This paper studies two concrete aspects of the role of women in the Italian Renaissance: on the one part, her situation in society and family, and on the other, the possibilities that this women had, within the social context, of directing their actions. These questions will be analyzed using two female portrait-medals of Cecilia Gonzaga and Isotta degli Atti. The following pages present a descriptive analysis of the medals and a panoramic view of the female gender, represented by both ladies, in its close relationship with power, domination and subordination in this geographical and historical framework.