The Lateran in 1600: Christian Concord in Counter-Reformation Rome [1 ed.] 0521460573, 9780521460576

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[rough an examination of the pope's own church, the Cathedral of Rome, The Lateran in 1600: Christian Concord in Counter-Reformation Rome redefines a critical moment in the history of art between the Renaissance and the baroque. The first basilica built by Constantine the Great, San Giovanni in Laterano

was the undisputed center of Christendom throughout the Middle Ages. With the transfer of the official papal residence to the Vatican in the Renaissance, however, Saint Peter’s gradually absorbed the Lateran’s preeminence. At the height of the CounterReformation, with concern for the

Church’s early Christian heritage at its peak, Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605)

lavishly restored Constantine's church and revived its spiritual authority. Clement's vision, expressed through artistic means, exalts the perpetual Christian triumph embodied in the Lateran.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/lateranin1600chr0000frel

The Lateran in 1600

The Lateran in 1600 Christian Concord in Counter-

Reformation Rome

Jack Freiberg

CONCORDIA

E LIBRARY CO LL 40708 ¥ EG

BRONXVILLE, N

“| CAMBRIDGE ie :) UNIVERSITY PRESS

Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CBz 1RP 40 West goth Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia

© Cambridge University Press 1995 First published 1995 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Freiberg, Jack. The Lateran in 1600 : Christian concord in Counter-Reformation Rome / Jack Freiberg pcm: Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-521-46057-3 1. Basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano. 2. Christian art and symbolism — Renaissance, 1450-1600 — Italy - Rome. 3. Church decoration and ornament —Italy- Rome. 4. Clement VIII, Pope, 1536-1605 — Art patronage. 5. Rome (Italy) — Buildings, structures, etc. NA5620.84F74 1995 726.6 0945632 —dc20 94-16691

I. Title.

GIP A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-521-46057-3 hardback

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the College Art Association.

CONTENTS

Sa

ais

List of Illustrations

page vil

Acknowledgments

XV

Introduction PART

I. THE

LATERAN

IN THE

1.

Mater et Caput

2.

Clement VIII’s Transept

PART

II. THE NAVE

SIXTEENTH

CENTURY

37

CLEMENTINA

3. Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

4. Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran 5. Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament PART

6.

III. CHRISTIAN

CONCORD

IN ART

AND

POLITICS

Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

7. Encaenia Ecclesiae

161

VU

Contents

VI

Notes

191

Catalogue: Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran

271

Abbreviations

raise)

Selected Bibliography

a)

Index

327

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Ki NY

Note: Unless otherwise identified, all monuments

listed are located in Rome.

COLOR

(between pp. xvi and 1)

PLATES, SAN GIOVANNI

IN LATERANO

I. North transept piazza.

II. View of the transept looking toward the sacrament altar. III. Southeast wall of the transept with (from right): Bernardino Cesari, Triumphal Entry of Constantine; Cesare Nebbia, Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul. IV. V.

VI. VII. VIII.

Giovanni Battista Montano, organ case. Cristoforo Roncalli (called il Pomarancio), Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine.

Paris Nogari, Apparition of Christ at the Lateran. Giovanni Baglione, Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran. Nave.

FIGURES

Marten van Heemskerck, view of the Lateran from the

north, drawing.

page 10

Marten van Heemskerck, view of the Lateran from the

So)

north, drawing. Mario Cataro, map of Rome, engraving (detail). Petrus and Umbertus of Piacenza, bronze doors originally at the entrance to the Lateran palace (detail). Lateran baptistery.

il 13

15 Vil

Illustrations

Ideal plan of the Lateran complex (“Archive plan”); north at bottom, engraving. Antoine Lafréry, Holy Year Pilgrimage to the Seven Churches of Rome, engraving. Natale Bonifacio, view of the Lateran showing additions to the Scala Santa, engraving. Marc Antonio Ciappi, deeds of Gregory XIII (detail showing the Lateran sacrament altar), engraving. Marc Antonio Ciappi, Lateran sacrament altar of Gregory XIII, engraving. LO.

Wi i) 20

Zell

21

Sixtus V Delivering Benediction at the Lateran upon the Occasion of His Possesso, Salone Sistino. Vatican

it ibe

12. 13% ie

15. 16.

17. 18.

19. 20,

Palace: Sixtus V delivering the Easter Benediction at the Lateran, Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. Constantine, Sala degli Imperatori. Lateran palace. Valentinian ITI, Sala degli Imperatori. Lateran palace. Christian Emperors Adoring Ecclesia, Sala degli Imperatori. Lateran palace. Baptism of Constantine, Sala di Costantino. Lateran Palace: Donation of Constantine, Sala di Costantino. Lateran Dalace. David, Sala di Costantino. Lateran palace. Solomon, Sala di Costantino. Lateran palace. Natale Bonifacio, Scala Santa, engraving. Natale Bonifacio, Benediction loggia at San Giovanni in

“5 26

Laterano, engraving.

2 22).

28

24.

Donation of Constantine, Benediction loggia. San Giovanni in Laterano. Baptism of Constantine, Benediction loggia. San Giovanni in Laterano. Sixtus V Celebrating the Papal Station Mass at the Lateran, Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. Taddeo Landini, transept ceiling. San Giovanni in Laterano. Taddeo Landini, transept ceiling (detail of central area). San Giovanni in Laterano. Marten van Heemskerck, northeast wall of the Lateran transept viewed from the ambulatory, drawing (detail).

