Italian 2012 €2 Euro Commemorative coin - 100th anniversary of the death of Giovanni PASCOLI
Commemorative 2 euro coins from Italy
Description: obverse: In the foreground a portrait of the poet from Romagna, Giovanni Pascoli, a representative figure of the Italian literature of the late 19th century. On the right the year of issue “2012” and the monogram of the Italian Republic “RI”; on the left the year of the death “1912”; the mintmark “R” and the initials of the author Maria Carmela Colaneri ”MCC”. At the bottom, the arch-shaped inscription “G. PASCOLI”. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin.
Reverse: left from the coin centre face value: 2, on the right inscription: EURO; in the background of the inscription a map of Europe; in the background of the map vertically six parallel lines ending on both sides with five-pointed stars (the reverse is common for all euro coins)
Issuing volume: 15 million coins
Date of issue: May / June 2012
Face value: 2 euro
Diameter: 25.75 mm
Thickness: 2.2 mm
Weight: 8.5 gr
Composition: BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass
€2 Edge Inscription: The Italian €2 coin edge inscription is '2', followed by one star, repeated six times alternately upright and inverted:
Mint Location: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS) (State Printing Office and Mint), in Rome, Italy.
Mint Marks: Mintmark of the Rome mint: the letter 'R'.
Located in the middle of the lower right quadrant, inner circle.
National Identification: Symbol: Stylized 'RI'; Repubblica Italiana (Republic of Italy).
Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (December 31, 1855 – April 6, 1912) was an Italian poet and classical scholar.His earlier poems look simple, and focus particularly on domestic life and nature. However, Pascoli, even in that period of Positivism and scientism, believed that life is a mystery; only symbolic associations discovered in the humble things of nature can lead man to catch a glimpse of the truth behind mere appearances.
His later poems share similar themes but are more experimental, and reflect his knowledge of classical antiquity. They were a great influence on later Italian poets, who incorporated his melancholy themes into their own works. He wrote in both Italian and Latin; he also translated English poetry. His numerous poems in Latin gained many international awards.
In 1897 Pascoli issued a detailed definition of his poetical stance, which he called poetica del fanciullino ("poetics of the child") and which showed the influence of Sully and von Hartmann. Poetry, according to Pascoli, would be the unceasing capability to get stunned by the world, typical of childhood, secondarily connected to the expressive capabilities of the aged. In a refusal of both Classicism and Romanticism, Pascoli opposed both the renunciation of self-analysis and the abandonment of the self-centered point of view, in favour of a semi-irrational comfort which the poet gives himself through poetry.
Pascoli's poetry shows interesting affinities with European symbolism, even if direct influences cannot be demonstrated. A wide use of analogy and synesthesia, a very subtle musicality, a lexicon open both to foreign languages and to vernacular or onomatopeic voices are major signs of a literary research oriented towards modern poetical language.
Part of Pascoli's work was translated into English by Lawrence Venuti, who in 2007 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Humanities for that reason. In 2010 Red Hen Press published first appearance of Pascoli’s poems in English translation, under the title "Last Voyage: Selected Poems of Giovanni Pascoli." Pascoli was also known as a prose essayist and for his Dante studies.