Shopping Cart
2 euro commemorative coin of the Italian Republic, issued in 2024. Dedicated to Rita Levi-Montalcini. Designed by Silvia Petrassi (initials "SP"). Bimetallic, diameter 25.75 mm, weight 8.5 g. Minted at the IPZS in Rome.
Obverse
The foreground shows a bust of Rita Levi-Montalcini, inspired by a photograph by Manuela Fabbri; the background features a microscope taken from a medal designed by the scientist's brother Gino Levi-Montalcini, with a horseshoe-shaped base - a good luck charm before the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which she received in 1986. At the top, in an arc, is the inscription "RITA LEVI-MONTALCINI". On the left is the monogram "RI" (Repubblica Italiana) and the mint mark "R". Below is the year of issue "2024". On the right are the initials "SP" of the author Silvia Petrassi. On the outer ring are the 12 five-pointed stars of the EU.
Reverse
The reverse is the common side of the 2 euro coins of the second type, designed by Luc Luix (Royal Belgian Mint). It depicts a map of Europe as a single continent without internal borders - a symbol of European unity. On the left is a large denomination "2" and the inscription "EURO", on the right is a map with six thin horizontal lines in the background. On the outer ring are the 12 stars of the European Union. The band is finely grooved and has the inscription "2 ★", repeated six times alternately upright and inverted.
Historical context
Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012) is an outstanding Italian neurobiologist, senator for life of Italy, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 (together with Stanley Cohen) for the discovery of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) - a protein that regulates the development and survival of neurons. She was born on April 22, 1909 in Turin into a Jewish family of Sephardic origin, the daughter of mathematician Adamo Levi and painter Adele Montalcini. In 1936 she received her medical degree from the University of Turin under the supervision of Giuseppe Levi. After the racial laws of 1938, she could not continue her scientific work in Italy; she secretly conducted research in the laboratory of her own home. From 1947 she worked at Washington University in St. Louis (USA) and at the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) in Rome. Founder of the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI). In 2001 she was proclaimed a senator for life. She died on December 30, 2012 in Rome at the age of 103.