San Pietro in Vaticano

Transcription

XI
The Eleventh Walk
S a n P i e t r o i n Va t i c a n o
Walk XI San Pietro in Vaticano
60. San Pietro in Vaticano
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60 - San Pietro in Vaticano
Saint Peter in Rome The legend is that Saint
Peter reigned for twenty-five years, and was
in Rome from 42 to 67, the year of his execution. Others say Peter came to Rome about
63 AD. He was jailed in the Mamertine prison
during Nero’s persecution. He was convinced
by his fellow Christians to escape Rome for
the good of the Church. The jailors Processus and Martinianus released Peter from the
Mamertine prison and he fled down the Appian
Way. About two miles from the city, he saw in
the sheen of the Milky Way a half ring, a glory
around a head. Then a human form took shape.
As the figure passed him, he realized that it
was Jesus, coming from the opposite direction
toward the city. Peter asked him “Domine, Quo
Vadis?” “Lord, whither thou goest?” Jesus
replied in sadness, “I go to Rome to be crucified
a second time.” Peter sank, sobbing, and Jesus
put His hand on him. Then Jesus vanished. Peter
took this as a message that he was to return
to Rome to endure suffering and martyrdom
just as Jesus had. He immediately turned back
to Rome, and to the Mamertine on the Forum,
where he asked his jailers to rechain him. Peter
continued his ministry to his jailers Processus
and Martinianus (subsequently martyred for
their conversion). Because there was no water
for their baptism, Peter struck the floor of the
dungeon and caused a fountain to arise which
we can still see today. Legend has it that Paul
came to be jailed with him. Peter and Paul were
ultimately condemned to death by the Roman
authorities. Paul was taken for his execution
outside the walls down the Via Ostiensis, Peter
to Nero’s circus on the Vatican.
“Inter duas metas”/Peter’s Martyrdom Our Christian ancestors have told us that Peter was crucified in 67 AD “between the two metae.” Nero’s
circus was located on the left of the ancient Via
Cornelia, and to the left of today’s Saint Peter’s.
Caligula had brought a huge red granite obelisk
to this circus from Heliopolis and placed it in
the middle of the spina around which the charioteers raced. Nero began his persecution of
the Christians at this circus which he inherited
from Caligula. Often Nero had the Christians
covered with skins of wild beasts, to attract the
wild attack dogs of the circus. Often they were
smeared with tar and burnt at the stake. Many
were crucified. Two years into Nero’s campaign,
Peter was subjected to this fate. His wish to
be crucified with his head facing downward
was granted by his executioners. Christians
believe that he was crucified at the base of
the obelisk in Nero’s circus, because our tradition relates that Peter was crucified “inter
duas metas,” or between the two metae, or
endposts, of the spina.
Sacred Places Rediscovering the Churches of Rome
Rilla aciduis nim nibh esequis etuer sit loreet acin vel ilisit
After Peter’s execution, his fellow Christians were
able to get the Roman authorities to release Peter’s
body to them and they buried him in the Roman
cemetery next to the circus. After Constantine issued Edict of Milan, Christians constructed a small
chapel next to the obelisk, naming it the “Chapel
of the Crucifixion.” This chapel was in existence
for some nine hundred years, disappearing only in
the reign of Innocent III (1198-1216).
The Obelisk of the Piazza Caligula had a
huge red granite obelisk placed in the circus;
perhaps it was Roman because it has no
hieroglyphics, perhaps it was taken from Egypt.
Sixtus V (1585-1590) determined to move it
from the circus to the center of the Piazza. In
1586, the Pope hired Domenico Fontana to do
the erection. It took 800 men, 150 horses, and
46 cranes to raise the obelisk, which weighed
963,537 Roman pounds. We can see on the east
and west foot of this obelisk the dedicatory
inscription to Augustus and Tiberius (see the
words “C A E S” “AUGVS V TA” and “TI.”) and
also the Christian dedication to the cross on
the east base: “ECCE CRV X DOMINI.” The
top now has the Chigi star and a cross atop
six small mounts; a relic of the true cross is
contained here.
The third Pope, Anacletus (97) (ordained by Saint
Peter himself), placed a Memoria or open tabernacle over Peter’s grave in the Roman cemetery. In
160-170 AD an aedicule consisting of three niches,
on top of each other, was built on this grave. The
central one of these niches is called the Niche of
the Pallia, because over time each new Bishop’s
pallium or vestment consisting of a long scarve
worn around the neck, was blessed by putting it
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into this niche and onto Peter’s tomb. The main
altar at Saint Peter’s rises directly above this niche.
Constantine and Pope Sylvester (314-335)
exhumed Peter’s body, and placed it in a silver casket
enclosed in a large gilt bronze sarcophagus, which
was further encased in porphyry and marble. This we
know from the papal chronicle, the Liber Pontificalis.
Constantine placed a cross of gold weighing one
hundred and fifty pounds on top of the sarcophagus,
and then caused a small chapel to be built on top of
the grave, with the altar directly over the sarcophagus.
Constantine personally dug the foundation for San
Pietro, according to the medieval guide Mirabilia,
taking out twelve baskets of dirt, symbolic of the
Apostles. He made an arch of gold over the grave,
and set in front twelve pillars of glass, from Apollo’s
Temple at Troy. History records that Constantine
built the original Basilica in 324 after his defeat of
Licinus on the Bosporus. The Saracens desecrated
this grave in 847 (as well as Saint Paul’s grave) and
likely made off with or destroyed Peter’s relics and
the precious casket and sarcophagus. What they
didn’t do, the Germans and Spanish who sacked
Rome in 1527 probably finished. When twentieth
century excavators did work here, all they found was
an empty hole that had probably held Peter’s casket.
Bones were found in the area, and the discussion
continues as to whether these are Peter’s.
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The modern day Confessio is in front of and below
the main altar and baldacchino. There are eighty-six
(87? 99? 95? 89? pick your source!) gilded golden
lamps always burning here. The Confessio with
marble and intarsia work we see today was done
by Carlo Maderno in 1615. Directly beneath the
papal altar above is a gilded grille which conceals
the Niche of the Pallia. If we were able to get close
enough to look into the grille we would see on the
floor a cross. On the right hand angle of the cross is
a small door opening on to a shaft through which
pilgrims used to lower their branden or cloth, to
obtain a touching of the relic below.
From the Confessio, we move to Arnolfo di Cambio’s famous bronze statue of Peter, which is
right of the central dome, made 1290. You must
touch Peter’s foot, as millions of Christians have
done before you over the course of some seven
hundred years. The Peter we see was sculpted
based upon the description of him in the ancient
Nicephorus, used by early Christians who
painted Peter first in the catacombs and then
in the oratories or small places of worship and
then the early Christian Churches. Peter is a robust old man, with a broad forehead, short curly
gray (sometimes white) hair on the top of his
head and in his beard, and with coarse features.
