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San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) is a basilica in Rome, Italy. It is most famous for housing Michelangelo's statue Moses.
The basilica was first built in the middle of the 5th Century to house the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while imprisoned in Jerusalem. According to legend, when Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentinian III) gave Pope Leo I the chains as a gift, he compared them to the chains of St. Peter's first imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison in Rome and the two chains miraculously fused together. The chains are kept in a reliquary under the main altar in the basilica.
The basilica underwent several restorations and rebuildings in its life, among them a restoration by Pope Adrian I, a rebuilding by Pope Sixtus IV and another by Pope Julius II. There was also a renovation in 1875.
The front portico, attributed to Baccio Pontelli, was added in 1475.
The interior has a nave and two aisles, with three apses divided by antique Doric-style columns. The aisles are surmounted by cross-vaults, while the nave has a 18th century lacunar ceiling. In the centre of the latter is a fresco by Giovanbattista Parodi, portraying the Miracle of the Chains. Michelangelo's Moses, which dates from 1515, is the most notable piece of artwork in the basilica. Originally intended as part of a 47-statue free-standing funeral monument for Pope Julius II, "Moses" became the Pope's funeral monument and tomb in his family's church. Unfortunately, Moses is depicted with satyr's horns, as opposed to "the radiance of the Lord", due to a mediaeval mistranslation.
Other art works include two canvas of Saint Augustine and St. Margret by Guercino, the monument of cardinal Agucchi designed by Domenichino (also author of a canvas depicting the Liberation of St. Peter). The cloister (1493-1503) has been attributed to Giuliano da Sangallo.
Painter and sculptor Antonio Pollaiuolo is buried here.
The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Petri ad vincula is Pío Cardinal Laghi.
References
- Federico Gizzi, Le chiese medievali di Roma, Newton Compton, Rome, 1998.
External links
Basilica churches in Rome | 5th century establishments
San Pietro in Vincoli (Kirche in Rom) | San Pietro in Vincoli | סנט פייטרו אין וינקולי
"San Pietro in Vincoli"