Cardinal’s ring with the coat of arms of Pope Pius IV Medici

The insignia of Pope Pius IV etched on the reverse of the stone allows to assign to Giovan Angelo de’ Medici di Marignano, who became Pope in 1559, the commissioning of this ring often mentioned in the inventories of the Trento Cathedral. Most probably, Pius IV gifted it to the prince-bishop of Trento Ludovico Madruzzo on the occasion of his being nominated cardinal. Ercole Gonzaga, the Council’s chairman, was the man who placed on Ludovico’s head the ‘galero’, namely the cardinal hat, during the solemn ceremony held in the Cathedral on 20 April 1561. In the weeks that followed, the Trento prelate travelled to Rome to thank the pontiff for the gift.