His eyes and looks are open, honest and simple.
Keys did not begin in the representations of
Peter until the eighth century; in general there
were two, one of which was gold to absolve and
one of which was silver to bind.
Old Saint Peter’s Old Saint Peter’s was built in
the time of Constantine. It was sacked by the
Saracens in their invasion of Italy, Ostia and
Rome in 846-847. Leo IV (847-855) restored
the Church and built his “Leonine” wall around
the surrounding neighborhood, the “Borgo,” to
defend it. It was important for Leo to restore
Saint Peter’s and to protect it as it had become
a mausoleum for the Popes and others, and the
holiest place of pilgrimage for Christians from
across the world. From the time of Leo I in the
fifth century, the popes were buried, side by
side, under the floor in the vestibule of Saint
Peter’s. This continued for two and a half centuries until the space was filled up.
Such a holy place brought many pilgrims,
including the Emperor Theodosius, the Emperor
Valentinian III and his wife Eudoxia and his
mother Galla Placidia, Justinian’s great general
Count Belasarius, the Ostrogoth Totila, Ceadwalla, Candidus, the King of the West Saxons
who was baptized here and immediately died
(“CANDIDVS INTER ORES CHRISTI”) and then
was buried next to Gregory the Great, Luitprand,
King of the Lombards, Bertrada, wife of Pepin
and Mother of Charlemagne, Charlemagne
(who came here four times, once to be crowned
by Leo III), Lothaire (crowned here by Pashcal
I), Esthelworlf, King of the Anglo-Saxons, and
Canute and Richard, Earl of Cornwall.
New Saint Peter’s Nicolas V (1447-1455), the great
humanist Pope at the outset of the full Renaissance,
determined that a new Saint Peter’s was necessary
as old Saint Peter’s was crumbling.
Nicolas planned the new Saint Peter’s for
behind the Tribune of old Saint Peter’s. Architects
were engaged and excavation began, but Nicolas
died before the foundations got above ground, and
the project was abandoned for some fifty years.
It was for the great warrior Pope, Julius II
(1503-1513) (the nephew of Sixtus IV (1471-1484)
who made the Sistine Chapel) to really begin the
new church. He hired Donato Bramante in 1506 to
begin again. Bramante designed a basilica the size
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of that of Constantine/Maxentius on the Forum to
be capped with a dome like that of the Pantheon.
A foundation stone was laid at the spot where the
statue of Saint Veronica now sits in the center of the
Basilica. Julius lived long enough to see the gigantic
main four piers and the arches joining them to
be finished. The Medici Pope, Leo X (1513-1521),
continued the work, and as Bramante had died, he
used Giuliano da Sangallo as architect. Sangallo
died, and Raphael was brought in. Before Raphael
died three years later, he changed the design from
Bramante’s Greek cross to a Latin cross (the form
that ultimately prevailed). Up to this point, the
only additions to the work as Julius and Bramante
had left it was the strengthening of the four piers.
When Raphael died, Baldasare Peruzzi took over
and he returned to Bramante’s Greek cross. Peruzzi
managed to finish the tribune. But then Leo died,
and the work abated for some twenty years, this due
largely to the sack of Rome in 1527 by Charles V.
Paul III (Farnese) (1534-1549) induced Michelangelo to take up the work in 1540, he then an aged
72, after promising him total authority. Michelangelo
enlarged the tribunes and transepts but stayed with
the Greek cross, reinforced the piers again, and,
in his most significant contribution, replanned
the cupola to enlarge it, in his words, to “raise the
Pantheon in the air.” The dome ultimately was made
even larger. Michelangelo worked for seventeen
years on the dome, but at his death in 1563 only
the drum was finished. It was now a hundred years
from Nicolas V’s design, and over fifty from Julius
and Bramante’s beginnings. After Michelangelo,
Vignola and Pirro Ligorio took over, completing
the two smaller cupolas. Gregory XIII (1572-1585)
then gave the job to Giacomo della Porta, who was
destined to finish the great dome in 1590 under the
great builder/designer of modern Rome, Sixtus V
(1585-1590). The size of the dome is due to della
Porta. Sixtus devoted 800 workmen to the project
and had them working day and night. Clement VIII
(1592-1605) had della Porta continue work on the
basilica. In 1593 the ball and cross were added to
the top. When Clement died in 1605, everything
structurally was finished, except the facade and portico.
In 1607 Paul V (Borghese) (1605-1621) began the
final teardown of what was left of old Saint Peter’s,
the entire front of that blessed building. For this
he employed Carlo Maderno. Maderno returned
to the Latin cross of Raphael, added eighty meters
to the length of the nave, which was completed in
1612. This was done so that the entire footprint of
the old Saint Peter’s would be covered by the new
Saint Peter’s. Maderno then completed the portico
facade in 1614. His original plan for the facade did
not include the two ends we see today; these were
added at Paul V’s orders after Maderno’s death in
1621 and are actually towers. Urban VIII (16231644) started to have these raised higher according
to Bernini’s plan, but the foundation proved inadequate, the Bernini tower was taken down, leaving
the somewhat out of place foundations to be part
of the now perhaps too wide facade. The gaudy
facade inscription commemorates the completion
of the façade by “PAV LVS V BV RGH E SI VS ” in
1612. The tower clocks were added in 1776 (1780?)
by Valadier (under Pius VI (1775-1799)), and the
six bells of Saint Peter’s are on the left, the one by
Valadier the largest bell in Rome.
The Piazza Alexander VII (Chigi) (1655-1667)
commissioned Bernini to make the Piazza. In
1667 Bernini created a double elliptical colonnade
of 284 columns. The right fountain was done in
1613 by Maderno for Paul V, the one on the left
by Carlo Fontana in 1677. Two round slabs are
on a line between the fountains and the obelisk:
if you stand on them you are tricked (by Bernini)
into thinking there is but one file of columns in
the colonnade, not four.
So – whew – that completes our timeline for the
new Basilica we visit today – Bramante’s four piers,
Michelangelo’s plan and drum, della Porta’s dome,
Maderno’s nave, portico and facade, and Bernini’s
square. The Church was dedicated by Urban VIII
(1623-1644) in 1626 – taking 176 years to build.
