Italy, Renaissance medal

Jacopo Nizzola da Trezzo (1519-1589)
GIANELLO DELLA TORRE (1500-1585)
Ca. 1530
Copper alloy, cast ; 79,7mm

Obverse : gianello della Torre wearing a doublet and cloak
Inscription : IANELLVS TVRRIAN(us) CREMON(ensis) HOROLOG(iarius) ARCHITECT(us) Gianello della Torre of Cremona, cloakmaker and architect.

Reverse : a female in antique drapery at the center of a fountain, holding on her head a basin with two animal spouts from which water pours forth; a group of seven men of different ages, all dressed in classical garments, surround the fountain; two men carrying a ruler and a compass, while the others are either drinkingfrom the fountain or collecting the water.
Inscription : VIRTVS; in exergue, NVNQ(uam) DEFICIT (Virtue never fails)

Gianellodella Torre was a noted engineer and architect in the service of emperors Charles V and Philip II. The reverse of the medal shows the Foutain of Knowledge from which several men drink. The medal is of excellent artistic quality and must be product of one of the great medalist of the mid-sixteenth century. The medal is generally dated about 1550, when both Leone Leoni and Jacopo da Trezzo were in Milan. Based on stylistics grounds, however, the author of the medal is most likely Trezzo.