Medal of Ferdinand II

The obverse of this medal portrays Ferdinand II (1467-1496), Prince of Capua, Duke of Calabria, and King of Naples (1495-96), who recovered his kingdom from French occupation. A gifted humanist prince, Ferdinand was loved by the people, who affectionately addressed him in the diminutive Ferrandino. When his father, the unpopular Alfonso II, became king (1494), Ferdinand took command of Neapolitan troops opposing the advance of the French king Charles VIII in northern Italy. Failing to halt the French, Ferdinand returned to Naples and became king upon the abdication of his father on Jan. 23, 1495. The following month, however, the French captured Naples, and Ferdinand withdrew to Sicily. Aided by a Spanish army and the Venetian fleet, he recovered almost all his lands by the summer of 1496 and was received triumphantly by the populace of Naples. His sudden death opened the way for Spanish usurpation of the Neapolitan throne.

The reverse of the medal depicts Felicitas Seated, Holding Ears of Corn and Waving Cornucopiae.