ‘CITTA’ DEL VATICANO’. At the bottom is the mintmark ‘R’ and the artist’s name ‘D. LONGO’. 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. Raphael became famous mainly as a painter for his harmonious and well-balanced compositions and lovely Madonna pictures. The coin shows a self-portrait painted in 1511, a detail of the fresco The School of Athens from the stanzas of the rooms called Raphael in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican City. On the right, the coin's designer Daniela Longo has depicted the two angels from the painting Sistine Madonna, created in 1513-1514 (today in the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden).

Edge lettering

Designer