Dante Alighieri

The circulation coin depicts a portrait of the Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) painted by Raphael (1483–1520), which can be seen in the rooms of the Vatican Palace decorated under Pope Julius II.

Dante Alighieri is considered the father of the Italian literary language, since his "Divine Comedy" — one of the most important works in world literature — was written in Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin, laying the foundations of modern Italian. The portrait on the coin comes from a fresco painted by Raphael, commissioned by Pope Julius II for the Vatican Stanze. The coin honors Dante's enduring importance to Italian culture and language across the centuries.