This is a bronze medal made by Domenico Poggini (1520-1590) in Florence, Italy and dated 1561. The obverse of this medal represents bust of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and the reverse shows the building of the Uffizi in Florence. Poggini (1520-1590) was a sculptor, medallist, die-engraver, goldsmith, bronze-caster and poet. His earliest training probably came from his father Michele. Domenico worked mostly with his brother Giampaolo until the latter’s departure between 1553 and 1555 to work for Philip II, King of Spain, in the Netherlands and Spain. He also practised as a marble sculptor, executing a figure of Apollo in the Boboli Gardens (1559) and a bust of Francesco I de'Medici (1564), by whom he was employed on a bronze figure for the Studiolo of the Palazzo Vecchio.
The Medici were a powerful and influential Florentine family, with great influence in Florence from the 14th to the 18th century. There were three Popes among the family and many rulers of Florence, like for example Lorenzo de’Medici or Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), who was patron of some of the most important artists of the Renaissance.
Cosimo I de’ Medici , grand Duke of Florence (b. 1519-d. 1574) was the nephew of Ottaviano de’ Medici. His mother, Maria Salviati (d 1543), was a granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent; his father, the professional soldier Giovanni delle Bande Nere (1498–1526), was killed when Cosimo was seven. When, in 1537, Lorenzino de’ Medici murdered Alessandro de’ Medici, the tyrannical Duke of Florence, Cosimo was the only available successor. Initially his power was limited, but he became Duke of Florence in 1537, after his victory at the Battle of Montemurlo, and Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569.