The Facade As we look up at the facade (144
feet high!) as we enter Saint Peter’s again, we see
nothing but travertine. Under the outer loggia is a
stucco relief of Jesus giving the keys to Peter. The
facade has a six feet tall balustrade on top, with
Jesus, John the Baptist and all the apostles save
Peter. The loggia from which the new Pope appears
and from which the Pope gives his annual “Vrbi et
Orbi” is above the central door.
The Portico We now enter the portico by Carlo
Maderno, encountering 5 doors. On the far right
is the Porta Santa, only opened in Jubilee years
(these used to be every 100 (50?)years (Boniface
VIII) then 33 years (Urban VI) to match Jesus’
life years, changed to 25 by Paul II in 1470. On
Christmas Eve before each Jubilee year, the Pope
takes a special silver hammer and strikes the wall
in the doorway (which has already been cut from
its jams and lintel), and the door then falls inward,
to be cleared away by the San Pietrini. The Pope
then enters Saint Peter’s with a torch in hand.
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The New Navicella We next turn around to view the
baroque copies of Giotto’s Navicella (Matthew, XIV)
mosaic which is positioned across from the main
door on the inside of the portico, above the door.
Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi commissioned
Giotto to make his famous Navicella mosaic in
1298-1304. The original had classical figures, with
lifelike expressions and a sense of reality: we are at
sea with Jesus who saves his Apostles. The original
Navicella was placed on the quadro-portico of old
Saint Peter’s, the viewer facing the East. This mosaic
was positioned for the benefit of Christian pilgrims
from the East, whose custom it was to look to the
East on entering any Church.
Giotto’s Navicella drew the pilgrims in; it was
the most extraordinary work of art for its time
and it stunned the world. The mosaic was huge: It
was perhaps thirty feet wide and twenty feet high.
The calm fisherman on the lower left is the special
feature: he represents the hope of the Christian
believers. Notice that there is but one oarsman,
Saint Paul .
Tragically, in 1610 Giotto’s mosaic was
dismembered in order to make way for the new
facade. The Fabbrica of Saint Peter’s has a copy of
Giotto’s original.
Constantine and Charlemagne Bernini’s
sculpture of Constantine is on the right of the
portico (on the Scala Regia--difficult to see) and
Cornacchini’s statue of Charlemagne on the left
(behind the iron fence). Also, there is a stucco
ceiling designed by Algardi showing the acts of
the Apostles and thirty martyred Popes.
The Central Bronze Door of Filarete The
central bronze door was saved from old Saint
Peter’s. The door was cast by Antonio Filarete
in the twelve years from 1433 to 1445 for Pope
Eugenius IV (1431-1447) and now contains ten
bas-reliefs. The two upper facias were added
by Paul V in 1619 so that the height of the door
would match the height of the openings in
new Saint Peter’s. The upper left panel has
Jesus enthroned (“EGO SVM LVX MVNDI ET
VERITATIS”); the upper right has the Annunciation (“Grace, Mary, the Lord [is] with you”); the
middle left Paul, and the middle right Peter and
Eugenius IV. The lower left has the execution of
Paul (with a small medallion just below it with a
self portrait of Filarete) and the lower right the
execution of Peter (with another self-portrait
of Filarete right in the middle). The doors also
have historical themes running horizontally between the panels. Above Paul we have Emperor
Giovanni Paleologs meeting Pope Eugenius IV.
Immediately above the martyrdom of Paul we
have the coronation in Rome of the Emperor
Sigismundo. Above the panel of Peter/Eugenius
IV is the Council of Florence and the Royal Party
returning to Byzantium. Finally, above the
crucifixion of Peter we have the Abbot Andrew
accepting the bull of the union of the Church,
and the Jacobite delegation arriving in Rome
in 1441. The relief of Peter’s crucifixion is of
special interest as you can make out classical
buildings. The crucifixion of Peter is placed
“inter duas metae”, but the metae here are the
Pyramid of Cestius and the Meta Romuli, not
the Neronian Circus metae. The frame basreliefs include scenes from Aesop’s fables, and
Ovid’s Metamorphases, like Ganymede, Leda
and her swan.
The Filarete Miniatures Renetering the nave, we
go around to see the back of Filarete’s bronze
doors, where we find seven little figures on
the bottom right of the doors. The figures are
Filarete and his assistants, each with his tool.
Supposedly Filarete was unhappy with the
amount Eugenius paid him for the doors and
so he made this little scene and Latin words of
derision to poke fun. See the person on the ass
and the person on the camel playing pipes.
Between the doors leading into the nave find the
epitaph by Charlemagne, for Pope Adrian I (772795), in Latin. See if you can find the Latin line
for “Adrian and Charles, the King and the Father.”
Remember as you read this that Charlemagne wrote
this epitaph alegaic poem some 1200 years ago,
and that it was originally on Pope Adrian’s tomb.
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The Pavement/The Emperor’s Rota On the
floor in front of the main door (about 20 paces
from Filarete’s bronze door) is a round slab of
red Egyptian porphyry, a rota porfiretica. This
used to be in front of the main altar of old Saint
Peter’s (one of six, this the only one surviving),
and upon this slab the Emperors from Constantine to Federico III in 1432 were crowned.
Charlemagne knelt on this slab in 800 for his
coronation by Leo III (795-816) as the first Emperor of the West since Romulus Augustulus of
476. Leo pronounced: “To Charles, very devout,
Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific
Emperor, life and victory.” The pavement of
Saint Peter’s is colored marble which has been
inlaid, the design by Bernini. In the very middle
of the nave is the coat of arms of John XXIII,
whose arms were placed here for the Second
Vatican Council in 1962. If you want to, you can
walk directly forward from the porphyry slab
to see bronze markings/lettering that show the
lengths of other (smaller) churches of the world.
Bernini made the stucco figures in the spandrels of
the arches and the marble decoration of the pillars.
The putti hold up the pictures of popes and the papal
tiara and keys of Peter (Innocent X’s gift, see his
Pamphili dove and olive branch). The holy water
basins at the base of the piers on either side of the
entrance were designed by Maderno.
The Pieta Michelangelo made this when he was
twenty-four, paid by French Cardinal Villiers de
la Grolaye (or perhaps Cardinal Jean Bilhéres de
Lagraulas), Abbot of S. Denis, who meant it as a
gift for the French king.
The Virgin is very young. Too young some
say. Michelangelo said in response to this criticism, “Purity enjoys eternal youth!” Michelangelo signed this sculpture, the only time he
signed one: the girdle of Mary has his name on
it, and although you can make out the girdle,
you’ll need binoculars to see his signature.
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Blessed John Paul II Since I was last in Rome
John Paul has been moved coincident with his
status of Blessed, from the Grottoes to the
Chapel left of the Pieta.
