Oval with Panorama of Piazza della Signoria

The medallion show the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, with the equestrian monument of Cosimo I by Giambologna and the Neptune fountain by Ammanati in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Except for the checkered pavement, the square appears largely unchanged today.

The oval was commissioned by Ferdinando I de' Medici from two of the most gifted artists in his workshops. Bernardino Gaffuri (or Gaffurri), who came from a famous Milanese family of pietra dura engravers, called to Florence by Francesco I de' Medici in 1575, and the court goldsmith Jacques Bylivert (Jacopo Bilivert), originally from Delft. In a contract dated 12 July 1599, Gaffuri was appointed to add the pietra dura parts of the plate, while Bylivert was commissioned to create the embossed gold work, which he completed in early December 1600. For the view of the piazza, Gaffuri used a woodcut, published in a booklet from 1583, printed on the occasion of the unveiling of the Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. Bilivelt added the gold relief work to the Equestrian Statue of Cosimo I, erected in May 1594.