Livia Doria Carafa (1745–1779)

Livia died in childbirth at the age of thirty-four. By then, she had had several children, only two of whom survived. Her husband, the Prince of Roccella, commissioned this medal to commemorate her untimely death. The allegorical reverse is interpreted in a volume of prose and poetry written in Livia's honor, in which the three stars represent the princess's deceased daughters. The eagle refers to the family's coat of arms and symbolizes the strength with which the princess educated her children; the act of dispensing coins emphasizes her charity. The ancient name of Roccella Ionica, on the southern shore of the toe of Italy, was Amphissa; thus the word used in the inscription.

Source: Scher, Stephen K., et al. The Scher Collection of Commemorative Medals. New York and London, 2019.