Christina of Sweden In the right aisle is the
monument to Queen Christina of Sweden, the
daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, who converted
to Catholicism and renounced her crown in
1654. When she renounced the throne, Prime
Minister Count Brate refused to remove the
queen’s crown from her head; she did it herself
and handed it to the Chancellor. Pope Alexander
VII (1655-1667) welcomed her in triumph at the
Porto del Popolo. She died in 1689 at age 63,
and she is buried between two Popes, Adrian
IV (1154-1159) and Paul II (1464-1471), in the
Grottoes below. Carlo Fontana designed her
monument made in 1702. The bas-relief represents Christina renouncing Protestantism in
1655, before Cardinals Holstenius and Pimendl
and the Archduke and Archduchess of Austria
(the “abjuration”).
Matilda Also in the right aisle is Countess Matilda
of Conossa, whose remains were transferred here
in 1635 (she died in 1115) by Urban VIII (16231644). She was the owner and ruler of Tuscany.
She was a staunch defender of the Papacy against
the incursions of the German Emperor. She had
her fortress at Conossa. When Gregory VII (10731085) excommunicated the Emperor Henry IV, she
induced the Emperor to travel to her fortress, to
which she had brought Gregory, to beg for forgiveness from the Pope, which he did, in sack cloth and
on his knees, in the dead of winter! She donated
her lands to the Pope at her death. Her monument
from Bernini’s school has the absolution of Henry
IV by the Pope at Conossa.
Cappella del Santissimo Off the right aisle is
the Cappella del Santissimo. The “miniature” Tempietto here is by Bernini, who copied Bramante’s
real life size one at Montorio. The tabernacle is
made of lapis-lazuli and gilt bronze. The iron grille
which separates the Chapel from the nave is by
Borromini. The columns we see were originally
around the Confessio, brought here by Constantine.
Pietro da Cortona did the painting of The Trinity
over the altar.
Cappella Gregoriana Next off the right aisle
is the Cappella Gregoriana, the work of Giacomo
della Porta for Gregory XIII (1572-1585), using the
design of Michelangelo. Saint Gregory Nazianzen
is buried here. Gregory was Patriarch of Jerusalem
and one of the great Doctors of the Church, who
died in 390. Gregory has the dubious distinction
of being a fellow student of Julian the Apostate
at Athens, and the good fortune to have been a
good friend of Saint Basil. He rose to be Bishop
of Constantinople under Theodosius, from which
post he resigned to live a private life on his family’s
estate, writing Christian poems and hymns.
Clement XIII (Canova) Left of the Cappella
Gregoriana is the masterpiece of Canova, the
tomb of Clement XIII (1758-69), unveiled in 1795.
The Pope kneels in prayer on a pedestal. Below is
a vault, with marble lions on guard, and Religion
with a crop on the right and the Genius of Death
with reversed torch on the left. This tomb is the
most beautiful in the basilica.
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Della Rovere Popes Going further we come to
the altar of Saint Michael the Archangel. Saint
Petronilla is buried beneath the altar. The two
great della Rovere Popes, Sixtus IV and his
nephew Julius II, are buried here too. They are
under a simple slab, which bears an inscription
for them. This is a significant irony, as Julius is
more responsible than any other person for the
building of Saint Peter’s.
Julius’ uncle Francesco (Sixtus IV, 14711484) was the son of a poor fisherman from
Savona. He rose to become General of the
Franciscans, and a professor at the Universities
of Padua, Bologna, and Florence. In 1471 he was
elected Pope. It was Sixtus IV who initiated the
practice of nepotism on a grand scale, making
two nephews Cardinals on the same day (their
ages only twenty-six and twenty-eight). He is
also the Pope who conspired in the Pazzi affair
in which Giuliano de Medici was murdered on
the altar during mass at Florence Cathedral in
1478. It was he who fought tirelessly against the
onslaught of the Turks. He built the Ponte Sisto,
the Sistine Chapel (and caused the painting of
great frescoes there by Pinturicchio and others),
and built the Hospital of S. Spirito.
Napoleon took the crown from Pius and crowned
himself, likewise for Josephine. Pius finally did the
right thing and signed a Bull of Excommunication,
resulting in Napoleon’s march and capture of Rome
on July 5, 1808. Pius himself was eventually dragged
to France as Napoleon left for his Russian campaign.
Just before he abdicated, Napoleon let Pius return
to Rome. After Napoleon escaped from Elba, Pius
fled to Genoa, and only Waterloo brought his fears
to conclusion.
The allegories Courage and Faith flank the
tomb, and History and Time are represented by
two winged genii. We should remember Pius as
the kind featured man shown on this tomb, he is
one of the Pontiffs who died penniless, for he gave
all he had to the poor.
Innocent XI Innocent XI (1676-1689) is in
the left aisle. The Pope’s monument has a bas-relief
depicting the raising of the Turkish Siege of Vienna
by the King of Poland John Sobieski in 1683.
Baptistery The baptistery is the first chapel
to the left of the entrance. The font consists of the
antique porphyry sarcophagus of the Emperor
Hadrian. Carlo Fontana did the bronze cover.
Stuarts The monument to the English Stuarts
is by Canova, with the shape of a stele.
Though Sixtus is buried here, Sixtus’ massive slab monument is now in the museum
that is off the left aisle of the nave, done by
Antonio Pollaiuolo. The pope lies on a bronze
couch, surrounded by bas-reliefs of Arithmetic,
Geography, Philosophy and Theology (the latter
represented by Diana with a bow and quiver of
arrows), all due to Sixtus’ professorial status.
Leo the Great The Altar of Leo the Great, with
Alessandro Algardi’s massive relief of Leo v. Attila,
is to the left of the tribune.
Left Transept We now go around to the left
transept. In the central altar of the transept are the
relics of Saint Simon and Saint Jude.
Pius VIII The monument of Pius VIII (18291830) is above the door to the sacristy. It was he
who, as a Canon Law student in Rome, heroically
resisted the fiend Napoleon, who dragged him
off to France in 1800 for refusing to submit. He
became Cardinal in 1816, pope in 1829.
Cappella Clementina To the left is the Cappella Clementina, done by Giacomo della Porta,
for Clement VIII (1592-1605). Saint Gregory the
Great is buried beneath the altar.
Gallery of the Winter Choir The monument
of Pius VII (1800-1823), is above the door leading
to the gallery of the Choir. It was he who signed
the dreaded Concordat with the evil Napoleon in
1801, participating in his crowning as Emperor
in Paris in 1804 at Notre Dame. Remember how
A TOUR OF BERNINI’S WORKS IN SAN PIETRO
Maffeo Barberini became Pope Urban VIII in August
of 1623 and he at once engaged the already famous
Gian Lorenzo Bernini to decorate the interior of
Saint Peter’s.