VIII

41

45

Illustrations

View of the transept looking toward the sacrament of Clement VII. San Giovanni in Laterano. View of the transept looking toward the entrance. Giovanni in Laterano. View of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, northeast wall. View of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, southeast wall. View of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, southwest wall. View of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, northwest wall. Attributed to Giuseppe Marchetti, southwest wall the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, drawing. Giovanni Maggi and Matthias Greuter, the Lateran its privileged altars, engraving.

altar 4A

San 0)

of and

Giovanni Maggi and Matthias Greuter, Lateran

sacrament altar of Clement VIII (detail of Fig. 34). Nave decoration of Old Saint Peter’s, engraving. Borromini shop, north nave wall of San Giovanni in Laterano, drawing. Figs. 38-40: reliefs of angels on the east transept wall. San Giovanni in Laterano. Photographs arranged from the entrance to the sacrament altar. Attributed to Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino). Attributed to Francesco Landini. Attributed to Nicolo Cordier. 41-6: reliefs of angels on the west transept wall. San Giovanni in Laterano. Photographs arranged from the sacrament altar to the entrance. Attributed to Ambrogio Bonvicino. Attributed to Tommaso della Porta. Attributed to Ippolito Buzio. Attributed to Camillo Mariani. Attributed to Egidio della Riviera. Attributed to Silla da Viggiu. Bernardino

Cesari, Saint Peter, transept. San Giovanni

in Laterano. Paris Nogari, Saint James the Great, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Ix

Illustrations

ane

50. ae

52. Dee On: DD: =

50.

ods 58.

Cesare Nebbia, Saints Ambrose and Gregory the Great, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Cesare Nebbia, Saints Augustine and Jerome, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. View of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, engraving. Giovanni Battista Montano, organ case, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Organ. Siena, Santa Maria della Scala. Ippolito Scalza, organ case. Orvieto, Cathedral. Contorniate medallion. Publius Optatianus Porphyrius, panegyric honoring Constantine. Arch of Constantine. Coin of Augustus showing the triumphal arch in the Roman

Do:

Forum.

Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino), angels above the central entrance to the transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Sol-Apollo, soffit of the central entrance to the transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Ambrogio Bonvicino, David, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Francesco Landini, Solomon, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

The organ as metaphor of the creation of the world, engraving.

Giorgio Rancetti, medal commemorating the announcement of the Holy Year of 1600. Bernardino Cesari, Triumphal Entry of Constantine, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Clementia of Marcus Aurelius. Museo del Palazzo dei Conservatori,

Rome.

Prospero Fontana, Constantine Renounces the Pagan Cure; Discovery of Pope Sylvester; Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul. Bologna, Palazzina della Viola. 68.

87

Silla da Viggiu, Constantine Addresses the Mothers, relief from the arca of Saint Sylvester. Nonantola (Modena), Abbazia di San Silvestro.

88

Illustrations

Coin of Julia Domna showing the Vestal virgins sacrificing at the Temple of Vesta. Renaissance stage set, engraving. Cesare Nebbia, Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. After Alessandro Allori, Miraculous Healing of

89 gl

ay)

Hezekiah, embroidered dalmatic (detail).

Gf

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Vitruvian stage set, drawing.

Oe

Paris Nogari, Discovery of Pope Sylvester, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

vo

Announcement to Peter of Morrone (Celestine V) of

His Election to the Papacy, Galleria delle Carte Geografiche. Vatican palace. After Paris Nogari, Discovery of Pope Sylvester, engraving (detail). Horsetamer. Rome, Piazza del Quirinale. Cristoforo Roncalli (called il Pomarancio), Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

97 98 98

99

Giulio Romano, Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine,

Sala di Costantino. Vatican palace. Paris Nogari, Foundation of the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

101

105

Constantine Supervises the Construction of Saint

Peter’s, Galleria delle Carte Geografiche. Vatican palace: Constantine Assists in the Construction of San Paolo f.l.m., Galleria delle Carte Geografiche. Vatican palace. Ceremony of Laying the Foundation Stone of a Church, engraving.

106

106 107

Giuliano Dati, Comincia el tractato di Sancto Ioanni

Laterano ..., frontispiece, woodcut.

108

Giovanni Battista Ricci, Pope Sylvester Consecrates the

High Altar of the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

86.

Oy.

109

Giovanni Battista Ricci, preparatory study for Pope

Sylvester Consecrates the High Altar of the Lateran, drawing.

i ULC@)

Consecration of an Altar with Holy Oils, engraving.

iba

XI

Illustrations

88.

Pope Sylvester Consecrates the High Altar of the Lateran, watercolor copy of a medieval fresco

formerly located in the confessio chapel of San Giovanni in Laterano.

Paris Nogari, Apparition of Christ at the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Apse mosaic. San Giovanni in Laterano. Giovanni Baglione, Constantine’s Donation to the

1O2.

LOR: 104. 105. LOO.

