BU VATICAN 2024 9 rooms

BU Vatican 2024 9-coin set

This set includes the 1 Cent to 2€ coins for the year 2024, featuring the coat-of-arms of Pope Francis I (shield), plus the 5€ on the theme of the 650th anniversary of the death of Francesco Petrarca (Arezzo 1304 - Arquà 1374)

Francesco Petrarca, known in French as Pétrarque, is one of the most important figures in Italian and European literature, often considered the father of humanism. Born on July 20, 1304 in Arezzo, Tuscany, and died on July 19, 1374 in Arquà, Padua, Petrarch left his mark on his era through his writings and thought, which contributed to the cultural transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Training and career

Petrarch spent most of his youth in Avignon, France, where the papacy was based at the time. He studied law in Montpellier and Bologna, but his interest in classical literature soon superseded his legal aspirations. Petrarch is often associated with humanism for his rediscovery and promotion of classical Greek and Latin texts, which had a profound influence on European culture.

Literature and poetry

Petrarch is most famous for his poetic work, in particular the "Canzoniere" (or "Rerum vulgarium fragmenta"), a collection of 366 poems mostly written in vernacular Italian, which revolutionized lyric poetry. The collection is divided into two main parts: one devoted to his passion for Laura, a woman he supposedly met in Avignon and who became his muse, and the other exploring more philosophical and spiritual themes after his death. His poetry is characterized by a deep exploration of his personal feelings, a pared-down style and a constant search for formal perfection.

Influence and posterity

In addition to his poems, Petrarch wrote numerous treatises, letters and philosophical and moral essays, in which he discussed literature, history, morality and theology. His "Lettres à l'antique" ("Epistolae metricae"), a series of fictional letters addressed to figures from antiquity, bear witness to his reverence for classical culture and his desire to engage in dialogue with the past.

Petrarch also traveled throughout Europe, corresponding with other intellectuals of his time and collecting ancient manuscripts. His work had a considerable impact on the Italian Renaissance and on figures such as Boccaccio and later Shakespeare.

Legacy

Today, Petrarch is considered a precursor of modern humanism, a champion of the rediscovery of classical texts and a major poet whose works continue to be studied and appreciated. His work laid the foundations for the development of European literature and marked the beginning of a new era in which man and humanist culture take center stage.

Face value: 5 euros
Quality: FDC
Metal: outside bronzite / inside cupronichel
Legal weight: 9.50 grams
Diameter: 27.5 mm
Thickness: 2.15 mm
circulation: specimens
edge: 16-sided polygon discontinuous MOLETER
Sculptor: Gabriele Di Maulo

Print run: 8,000

Quality: BU , Universal Gloss