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The death of Charles V and his sister Mary in 1558 ended an important phase in Leone's career. His sources of patronage shifted away from Spain to Italy when in 1560 he received, on the recommendation of Michelangelo, a commission from Pope Pius IV to erect a tomb for the latter's brother Gian Giacomo de' Medici in Milan Cathedral. This project was completed in 1563 and is one of Leone's finest achievements.
The life-size, bronze standing portrait statue of Gian Giacomo de' Medici dressed in armour and the two flanking seated bronze allegorical figures of Peace and Military Virtue are extraordinarily refined and reveal the stylistic influence of both Michelangelo and Sansovino.
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