107. 108. XII

Lis 117

Benediction of Liturgical Vessels, engraving. Giulio Romano, Donation of Constantine, Sala di Costantino. Vatican palace. Giovanni Baglione, preparatory study for

118

Giovanni Baglione, preparatory study for Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, drawing. Giovanni Baglione, Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple. Rome, Santa Maria dell’Orto. Procession of the Ark and Sacred Vessels to the Temple of Jerusalem, Sala di Salomone. Lateran palace.

100.

iba}

Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, drawing.

HOW

jeaal

118

119 119 Le

hea)

Pier Paolo Olivieri, et al., altar of the sacrament, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

PL

Plan and elevation of the Lateran sacrament altar, engraving.

132

Giacomo della Porta, facade of il Gest, Rome (detail). Ideal View of Saint Peter’s. Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. Francesco Rosselli, Presentation of Christ in the Temple, engraving. Coin of Tiberius representing the Temple of Concord. Pompeo Targone and Curzio Vanni, sacrament tabernacle, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Curzio Vanni, Pieta, door of the sacrament tabernacle, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

rao 195

Yo7 137 140

141

Curzio Vanni, Resurrected Christ, sacrament tabernacle (detail), transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

141

Ludovico del Duca and Bastiano Torrigiani, sacrament altar, chapel of Sixtus V. Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore. Natale Bonifacio, plan and elevation of the Holy Sepulcher, engraving.

are

3)

Illustrations

10Q. WAL@e

UL eal

Silla da Viggit, Aaron, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Nicolo Pippi, Melchisedech, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

ne

Egidio della Riviera, Moses, transept. San Giovanni in

Laterano.

Pier Paolo Olivieri (completed by Camillo Mariani), Elijah, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Silla da Viggit, Aaron Receives the Loaves of Offering, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

Nicolo Pippi, Melchisedech Offers Bread and Wine to Abraham, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Egidio della Riviera, Gathering of the Manna, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. Pier Paolo Olivieri (completed by Camillo Mariani), Elijah and the Angel, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

stagfe

147

147

Attributed to Giuseppe Marchetti, Lateran sacrament altar, drawing (detail showing the Last Supper by Curzio Vanni).

Pao

Ambrogio Bonvicino, angel located to the left of the Last Supper, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

150

Ambrogio. Bonvicino, angel located to the right of the Last Supper, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. 120.

Monogramist C.H.C., medal of Clement VIII commemorating the Lateran sacrament altar. Emilio Bonis, medal of Clement VIII commemorating the Lateran sacrament altar. Giuseppe d’Arpino, Ascension of Christ, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

After Giuseppe d’Arpino, Ascension of Christ, engraving. Nicholas Beatrizet after Raphael, Ascension of Christ,

engraving. Rome, Santi Cosma e Damiano, apse mosaic,

engraving. Rome, San Marco, apse mosaic, engraving.

Gian Federico Bonzagna, medal of Gregory XIII commemorating the opening of the Porta Santa of Saint Peters i175. XIII

Illustrations

Giovanni Paladino, sixteenth-century medal commemorating the Holy Year of 1433. Sacrament tabernacle. Capranica, Cathedral.

128.

1203 130;

Sacrament tabernacle. Rome, Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo al Laterano.

156

a 157

Attributed to Egidio della Riviera, Peace between Rudolf, Emperor of Austria and Sigismund, King of Poland with the Arrival of Cardinal Ippolito

New

Aldobrandini at the Lateran, Chapel of Sixtus V, tomb

of Sixtus V. Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore. . Triumphal entry of Clement VIII and the Eucharist into Ferrara, engraving. . Mario Arconio and Francesco Villamena, deeds of Clement VIII, engraving.

169

Bronze capitals of the sacrament altar, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

Phoenix below the statue of Elijah, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

Apse mosaic (detail of the Heavenly Jerusalem). San Giovanni in Laterano.

BIS

. Juan de Horozco y Covarruvias, phoenix emblems, engraving. .

139. 140.

14.1. ae 143.

Medallion of Constantine.

Coin of Constantius II. Giacomo Antonio Moro, medal of Paul V

commemorating the confessio chapel at Saint Peter’s. Project for a baldachin, drawing. Bernini, view of the crossing of Saint Peter’s.

181 182

183

Borromini, view of the nave of San Giovanni in Laterano.

XIV

174 L75 ETS

187

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is my pleasure to acknowledge long-standing debts to teachers, colleagues, friends. Above all, I thank Irving Lavin for the sage counsel he has offered throughout the years this study took shape, first as supervisor of my Ph.D. dissertation at the Institute of Fine Arts, and then, as colleague and friend, during the process of refinement that ensued. The probing questions he raised and the personal support he offered have been essential ingredients in my work. The integrative approach I have employed was greatly influenced by Lavin’s investigations of Bernini’s unified ensemble decoration that introduced the Lateran sacrament altar — and with it the problem addressed in this book — to art-historical consideration. I fondly recall our conversations in which the open-ended nature of intellectual investigation became palpable. To have been initiated into the study of art history by Leo Steinberg was my singular fortune. His challenge to examine afresh art-historical truisms encouraged me to undertake the study of late sixteenth-century Roman art and to ask new questions of its meaning. I am also fortunate to have enjoyed the sustained assistance of three dear friends. Dialogue over many years with Marie Tanner concerning her work on the imperial myth enriched my understanding of how papal ideology received focused expression at the Lateran. Our conversations regarding problems that often seemed insurmountable led to solutions that can only be called collaborative. From the start Debra Pincus offered judicious advice and provided a model of clarity that I have tried to match. During our expeditions to visit the monuments, her sensitivity to both their cultural context and sheer visual power charged my own awareness of the communicative possibilities of art. Shelley Zuraw offered her expertise in Renaissance sculpture and her critical eye in matters of visual and literary style. Her willingness to read the text, yet again, and to discuss XV