The Chronological List of Bernini’s Works in Saint
Peter’s Bernini, now the official ‘Architect of Saint
Peter’s,’ began numerous projects that were to be
worked on at the Basilica, many concurrently, for
fifty-six years. His first commission was the main
altar baldacchino, which he began in 1624 and
finished nine years later in 1633. Simultaneously
he worked on the piers that supported the cupola
in the central crossing of the church. This included
the installation of balconies over the niches he was
making in each of the four piers to house the colossal
statues of Helen, Longinus, Veronica and Andrew
(these four saints were chosen because their relics
were in Saint Peter’s). This work was completed in
1640. Then in 1628 he began the tomb for Urban,
destined for the niche on the right of the apse, which
was almost twenty years in the making.
The placement of the four saints in the niches
of the cupola support piers meant that Paul III’s
tomb had to be moved from its first location in
one of the piers, and Bernini put it in the niche
215
on the left of the apse, to balance Urban’s tomb
on the right. Bernini simultaneously worked on
the relief ‘Pasce Oves Meas’ (1623-1646) for the
vestibule and the tomb of Countess Matilda for the
right aisle (1633-1637). The marble incrustation of
the pilasters of the Church’s chapels and under the
arches of the nave was done 1645-1649.
The chair of Saint Peter (Cathedra Petri) in
the apse was made between 1657 and 1665. Perhaps
Bernini’s greatest work, the square of Saint Peter’s,
was executed from 1656 to 1667 (finished under
Alexander VII). The Scala Regia on the right side
of the square and leading to the Papal palace, was
made from 1663-1666. In 1670 Bernini completed
the statue of Constantine for the landing at the foot
of the Scala (completed under Clement IX). Bernini
(after he did the angels on the Ponte Sant’Angelo)
finished his work in Saint Peter’s with the tomb
of Alexander VII (1672-1678) and the altar in the
Cappella del Sacramento (1673-1674).
The Piazza di San Pietro We now proceed
spatially from the front of Saint Peter’s, into the
greatest piazza in the world. It is 240 meters across,
284 columns and eighty-eight pilasters strong, with
an “army of giant saints and martyrs,” and a “forest
of statues,” ninety six in all on top of the colonnade,
many if not most designed by Bernini. The statues
are all of travertine, all were “carefully prepared
by the master,” although several noted sculptors
participated. The northern arm of statues was done
216
first, the southern after Alexander VII’s death, and
the figures above the corridors last (under Clement
XI) (not based on Bernini’s design). The colonnades
are sixty one feet wide and sixty four feet high.
Constantine / The Scala Regia In the portico,
we see Bernini’s statue of Constantine on the right,
on the main landing in the ‘piano reale’ of the Scala
Regia, finished in 1670.
The Scala Regia is the ceremonial entrance to
the Vatican Palace. The Coridore del Bernini is at
the end of the right hand portion of the curve of
Bernini’s colonnade. The new staircase he designed
was made between 1663 and 1666. The Scala Regia is
a trompe-l’oeil, the two rows of columns shrinking
from front to back, creating the illusion of a grand
staircase, while the reality is a “steep and irregularly
shaped” stairs, at the top of which we see the Chigi
stars in a row across the arch, to accompany the
Chigi coat of arms on the arch at the bottom.
Pasce Oves Meas (Feed My Sheep) From
here, we are back at the entrance, at the Pasce
Oves Meas, a marble relief about 5 meters square,
which sits high above the central entrance in the
portico. It was first in the nave, on the inside
wall above the portal. The relief was finished in
1646, and shows Jesus giving the keys to Peter.
Bernini used great foreshortening in this relief,
due to its high position.
Medallions of the Martyr Popes As we walk
toward the baldacchino from the entrance, we see
to left and right more of Bernini, in the incrustation
of the pilasters. There are here thirty eight oval
medallions of the popes, all martyrs from Peter
to Benedict I, done in 1647 and 1648.
Baldacchino The beautiful and enormous
baldacchino is mostly bronze, and partly gilt.
Bernini did the columns first and then the crown
and sculptures. It took him three years to prepare
the models and cast the columns using bronze from
the ribs of the Saint Peter dome and the portico or
the coffery of the Pantheon (“Quod non fecerunt
barbari fecerunt Barberini”), or perhaps some was
brought from Venice. It is the greatest kingly canopy
ever created, and sits squarely over the main altar
and Saint Peter’s tomb. The twisted bronze columns
imitate the twisted bronze columns Constantine
used for the Shrine of Saint Peter (now in the balconies in the dome’s supporting piers and in the
Cappella di Sacramento). The two Constantinian
columns that are by the altar in the Chapel of the
Blessed Sacrament were the direct inspiration for
the columns of the baldacchino.
217
Constantine’s Columns Constantine graced Peter’s grave with six carved marble columns from
Greece. Bernini took these six to place in the
galleries of Helena, Veronica and Andrew. These
were “cut to a gentle spiral like an old-fashioned
stick of barley-sugar, and carved with alternate
bands of spiral fluting and of vine-scroll, with
naked, winged cupids playing among the foliage.” In the eighth century, six similar columns
were added, a gift from the Byzantine Exarch.
Two of these are in the gallery above Longinus.
Two of these are in the Cappella Santissimo.
One, that legend held to have come from Solomon’s temple, is in the Treasury (entrance left
aisle), and one is missing.
The Barberini (Urban VIII) arms are on the four
marble pedestals of the pillars for the columns. The
Barberini bees are all over; see the bay leaves on the
columns. The marble pedestals have escutcheons,
the Barberini bees have a series of heads above them.
These heads show a pregnant woman in several
expressions of pain. The last pedestal on the right
has the face of a smiling baby. To this Bernini added
lizards, herbs, and a rosary – see if you can find
them! There are four giant bronze angels above the
columns, and also two pairs of putti with tiara and
the keys of Saint Peter and two pairs with sword
and book (Saint Paul), just like the pilasters in the
nave, between the scrolls of the work.
Longinus / Veronica / Helen / Andrew In
order to make the niches and the balconies,
Bernini first had to hollow out each of the four
piers supporting the dome, no small engineering
feat. The four colossal saints—Longinus, Veronica,
Helen, and Andrew-- were picked because they
were the saints of the four sacred relics that Saint
Peter’s possessed (and which the popes wished
to exhibit from the balconies above the saints,
on special occasions). Bernini executed Saint
Longinus (John 19:34; tradition gives his name as
Gaius Cassius Longinus) himself (after executing
twenty-two clay models!), and prominent sculptors made the other three; Duquesnoy sculpted
Saint Andrew with his cross, said to be based on
statues of Jupiter. The statues are beautiful and
you can see in each the image of the sacred relic.
