Pius IV (1559-65) Providence Medal - ORIGINAL

Pope Pius IV left / Figure of Providence holding cornucopia. Original medal, a bit oval, 28mm x 28.7mm, holed with a small amount of gilding remaining, rare. A canon lawyer himself, Giovanni Angelo Medici took his doctorate in law at Bologna in 1525 and under Paul III was a governor in the papal state. Pius IV's historic achievement was to reconvene the council of Trent, suspended in 1552, and bring it to a successful conclusion, fulfilling his pre-election oath.