ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Castiglione's impresa on the reverse of his medal is characterized by just such multiple levels of meaning. Castiglione, like many nobles and intellectuals of his time, had a portrait medallion made of him, bearing his likeness on the front of the medal and a symbolic design on the reverse. Well-known specimens of Castiglione's medal currently extant are made of bronze, but a gold one was seen in the Casa Castiglione in the late sixteenth century. Although Castiglione's garment has previously attracted little comment, it deserves some attention because given its symbolic importance; clothing was a significant element in a medal's design. Giovio recounts many examples of courtiers acting in this capacity including Castiglione's design of an impresa for the duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria Della Rovere. The limited audience for the most concealed message in the impresa was the audience of judicious readers who had grasped the veiled policy in The Book of the Courtier.