Acknowledgments

details of its progress, was indispensable to transforming the manuscript into a coherent vison. At an earlier stage of this work I benefited from the guidance of both Marvin Trachtenberg and Olga Raggio. As for so many others, Richard Krautheimer provided a welcome hand concerning the Lateran and the larger picture of Rome’s history. Ingo Herklotz has long made available his knowledge of the Lateran, and he improved the manuscript in many ways. Marilyn Aronberg Lavin assisted with the history of narrative cycles and the theme of Constantine, and was constant in her support. To those scholars of the ancient world and its languages who lent their time and expertise, I am especially thankful: Jane Bishop, Ann Cumming, Paul Harvey, Jr., R. E. A. Palmer, and Rogers Scudder. Reginald Foster clarified points of church history and verified the translations of Latin texts, for which I am most grateful. I remember with particular affection the additional

assistance of Nicola

Courtright, Tom

Sokolowski,

Cheryl Sowder, and Richard Stapleford. For ideas shared, questions posed, and help offered, my heartfelt thanks to Dawson Carr, Irene Cioffi, Gail Feigenbaum, David Levine, Tod Marder, Michael Mezzatesta, Sara Cedar Miller, Susan Tye, William Tronzo, Patricia Waddy,

and Clovis Whitfield. My final debt is to Franco Di Fazio, whose skill in unraveling linguistic tangles and whose nurturing presence were essential to the completion of this project. Much of the research for this study was originally carried out in Rome while I held fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My work would not have been possible without the exemplary support of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Bibliotheca Hertziana, library of the American Academy in Rome, Archivio di Stato, Archivio Segreto Vaticano, and Musei Vaticani. The present form of this book, with its expanded photographic apparatus that documents one of the most important papal monuments of the sixteenth century, was made possible by the generous support of the Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the College Art Association, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and the Office of Vice

President for Research at The Florida State University. To all these institutions I offer my gratitude.

XVI

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Plate I. North transept piazza of San Giovanni Fiesole)

4

in Laterano.

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Plate II. View of the transept looking toward the sacrament altar. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, 13439)

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i

Plate III. Southeast wall of the transept with (from right): Bernardino Cesari, Triumphal Entry of Constantine; Cesare Nebbia, Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, 13444)

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Plate IV. Later ano.

Gi yvannl Battist a Montano, org an Ca se tran sept. (Musei Vaticani Ar chivio Foto pr afico, 13530)

San

Giovanni

in

eal

Plate V Cristoforo Roncalli (called il Pomarancio), Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine d transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Foto-

grafico, 13446 )

Plate VI. Paris Nogari, Apparition of Christ at the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, 13445)

Plate VII. Giovanni Baglione, Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano.

(Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico,

13447)

P

late VIII.

eae afi

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CO, 13419 )

of S an Giovanni

in Lat

erano.

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V aticani

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Foto-

INTRODUCTION

Shortly after midnight on 28 July 1993, two terrorist bombs exploded in Rome’s historic center, the first at the church of San Giovanni in Latera-

no, the second in the vicinity of San Giorgio in Velabro. The choice of these targets was the result of shrewd coordination, for Velabro and Laterano are place designations that evoke the twin historical supports of Rome’s power. Virgil identified the Velabrum, located near the Tiber river between the Palatine and the Capitoline hills, with events that foreshadowed Rome’s destiny as the chief city of the pagan world: In that place Aeneas set foot for the first time on Rome’s soil, and the twins Romulus and Remus were washed ashore. The Lateran area on the slope of the Caelian Hill in the southern area of the city occupies a parallel position of honor in the rise of Christian Rome. It was there, on imperial property, that Constantine the Great established Rome’s Cathedral church and the residence of the popes. It is a simple fact, often remarked on, that in Rome one experiences in a vivid way impossible elsewhere the continuity of the historical tradition. On the map of Rome’s sacred topography the Lateran occupies a prominent position. The exclusive association of the papacy’s prestige with Saint Peter’s is of relatively recent date, codified around the middle

of the fifteenth century when the popes moved their residence to the Vatican. Until that time, for more than a millennium, the administration

of the Church was conducted from the Lateran palace, and the basilica, known as San Giovanni in Laterano, but bearing an official dedication to Christ, functioned as the spiritual center of the Christian world. The Lateran’s past glory was of great concern to Pope John XXIII (1958-63) who offered as one of the reasons for his choice of name the fact that “it is the solemn name of innumerable cathedrals throughout the world, and first of all the blessed and holy Lateran basilica, our