Longinus holds the spear with which he pierced
Jesus (“Truly this man was the Son of God”). The
marble came from Carrara. This statue, more
than any other, shows Bernini’s mastery of marble
treatment. It took him three years to do the actual
work. A close look at Longinus’ head shows the
development of the baroque gaze and the rhythm
of its curves; the position of his arms the evocative
emotion he felt. His soldier’s helmet, at his feet,
is a work of art all its own.
The other statues have Helen with the true
Cross she brought from the Holy Land, Veronica
with the veil she used to wipe Jesus’ face on the
way of the Cross (at Saint Peter’s from the eighth
century), and Saint Andrew with his diagonal cross
(his head came to Rome in 1462 – returned by Paul
VI to the Greek Church). The balconies were, in
times past, used to exhibit the relics on specified
holy days.
Cathedra of Saint Peter The Cathedra of
the tribune was made well after the baldacchino.
Bernini planned it to fit with the canopy, and carefully positioned it so that as you enter the church
the chair of Peter is framed by the columns of the
Baldacchino—a “picturesque fata morgana.”
The best parts of the Cathedra are Bernini’s
bronze statues of two Latin and two Greek Doctors
of the Church (Ambrose, Augustine, Athanasius and
Chrysostom). The chair of Saint Peter imbedded in
the Cathedra is of wood with ivory ornamentation.
It is not actually old enough to be Saint Peter’s and
is believed to date to Charlemagne’s time. Bernini
has encased it in bronze, accompanied with gilded
reliefs. Bernini has surrounded all this with clouds
and many angels, which envelope the apse window
in which the Holy Spirit is centered.
218
Paul III Paul III’s (Allesandro Farnese) monument is on the left of the apse. This tomb is
by Guglielmo della Porta and I cover it in the
Bernini walk because it was placed by Bernini
where we see it today. Allesandro became
cardinal (at age twenty-four) because his sister
was the mistress of Rodrigo Borgia (Alexander
VI). He was already father to four illegitimate
children, but on becoming a Cardinal, he
reformed his life, and lived as a true Christian.
He was elected Pope in 1534. The Jesuits were
founded during his reign, and Henry VIII was
formally excommunicated (1538). It was he who
commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Last
Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and to continue
the work on new Saint Peter’s. The monument
has the Pope seated, as an old man, his eyes
in meditation. Wisdom with a torch and Justice
with a mirror flank the sarcophagus. Wisdom is
actually Giovanna Gaetani, the Pope’s mother,
and Justice the Pope’s sister, Guilia. These figures were originally nude, and so Bernini made
them clothes of tin.
Urban VIII The tomb of Urban VIII (Matteo
Barberini) (1623-1644) on the right of the apse
has the Pope in bronze seated above a beautiful
sarcophagus of black and yellow marble. Charity
with an infant and Justice with a sword are at the
sides. The skeleton is gilt, his figure sits on the
tomb and writes the Pope’s name on the book of
the dead. Urban VIII is responsible for launching Bernini on the Saint Peter’s project. He was
elected to the papacy in 1623. His coat of arms
include the ubiquitous bees, which we encounter
all over Rome, mostly due to works by Bernini.
He brought the remains of Countess Matilda of
Tuscany to Rome. He was a ferocious practitioner
of nepotism. But he did give us Bernini. With Urban’s tomb, Bernini returned the sarcophagus to
Papal tombs (from Leo X to Paul V the sarcophagus had been abandoned).
Tempietto From Urban’s tomb we go back
down the right aisle to the altar of the
Blessed Sacrament. Bernini was old when
he carried out this work and while on many
other projects he was the designer but not
the maker, he himself made the two angels
on the altar. The domed circular tabernacle
(a gilded bronze pyx) designed by Bernini
is, of course, based on the Tempietto of
Bramante at San Pietro in Montorio. Bernini used gold and lapis lazuli to express
the “beauty and radiance of God.” The
two columns flanking the altar are from the
shrine of Saint Peter and were formerly in
the Confessio, and which were the models
for the high altar baldacchino.
Matilda Matilda is in the right aisle, across and
back from the Cappella di Sacramenta. Matilda
was the twelfth century ruler of all Tuscany venerated by Urban VIII for her heroic defense of
the Papacy. Bernini did the drawings, models,
and then retouched and finished the work of
others who did the execution. The relief shows
the Emperor Henry IV kneeling before Pope
Gregory VII at Canossa, a meeting engineered
by Matilda.
Alexander VII It was this Chigi Pope, Alexander
VII, who commissioned Bernini’s Scala Regia and
the Colonnade. This tomb is in the left transept
area. The last work of Bernini in Saint Peter’s is
this tomb. It is unusual because it is positioned
over a door, which Bernini makes to seem the
entrance to the tomb. While the pope kneels
above, the macabre skeleton comes from under
a jasper shroud, with the hour glass to show the
Pope that his time on earth has expired. There is
no sarcophagus in this tomb, but four allegories,
two in front and two behind, in the fashion of a
tomb that is freestanding. This was the custom in
Naples, where Bernini spent his early years. The
shroud was new to Bernini’s sculpture. Charity,
Truth, Prudence and Justice are the allegories,
and they were designed by Bernini to appear in
the human sphere, and he ‘enveloped’ them ‘in
the paper shroud feigning real material.’ The
Pope has passed from earth into a higher sphere.
The drapery motif was one that Bernini used later
in his life to achieve a “differentiation of realities.”
THE CRYPT/VATICAN GROTTOES
This is the basement, the level below the Church, You enter from a passageway on the right of the
which serves as the burial crypt for the Popes.
steps leading up to the Basilica.
Saint Peter A beautiful statue of Saint Peter by
Arnolfo di Cambio is at the entrance to the Grottoes. The body of this statue is ancient Roman
(second century) but the arms and the head are
very early Renaissance, and now assigned (like
the Saint Peter’s upstairs) to Arnolfo di Cambio.
This curly haired and curly bearded Peter is just
as warm and human as his counterpart in the
Church above.
Calixtus III On the left as we enter is the empty
sarcophagus of the first Borgia Pope, Calixtus
III (1455-1458). Calixtus was valiant in his unsuccessful pursuit of a crusade against the Turks,
whose invasions of Christian territories seemed
to have no end. He unfortunately practiced
nepotism and appointed as Cardinal his nephew
Rodrigo, beginning the ignoble career of a rightly
despised Pope, Alexander VI.
Opposite Calixtus are columns (the eleventh position) from old Saint Peter’s, which have stood just
as we see them (in situ) since the fourth century.
