Pistole au buste de Sainte Thérèse - Federico Landi

Federico Landi ruled Compiano, a tiny principality wedged into the Apennines between Parma and Genoa, and his coinage exists almost entirely because minor Italian lords of the period could — and did — exploit their theoretical imperial minting privileges to produce gold issues well beyond any practical monetary need. This pistole, struck in the same year that Teresa of Ávila was canonized by Gregory XV, is a direct and immediate response to that event. The canonization on March 12, 1622 was a major occasion; four saints were elevated simultaneously, including Ignatius of Loyola.

Compiano's output was tiny. These pieces circulated, if at all, as prestige objects rather than trade coin.