SZ\ ANY

The Lateran in 1600

Cathedral.”! John XXIII is best known today for initiating a fundamental reform of the Church with the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962; less known is the fact that his reform program, centered as it was on peace and unity, involved the Lateran in an essential way. On the feast of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June 1962, the pope announced his wish that all official functions concerning the governance of the diocese of Rome be transferred back to the “shining Lateran.”? In ordering this change he intended to “encourage in Rome and throughout the world the resolution of so many pastoral problems imposed by the modern age, and to revive those ordered actions that demonstrate to all peoples that church which, in the design of the divine Founder, is the Mother

and Teacher, the light of the peoples.”3 John’s actions, undertaken within recent memory, parallel the history of the Lateran during the Counter-Reformation period when a similar renewal of the Church was initiated and the Lateran provided a field for the expression of reform ideology. The revival of the Lateran in the second half of the sixteenth century and the visual expression this revival received during the reign of Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) are the principal themes of the present study. In the middle years of the sixteenth century renewed appreciation for the Lateran’s unparalleled status emerged as part of the Church’s emphasis on its early Christian roots. The idea to restore the Lateran was introduced by Pope Pius IV (1559-65) and each of his successors continued the work. In effect, the Lateran became a central focus of papal patronage during the Counter-Reformation period. When considered together these papal projects at the Lateran can be shown to have had both a material and spiritual purpose, to preserve the church’s crumbling fabric, and to renew what can be called the Lateran’s mythos with its imperial, Judaic, and sacramental components.

These concerns were

developed with a new sense of clarity and purpose in the program of Clement VIII that was conceived in advance of the Holy Year of 1600

when, in keeping with a tradition three centuries old, pilgrims from the entire Christian world would flock to Rome to reap the benefits of the great purificatory indulgence that was made available only at that time. Shortly after his elevation to the papacy in 1592, Clement ordered an ambitious renovation of the entire Lateran complex that, had it been carried out in its entirety, would have fulfilled the long-range goals of his predecessors. After four years or so, however, this comprehensive project was curtailed. Now limited to the transept of the basilica, an extraordinary expansion occurred that led to one of the most remarkable projects ever assembled in papal Rome. The transept was restructured as a quasi-independent liturgical space replete with its own entrance system, main altar, and cycle of narrative frescoes. This treatment respond-

Introduction

ed to the particular way the Lateran relates to its urban context, with its north flank turned toward the street system that led people, then as today, to the Lateran from the direction of downtown

Rome.

Thus, the

majority of visitors enter the church not from the east portico that fronts the nave, but from the north transept. In effect, the nave clementina, as the new transept came to be called, created an axis that asserted the connection — both physical and spiritual — between the city of Rome and the episcopal seat of its bishop, Christ’s vicar. The team of artists employed on the commission were led by two prominent figures on the Roman scene, the architect Giacomo della Porta and the painter Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino. The monumental organ positioned above the transept entrance, frescoes along the side walls illustrating the life of Constantine and the foundation of the basilica, and the focus of the scheme — the colossal, gilded bronze altar dedicated to the Eucharist — were conceived to exalt the Lateran as a sacred structure, a species of architectural relic, and to project the glory of human redemption against the backdrop of the Lateran’s special role in Christian salvation. The emphasis on themes of reconciliation and concord that define the program are paralleled in Clement VIII’s own achievement in leading the Christian nation to peace on the eve of a new century. For the nobility of its location, the prominence of its patron, and the synthetic vision that it offered, the nave clementina exerted its authority into the next century, constituting an important model for baroque church decoration in Rome. In the considerable scholarly literature concerning the Lateran, the Clementine transept has been afforded meager attention; indeed, it is the only part of the church that has not previously been studied in depth. At least part of the reason behind this neglect lies in assumptions about the Counter-Reformation period, during which time the Church underwent a complex process of self-analysis and renewal, including critical examination of the role art should play in the religious life. The art that was produced in the wake of these developments has, in recent years, been brought from the fringes of art history into the light of scholarly examination. Attention has focused along quite circumscribed lines on subjects that comfortably fit the requirements set forth in the period itself, “clarity, simplicity, and intelligibility; realistic interpretation; and emotional stimulus to piety.”4 The maniera devota that recent scholarship has defined, was developed under the influence of the religious orders, especially the Jesuits and Oratorians, who advocated a return to the simplicity, purity, and faith characteristic of the first Christian generations. When we turn to the illustrious patronage of the popes during this same period, the state of studies radically changes. These papal projects tend to be evaluated from a purely conceptual perspective, while their

The Lateran in 1600

style is often considered retardataire, preserving the stale conventions of an exuberant mannerism rather than sharing in the formation of the new artistic ideals that would come to fruition in the next century. A necessary component of any comprehensive view of the period is a more measured assessment of this other aspect of Counter-Reformation art emanating from the center of the Church.° All factors suggest that the Lateran transept was the product of a coordinated effort in which the most respected artists of the day and the most elevated members of the inner papal circle participated. In attempting to provide a balanced discussion for what is arguably the most representative project of the time, I have been guided by respect for the artists and patron, and esteem for the artistic material in both its conceptual and visual formulations. I have endeavored to understand how the painted, sculpted, and architectural components of the project were conceived in response to three concepts: the Lateran’s venerable history, the function of the transept to honor the Eucharist, and the celebra-