Also in the entrance hall is a Madonna Dolorosa
(a copy) flanked by marble panels with Ambrose,
Gregory the Great (see the dove whispering in his
ear), Jerome and Augustine.
Making the turn to the right, we are now in
the right aisle (North) of the crypt, and we see
more sarcophagi of the Popes.
219
Boniface VIII On the left is the tomb of Boniface
VIII, who reigned from 1294-1303. His reign precipitated the exile of the Popes to Avignon, which
lasted some 70 years and which extinguished the
early Renaissance in Rome, which had flourished
during the last third of the thirteenth century.
Boniface’s tomb is by one of the great forerunners of the Renaissance, Arnolfo di Cambio. Boniface’s tomb was a grand affair, with not only the
sarcophagus we see here, but also a mosaic done
by Jacobi Torriti, another of the Renaissance
pioneers, whose mosaics we see at the Maggiore
and the Laterano. Arnolfo made a splendid
ciborium and altar. All this was destroyed by
Paul V (Borghese) in 1605 to make way for new
Saint Peter’s, with only the sarcophagus being
transferred to the crypt. If you can get into the
Chapel of the Partorienti in the Grottoes, you
can see on the wall the Boniface ciborium and
tomb in a fresco. Boniface VIII was the first pope
to use a tiara with two crowns, and Arnolfo has
given the effigy such a tiara. The individualization we see in Boniface’s face shows Arnolfo’s
skill in projecting the Pope’s personality.
Nicolas V Next we go to the tomb of Nicolas V
(1447-1453), on the right, a great Pope because
he began the period of the high Renaissance in
Rome. He is known as the great humanist Pope
because he was learned in history and the arts,
and promoted the rebirth of culture in Rome. In
1606 Paul V (Borghese) had Nicolas moved to
the grottoes. The Pope’s figure is tilted toward
us by the unknown artist. It was this Pope who
first used the emblem of two crossed keys which
we now so closely associate with the Popes, and
which we see in the coat of arms flanking the
sarcophagus. The long latin inscription was written by a humanist friend of Nicolas, Ernea Silvio
Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II. The last
sentence is well worth translating, and obeying:
“PRODI DIT EN TVMVLO FVNDITE THVRA SACRO.”
In the floor across from Nicolas is a Polyandrium.
When Paul destroyed so many tombs in old Saint
Peter’s, and tore up so much of the pavement,
his workmen discovered many graves, some
identifiable, some not. The bones of these
faithful were deposited into the Polyandrium,
or common grave.
Paul II Next is the sarcophagus of Paul II, also
on the right. Paul’s bones are no longer here,
having been lost in 1574 as part of the rebuilding!
Paul was the great Venetian Pope, Pietro Barbo,
who reigned from 1464-1471. Mino da Fiesole
and Giovanni Dalmata were engaged to produce
a magnificent colossal monument, rudely destroyed 1544-1574 as new Saint Peter’s was built.
What we have left here is the sarcophagus by
Mino. The figure of the Pope is by Dalmata.
Gallery of Clement VIII After this, on the right, is
the gallery of Clement VIII, built by him in 1593.
Here we see the mosaic Bath of the Child from the
Oratory of John VII in the Old Church (the famous
Byzantine addition to old Saint Peter’s (705-707)
destroyed by Paul V in 1606). John VII is in the
portrait, with the miniature of his oratory in his
hands. Also here is the Savior (He has a volumen
in His left hand) and the precious fragment of the
mosaic of Saint Peter from the triumphal arch of S.
Paulo fuori le mura, destroyed in the fire of 1827
(this dates to Leo the Great, around 440-450 AD).
Paul VI We stop to pray at Paul VI’s tomb, the Pope
who gave us Humana Vitae. In his will he said “no
monument for me.” Yes. Donatello’s school made
the Virgin and Child relief here.
Charlotte We stop next at the tomb of Charlotte, Christian Queen of Cyprus, who died in
1487, hounded by the muslims, and the Sultan of
Egypt in particular (in league with her scheming
brother in law).
Christine Christine, Queen of Sweden, is
adjacent. She was the daughter of the great King
Gustavus Adolphus. She abjured Protestantism in
1655 at Innsbruck.
John Paul the Great John Paul the Great
rested in the next chapel until his designation
as Blessed in 2011, on which occasion he moved
upstairs next to the Pieta. And that ends the right
or north aisle.
220
Chapel of the Madonna The Chapel of the Madonna
between Peter and Paul is immediately to the right
of the Confessio of Saint Peter which is in the middle
of the crypt. This Chapel has a most exquisite relief
done by Isaia da Pisa in 1451, which has Mary
and the baby Jesus surrounded by eight praying
angels, flanked by Peter with his key and Paul
with his sword. The most interesting features are,
of course, the two semi-miniature figures of Pope
Eugenius IV (1431-1447) and his nephew, Pietro
Barbo (to become Paul II). See Barbo’s cardinal’s
hat at his knees.
On the left is a sarcophagus which has a
fourth century relief of the Adoration of the Magi
(perhaps the oldest such representation) and on
the left Joseph is rescued from the well and sold
into slavery by his jealous brothers. Pius VI (who
died at the hands of the fiend Napoleon in 1799 in
Valence in France) is buried in this sarcophagus
(at the direction of Pius XII in 1949).
Confessio of Saint Peter We move left to the
Confessio, which has above it an inscription: “The
Selpulchre of the Apostle Saint Peter.” The opening
from the crypt to the Confessio was made by John
Paul II in 1979. The two lions we see are from 1389
(they were for the sarcophagus of Urban VI). The
two Cosmati angels are from the thirteenth century.
At this point, if we can, we visit the area behind
the Confessio. There is a semicircular corridor around
the back of the Confessio, called the Clementine
Peribolos. Sculptures of the twelve apostles are in
this hallway (some are on loan or in restoration),
placed here in 1616 but done in 1474-5 (Saint James
the Greater is by Mino da Fiesole) for Sixtus IV for
the Confessio. Peter and Paul were made by Paolo
Romano in 1470.
Chapel of the Madonna of the Bocciata On the
south end of the Peribolos is the Chapel of the
Madonna of the Bocciata, so named because the
cheek of the Madonna in the painting over the
altar is enlarged, due to a drunken soldier who
threw a stone at the painting in 1440. When this
happened, the Virgin began crying tears of blood.
The two stones adjacent to the altar, protected by
iron grating, were the ones upon which these tears
of blood fell. This Madonna is said to be from the
school of Pietro Cavalllini, which places it in the
pre-Avignon Renaissance of the thirteenth century.
