Papal_tombs_in_Old_St._Peter's_Basilica

Papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica

Papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica

Burials from 462 to 1591

In Old St. Peter's Basilica, the papal tombs were the final resting places of the popes, most of which dated from the 5th to 16th centuries. The majority of these tombs were destroyed during the 16th through 17th century demolition of the basilica, except for one which was destroyed during the Saracen Sack of the church in 846 CE. The remainder were transferred in part to new St. Peter's Basilica, which stands on the site of the original basilica.

A sketch by Giacomo Grimaldi of the interior of St. Peter's during its reconstruction, showing the temporary placement of some of the tombs

History

Along with the repeated translations from the ancient catacombs of Rome and two fourteenth century fires in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the rebuilding of St. Peter's is responsible for the destruction of approximately half of all papal tombs. As a result, Donato Bramante, the chief architect of modern St. Peter's Basilica, has been remembered as "Mastro Ruinante" ("master wrecker").

Although the original basilica's construction was begun during the reign of emperor Constantine I and completed in the fourth century, Pope Leo I (440–461) was the first pope buried in the Constantian basilica.[1] Over the centuries, both the atrium, chapels, and the nave of the basilica were packed with papal tombs, which were juggled between different sections of the church as construction took place on each section of the basilica. All that remains of the original tombs are a few sarcophagi and sculptural fragments.[2] Allegedly, Pope Julius II, the pope who initiated the destruction of the Constantinian basilica, wished to clear space for a "monstrous" tomb of his own by Michelangelo.[3]

Very little is known about the placement and appearance of the original tombs: one of the most valuable accounts is that of church canon and historian Giacomo Grimaldi (a senator of Genoa and the father of Girolamo Grimaldi-Cavalleroni), who sketched the tombs as they were moved around the basilica on the way to their destruction;[4] Grimaldi's sketches record the shape and complexity of the early tombs, many of which were three-tiered.[2] A few destroyed papal tombs are also detailed in the writings of Alphonsus Ciacconius.[5]

Not all popes were buried in Rome. See list of non-extant papal tombs

Papal tombs

More information Contents ...
Partially extant, moved, or rebuilt tombs are shown with a darkened background.
A map, circa 1590, by Tiberio Alfarano of the interior of Old Saint Peter's, noting the locations of the original chapels and tombs.[3]
Algardi's Fuga d'Attila, above the altar containing the translated remains of Pope Leo I, "the Great"
The altar above the translated remains of Pope Gregory I, "the Great"
A drawing of the original tomb of Pope Leo III
The atrium of Old St. Peter's Basilica, a popular site for tombs
Drawing of papal tombs, from De sacris aedificiis... by Giovanni Ciampini (1693)
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
An early Christian sarcophagus in which Pope Gregory V was buried after his tomb was discovered beneath the pavement during the demolition
The sarcophagus of Pope Adrian IV, which is extant in the Vatican Grottoes
Drawing of the tomb of Boniface VIII together with a shrine to Boniface IV
The extant sarcophagus of Boniface VIII
The nearly dumped sarcophagus of Urban VI
The remains of Pope Innocent VII were translated to a copy of the original sarcophagus.
The sarcophagus of Pope Nicholas V
The sarcophagus of Pope Paul II
The tomb of Pope Innocent VIII was the first to depict a live pontiff.
The tomb of Pope Pius III was translated to Sant'Andrea della Valle.
The tomb of Pope Paul III
Pope Julius III was reinterred in an ancient sarcophagus.
Pope Marcellus II reused a fourth-century sarcophagus.
The tomb of Pope Innocent IX was the last installed in Old St. Peter's.
More information Pontificate, Portrait ...

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 40.
  2. [2]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 272.
  3. [3]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 274.
  4. [4]
    Grimaldi, Giacomo. Ed. R. Niggl. 1972. Descrizione della Basilica Antica di S. Pietro in Vaticano: Codice Barberini Latino 2733. Vatican City.
  5. [5]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 12.
  6. [6]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 40–41.
  7. [7]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 41.
  8. [8]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 42.
  9. [9]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 43.
  10. [10]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 44.
  11. [11]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 45.
  12. [12]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 46.
  13. [13]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 46–48.
  14. [14]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 48.
  15. [15]
    Mann, 2003, p. 22.
  16. [16]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 49–51.
  17. [17]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 51.
  18. [18]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 52.
  19. [19]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 53.
  20. [20]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 54.
  21. [21]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 54–55.
  22. [22]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 55.
  23. [23]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 55–56.
  24. [24]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 56.
  25. [25]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 57.
  26. [26]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 58.
  27. [27]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 59.
  28. [28]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 60.
  29. [29]
    Gardner, 1992, ill. 16.
  30. [30]
    Mann, 2003, p. 24.
  31. [31]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 61.
  32. [32]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 62.
  33. [33]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 64.
  34. [34]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 65.
  35. [35]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 66.
  36. [36]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 67.
  37. [37]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 68.
  38. [38]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 69.
  39. [39]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 70.
  40. [40]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 71.
  41. [41]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 72.
  42. [42]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 74.
  43. [43]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 75.
  44. [44]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 76.
  45. [45]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 81.
  46. [46]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 82.
  47. [47]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 84.
  48. [48]
    Mann, 2003, p. 27.
  49. [49]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 88.
  50. [50]
    Gardner, 1992, ill. 11.
  51. [51]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 100.
  52. [52]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 101.
  53. [53]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 111.
  54. [54]
    Gardner, 1992, ill. 106–108, 111–112.
  55. [55]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 120–121.
  56. [56]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 137.
  57. [57]
    Gardner, 1992, ill. 147.
  58. [58]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 140.
  59. [59]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 141–142.
  60. [60]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 153.
  61. [61]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 163.
  62. [62]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 167.
  63. [63]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 177.
  64. [64]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 182.
  65. [65]
    Reardon, 2004, pp. 185–186.
  66. [66]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 186.
  67. [67]
    Aldrich, Robert, and Wotherspoon, Garry. (2000). Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History from Antiquity to World War II. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-25369-7. p. 278.
  68. [68]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 187–188.
  69. [69]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 195.
  70. [70]
    Reardon, 2004, p. 199.

References

  • Gardner, Julian (1992), The Tomb and the Tiara, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-817510-0
  • Mann, H. K. (2003), Tombs and Portraits of the Popes of the Middle Ages, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7661-2903-0
  • Reardon, Wendy J. 2004. The Deaths of the Popes. Macfarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-1527-4

41.9022°N 12.4533°E / 41.9022; 12.4533
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