tion of the Holy Year of 1600. These factors not only determined the iconography of the decoration, but directly influenced its style. To be sure, many aspects of the Clementine program reflect broad currents in the art and thought of the period, but the way in which these tendencies were brought together and focused at the Lateran, and the way they were adjusted in response to the special nature of the site, provide a unique view of both the renewed consciousness of the Lateran’s historical significance and the visual forms that artists developed to celeberate it. The picture of the Clementine transept that emerges from this study recalls aspects of the high Humanist culture that was codified at the beginning of the sixteenth century with the visionary works initiated by Pope Julius If (1503-13) and continued by his immediate successors at the Vatican. One begins to discern in the Lateran transept, the papal project that closes the century, a pattern of patronage in which the historical continuity of the Church in its absolute reference to the Roman hierarchy constitutes the underlying message. Once the visual and conceptual ideas that were marshaled to express this theme are explicated, the Lateran transept can occupy a recognizable, indeed pivotal, place in the panorama of art history. Although its debt to distinguished Renaissance models is considerable, and its impact on the central formulations of the Roman baroque profound, these art historical moorings should not obscure the quite distinctive characteristics of the Lateran transept that this study seeks to define.

PARTI KW

AN ==,

ELEM ASE RAIN SiN SLE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Chapter

IMLALICIEIR. JE IE (GAVE IOSE

Mater et Caput Omnium Ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis—Mother and Head of all the Churches in the City of Rome and of the World —- this formula defines the Lateran’s august place in Christian history: consecrated to Christ the Savior, first church built by Constantine, seat of the pope as bishop of Christendom’s head city.! After a thousand years as the administrative and spiritual center of the Church, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Lateran’s fortunes radically changed when the papal court was transferred to Avignon. During the long absence of the popes, two fires and an earthquake humbled the once proud Lateran basilica. With the vicars of Christ far from the city and the Lateran a virtual ruin, the long-standing rivalry with the clergy of the Constantinian basilica dedicated to the Apostle Peter, over the rights of primacy, was reignited. In what turned out to be a vain attempt to resolve the conflict, in 1372 Pope Gregory XI (1370-8) issued a bull from Avignon affirming the Lateran’s primacy as Mater et Caput.3 Upon his return to Rome in

1377, Gregory was forced to take up residence at the Vatican, a shift necessitated as much by the Lateran’s reduced physical state as by its unprotected position in the sparsely populated southern sector of the city.4 The definitive reestablishment of the papacy in Rome would not occur until 1420 during the reign of Martin V (1417-31). It is indicative of the Lateran’s commanding prestige that Martin asserted his legitimacy following the end of the Great Schism by lavishly restoring the basilica and by providing for his burial, not at Saint Peter’s, but in a bronze sepulcher prominently located in front of the Lateran’s high altar.5 Eugenius IV (1431-47) continued Martin’s works in the basilica, initiated important renovations in the palace, and constructed a new monastery for the Augustinian order of canons regular, which he introduced

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

there. Following the lead of Gregory XI, both Martin and Eugenius officially reaffirmed the Lateran’s priority above all churches.” This nascent revival of the Lateran as the nucleus of the Christian world was reversed with the accession of Nicholas V (1447-55). Nicholas developed a grand scheme to rebuild Saint Peter’s, expand the Vatican palace, and restructure the entire Vatican area as an ideal city that centered on the person and ceremonial functions of the pope. Not only would the Vatican displace the Lateran as the accepted papal residence, but the honor of Mater et Caput that had adhered for a millennium to Rome’s Cathedral would be absorbed by Saint Peter’s.8 Nicholas’s immediate successors followed his lead in pursuing major works at the Vatican, but none were equally committed to supplanting the Lateran. In the late fifteenth century Sixtus IV (1471-84) stands out as the Lateran’s most energetic defender.? During the Holy Year of 1475 he promulgated a bull soliciting donations from the faithful for the restoration of the Lateran. Acknowledging the pastoral obligation to provide decoration in all churches, he stated, We pay such extra attention to the Lateran church, our bride, and we rise up more diligently as we know that it stands out higher and we know that it requires a nobler protection in its structure and that it is the mirror of all other churches, the head and distinguished titular, and that it holds the primacy

of

the Holy Roman and Catholic Church.!9

While the restoration of the Lateran church and palace were underway, Sixtus transferred several ancient bronzes from the Lateran to the Capitoline Hill - the venerable Lupa mater romanorum among them - to form the nucleus of the communal collections, thereby shifting some of the Lateran’s prestige to the original site of Rome’s greatness. The gilded bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which had long been identified with Constantine (caballus Constantini), remained at the

Lateran. Restored and elevated upon a new base in front of the papal palace, it recalled the emperor’s patronage of the Lateran and the triumph of the Church.!! In advance of the centennial Holy Year of 1500 Alexander VI (1 492-

1503) focused attention on the church’s interior by reconstructing the triumphal arch that separates the nave from the transept.!* Two colossal granite columns and the arch they carry were raised to provide a monumental frame for the elaborate high altar ensemble whose doublestoried Gothic ciborium shelters the relics of Saints Peter and Paul. Alexander was also concerned with the entrance to the church located at the head of the nave to the east. Vasari records that for the Holy Year Bramante,