This Chapel also has a fresco which shows the
now demolished Oratory of John VII, built in old
Saint Peter’s at the beginning of the eighth century.
Clementine Chapel At the midpoint of the Peribolos is the Clementine Chapel ad caput sancti
Petri, which sits in a position exactly opposite
the Confessio; i.e., on the back side of the tomb
of Saint Peter. This Chapel was redone by Clement VIII in 1592.
221
This exquisite chapel and its ciborium and precious
mosaics were destroyed by Paul V (Borghese) in
1608 to make way for the new Church. The ciborium
was used for the relic of the Holy Veil of Veronica.
Also here is the mosaic of Saint Paul from
the apse of Innocent III, which is of the earliest
Christian mosaics. It is classically Roman, and the
way the artist mosaiced Paul’s head in concentric
circles is remarkable.
Then we have the fresco of old Saint Peter’s,
“View of the Old Basilica.”
Finally, here is a fragment from old Saint Peter’s
done by Bregno, which shows the tabernacle that
housed the relic of the Holy Lance, done in 1495.
The angels with spreading wings are beautiful. See
the lance and sponge on the door. Jesus rises from
the tomb above.
Peter’s Tomb Next we try to see the opening (made
in 1980) that is somewhat opposite the Bocciata
through which it is possible to see the second
century trophy for Peter’s tomb. Remember that
in the second century the Christians built a small
altar over Peter’s grave, called the Trophy of Gaius.
Looking into this hole you can see the southern
column of the aedicule that was part of the Trophy.
Also close to this on the wall of the Peribolos
is the cross which graced the facade of old Saint
Peter’s, taken down in 1606.
Chapel of the Madonna of Partorienh The
chapel of the Madonna of Partorienh is next to the
Bocciata, and was made in 1616 for Paul V. The
image (fresco) over the altar (Antoniozzo Romano)
was in the old basilica and was the special object
of prayer of pregnant women.
The most precious thing in the Partorienh
Chapel is the part of Giotto’s Navicella, the
bust of an angel. This piece was discovered in
1924, under a mosaic done in 1728. The Giotto
Navicella was priceless, its destruction a crime,
and the preservation of this one piece an act of
God. This chapel also has important paintings of
old Saint Peter’s and the Choir of Sixtus IV (see
Michelangelo’s Pieta which was for a time in that
choir). There is also a rectangular area on the
right with an inscription marking the place where
Popes Leo I, II, III and IV were once buried. In
1715 the remains were placed under the altar of
Saint Leo in the Basilica.
As we exit the Peribolos, we note part of the
Epitaph of Gregory the Great on the wall: “A D
C H R IS T V M A NGL O S C ON V E RT I T PI ETAT E
M AG I S T R A /A D QV I R E N S F I D E I AG M I N A
GE N T E NOVA” commemorating his conversion
of England and a beautiful marble relief by Isaia
da Pisa showing the exposition of the Head of
Saint Andrew, and a mosaic of Mary with Jesus
enthroned, from the ciborium of the Holy Veil of
Pope John VII.
Chapel of Saint Andrew We pass by the gated
Chapel of Saint Andrew corresponding to the pier/
niche in the Basilica above (as do the Chapels of
Longinus, Helen, and Veronica). In this chapel are
two marble columns from the rail of the ancient
ciborium of the Holy Lance, done in 1495 (shortly
after the Lance was given by the Turkish Sultan
Bayazet II to Innocent VIII in 1492). The lance
is today in a crystal reliquary in the ciborium of
Veronica.
Left Aisle We return from the Peribolos to
the left aisle (south) and view more sarcophagi.
Here is the tomb of James III, Charles Edward and
Henry Benedict Stuart, all buried here in 1939. Next
we stop at the tomb of Hadrian IV (1154-1159),
Nicolas Breakspear, the only English Pope, who
died in 1159. He is in a third century Egyptian
granite sarcophagus. There are two Medusae on
the lid, and a bueranium in the center.
Emperor Otto II’s tomb (d 983), close to the
exit, shows the porphyry lid which came from the
tomb of Hadrian (this is now the baptismal font
in the main basilica). The strigilled sarcophagus
we see today was supplied in 1610. In the floor in
front of Otto is another polyandrium built by Paul
V in 1607 for remains discovered in the demolition
of old Saint Peter’s.
And that ends our visit to San Pietro. Pray for
Peter’s intercession as you take your final leave of
this glorious, glorious Church.
222
1. Piazza of San Pietro - Bernini
2. Saints atop Colonnade - Bernini and School
3. Navicella - replacement for Giotto’s original
4. Bernini’s Pasce Oves Meas
5. Porticus of Carlo Maderno
6. Central Door of Filarete
7. Bernini’s Constantine
8. The Jubilee Holy Door
9. Bottom Reverse of Filarete Door
10. Holy Water Font
11. Pieta / Blessed John Paul II (adjoining chapel)
12. Emperor’s Rota
13. Right Aisle - Christina of Sweden
14. Right Aisle - Matilda
15. Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament Borromini and Bernini
16. Canova’s Tomb for Clement XIII
17. Bernini’s Tomb for Urban VIII
18. Bernini’s Chair of St. Peter
19. della Porta’s tomb for Paul III
20. Tomb of Pope St. Leo the Great
21. Bernini’s Baldacchino,
Confessio of Saint Peter
22. The bronze Peter by Arnolfo di Cambio
23. Longinus by Bernini
24. Helen
25. Veronica
26. Andrew
27. Bernini’s Tomb for Alexander VII
28. Door to Treasury, Monument to Sixtus IV/
Pollaiuolo
29. Clementine Chapel /
Tomb of Pope St. Gregory the Great
30. Canon’s Chapel by Carlo Moderno,
Stalls by Bernini
31. Bronze of Innocent / Pollaiuolo
32. Baptistery
223
Vatican Grottoes
1. Entrance, Statue of Peter, Arnolfo di Cambio
2. Boniface VIII / Arnolfo
3. Nicolas III
4. Nicolas V
5. Pius VI / Canova
6. Passageway to Vatican
7. Christina of Sweden
8. Carlotta of Cyprus
9. Former site: John Paul II
10. Chapel of Saint Longinus
11. Madonna / Isaia da Pisa
12. Tomb of Peter
13. Chapel of Helen
14. Pius XII
15. Clement VIII / Clementine Chapel of Peter
16. Chapel of Veronica
17. Chapel of Bocciata
18. Chapel of Partorienti
19. Peribolos
20. Chapel of Andrew
21. Tomb of Stuarts
22. Hadrian IV
23. Otto II
24. Exit
224

San Pietro in Vaticano

Transcription

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