Italy 500 Lire, 1989

500 Lire from Italy. Issued in 1989. Struck in Silver (.835) (Copper .165). Measures 29 mm and weighs 11 g.

Obverse

Portrait of the friar Tommaso Campanella, with a palm branch held in his left arm, symbol of philosophy. In its lower part a snake, symbol of sapience is coiled with the branch. Name of the author below. (Italian Republic)

Reverse

Allegory of "The City of the Sun", his masterpiece: a utopia describing an egalitarian theocratic society where property is held in common. Above a composition made half by the Sun and half the Temple that reign the City. At sides the symbols of the planets that give name at its rounds, represented as circular lines with a state of the friar. Below is the value with date at right and mintmark at left. (A HIGHER CONCEPTION OF LIFE A DEEPER MORALITY A REFORM OF THE HEART CAN ONLY PREPARE A TRULY HUMAN STATE)

Edge

Smooth with lettering in relief