recently arrived

from

Milan,

executed

a fresco

above

the

Porta Santa, that portal exclusively used during these years of penitential

Mater et Caput

pilgrimage.!3 The Holy Year context also illuminates Alexander’s concern for orchestrating the majestic presentation of the high altar, where only the pope is permitted to celebrate Mass at the most sacred times of the year. A new epoch of the Lateran’s history arrived when Julius II (1503-13) took the momentous decision to realize Nicholas V’s dream of rebuilding Saint Peter’s and making the Vatican synonymous with the papacy. As the splendid Renaissance temple rose on the Vatican hill, on the other side of the city Rome’s Cathedral lay in abject ruin.!4 Nonetheless, in connection with the Church council convened at the Lateran by Julius II in 1512, certain limited renovations were carried out.!5 Julius’s decision for this august body to meet at the Lateran in an attempt to avoid schism within the Church is symptomatic of the strong associations with orthodoxy that the site continued to embody. Leo X (151321) initiated restoration of the Lateran baptistery, and confirmed the authenticity of the relic treasure housed in the palace chapel of Saint Lawrence,

known

as the Sancta

Sanctorum.!®

In contrast,

Clement

VII’s

(1523-34) only known intervention at the Lateran was to plunder the basilica’s treasury of gold and silver to ransom his freedom following the disastrous events of the Sack of Rome in 1527.!7 The accession of Paul III (1534-49) held great promise for the fortunes of the Lateran, whose physical state at the time is documented by Marten van Heemskerck’s suggestive views (Figs. 1, 2).!8 Beginning in 1508, while still a cardinal, he governed the Lateran as its archpriest,

demonstrating a singular dedication to the basilica and its clergy. In 1511 he procured from Julius II legal confirmation of the privileges the Lateran canons traditionally enjoyed, and upon acceding to the pontificate he granted them additional ones.!? At this time the medieval bell towers situated on the basilica’s north transept facade, frequently struck by lightning, were repaired, and unspecified work was executed in the tribune, both at the expense of the canons, but possibly at the request of the pope.29 Paul’s actions were not entirely benign, however. In 1537, overriding the canons’ vigorous objections, he ordered that the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, one of the most prized antiquities of Rome and the one that was especially resonant of the Lateran’s historical role in the Christian triumph, be transferred to the Capitoline Hill to function as the centerpiece of Michelangelo’s piazza design.*! In the same year Paul ordered the demolition of the medieval Lateran palace, and he officially permitted the canons to remove all salvageable materials for the repair of the church.?? It is not known if Paul had plans to replace the palace with a new structure, but the aged building survived for another

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

ee

nee

eT

Figure 1. Marten van Heemskerck,

view of the Lateran from the north, draw-

ing. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, PreufSischer Kulturbesitz, 79 D 2, fol. 71r. (Museum)

fifty years. No activity is recorded at the Lateran during the papacies of

Julius III (1550-5) or Paul IV (1555-g9).23 By midcentury, the physical condition of the Lateran was matched by the decline of its prestige. Reiterating the views of Nicholas V, Paul IV believed that the dignity of all the churches of Rome and the world were encompassed by Saint Peter’s.24

PIUS IV (1559-65) AND PIUS V (1566-72)

An entirely new phase in the Lateran’s history begins with Pius IV. One of the great champions in affirming the traditional values of the Church 10

Mater et Caput

Figure 2. Marten van Heemskerck, view of the Lateran from the north, drawing. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preufischer Kulturbesitz, 79 D 2, fol. 12v. (Museum)

within the Counter-Reformation vision, Pius desired to end for all time

the ongoing conflict concerning the Lateran’s primacy with respect to Saint Peter’s. This conflict had developed during the Middle Ages, and in the twelfth century the terms of the dispute were clarified when both

sides addressed formal arguments to Alexander III (1159-81).*5 In 1972 Gregory XI attempted to resolve this controversy — one that on occasion erupted in unseemly violence between the parties concerned — by affirming the Lateran’s “supreme place among all the other churches of the city and of the world and [among all] basilicas, even above the

church and basilica of the Prince of the Apostles.”26 Notwithstanding this forceful declaration and the threat of retribution from “omnipotent God and the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul” to those who would opil

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

pose it, dissension persisted. The legal investigation opened by Pius IV before the ecclesiastical tribunal to resolve this issue was concluded af-

ter his death, and on 21 December 1569, his successor and namesake Pius V issued a bull in which he placed the entire force of his Apostolic authority behind the Lateran’s supremacy over Saint Peter’s.?7 The comprehensive renovations projected by Pius IV at the Lateran

complement his concern for its spiritual revival.28 The process of orchestrating the urban context, which would continue to occupy papal patrons for the rest of the century, was begun at this time. To the east of the church a new portal in the Aurelian wall was planned to replace the old Porta Asinaria, and the road that entered the city at this point was to be enlarged in both directions.2? A preexisting road leading from Santa Maria Maggiore to the north transept entrance of the Lateran basilica was widened, straightened, and paved. The area surrounding this entrance was to be cleared of all obstructions and leveled, thus providing a proper piazza to what was, in effect, the main point of access to the church. Pius wanted to rebuild the Lateran palace to serve the popes when they visited the church, and he launched a full-scale renovation of the basilica.3? On the exterior, the roof was to be replaced, the walls restored, and

the north transept facade repaired. Even more extensive were renovations conceived for the interior: The walls of the nave and the transept were to be repaired and decorated, the columns of the nave colonnade cleaned and provided with new bases, and, also in the nave, a coffered

ceiling of carved wood, painted and gilded, was to be constructed. Pius ordered that subsidiary chapels and altars that encroached on the central space be cleared away. In the south transept, directly opposite the north entrance, the monumental structure that filled the entire space, consisting of an organ and choir loft, was to be removed, the instrument

transferred to another position and the choir renovated and outfitted with a separate section for singers.?!

At Pius’s death in 1565, significant progress had been made on the transept facade and the roof. Within the church, however, only two columns had been repaired, and the nave ceiling remained unfinished. Pius V chose to complete work on the transept facade and the ceiling. These projects, which were essential for the physical maintenance of the basilica, also reveal the emergence of a new attitude toward the Lateran, one

that emphasized its status as both an imperial foundation and a sacred relic memorializing the Church’s original moment of victory.32 The main entrance to the Lateran from a liturgical point of view is located to the east, but it was through the north transept that the majority of visitors, then as now, entered the church. This practice is explained 12

Mater et Caput

}

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vii

alls.

tea Sap, “arssapasae=~ a

Figure 3. Mario

Cataro, map of Rome, engraving (detail). (Frutaz, Le piante di

Roma, CXXVI, 3, pl. 241.) (Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani)

by the fact that the basilica’s northern flank is turned toward the street system leading from the Campus Martius, the most densely populated area of Rome (Fig. 3). For this reason around 1300 Boniface VII (12941303) added a grand papal benediction loggia to the northernmost end of the Sala del Concilio built by Leo III (795-816) (see Fig. 2).33 Sixteenth-century descriptions of the Lateran make explicit that the transept portal functioned as the main entrance to the church, and depictions of the complex are generally conceived from this side rather than

the east end.34 In the renovations of popes Pius IV and Pius V, the original character of the transept facade was maintained: The elaborate +3

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

Gothic portal of Gregory XI that incorporated noble lions, perhaps of Egyptian manufacture, was preserved, and the entire wall was resurfaced with stucco.35 Glazed bricks added a certain luster to the campanili, which were also strengthened by the insertion of a masonry bridge in the space separating them (see Figs. 10, 20). The decision to preserve the facade speaks to a keen appreciation of the fact that the basilica was the most important surviving early Christian church. This conservation-mined treatment of the Lateran under the two popes Pius reflects the desire to avoid what was seen by many as a brash, if not sacrilegious violation of Saint Peter’s, then in a state between ruin and renewal.?6 It is likely that the facade renovation also carried a symbolic charge. The notion that the Lateran’s fabric mirrored the spiritual state of the Universal Church was codified by the Franciscans and Dominicans during the thirteenth century.37 Both orders identified their respective founders as that “certain Religious, a man small and despised” who had appeared to Pope Innocent HI (11981216) in a dream to support the crumbling Lateran “from a place near the doors.”3°8 The vision was understood to indicate the central role the order would play in ecclesiastical reform, and legitimacy was claimed by both groups on this basis. Repairs to the Lateran in general, and especially those to the transept facade initiated by Pius IV and completed by Pius V (himself a member of the Dominican order), would have evoked the great spiritual renewal of the Church then being conluded in the final session of the Council of Trent. The Lateran’s transept facade with its distinctive twin towers communicates meaning of another sort. Paired towers were first employed in antiquity to identify both city gateways and royal palaces, and were revived in the Carolingian period for use at churches that enjoyed royal patronage.?? In their fully elaborated form they were established at the entrance in association with a loggia, which communicated with the interior and served a variety of functions, such as a place for the choir as well as for separate liturgical celebrations. It has been suggested that one purpose of these loggia chapels was to honor the emperor, providing an elevated balcony where he might appear to the people in regal majesty.

We have no record of when the Lateran’s campanili were constructed, although they may date from the same time as the transept itself, apparently added to the church by the Franciscan Pope Nicholas IV (1288-92).49 The weighty connotations that the towered form carried are suggested by the medieval bronze doors formerly located at the entrance to the papal palace and transferred to the baptistery in the late sixteenth century (Fig. 4).41 Of the two architectural facades etched a

Mater et Caput

Figure 4. Petrus and Umbertus of Piacenza, bronze doors originally at the entrance to the Lateran palace (detail). Lateran baptistery, chapel of Saint John the Evangelist. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, E8124)

into the surface of the upper door valves, one is recalled by the Lateran’s north towers, and the other resembles an ancient Roman city gate. These architectural symbols allude to the ecclesiastical and civic spheres, and, in combination with figural elements, they announced

at

the threshold to the palace the dual nature of the Petrine office. It seems clear that the Lateran’s transept facade was preserved in the renovations of Pius IV and Pius V precisely to exploit the imperial associations of its paired towers.42 The decoration inserted in this area, which honored the pope, elaborated this theme. On the front of the new attic level a large inscription was cut in marble, flanked by Pius IV’s coat of arms. Crowning the whole was a balustrade decorated with his family’s emblems, the Medici palle.43 The conjunction of the imperial towers and the noble emblems of the pope recalls that it was here, at the Lateran, that the papal office had been elevated by Constantine to the status of a temporal power. Similar ideas are present in the coffered, wooden ceiling of the nave (Plate VII).44 This imposing work developed in a new direction one of the characteristic forms of Renaissance church decoration.45 The underlying reference is to early Christian, specifically Constantinian prototypes. Ceilings of this type appear in the literary record as features of £5

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

Old Saint Peter’s and San Paolo f.l.m. (fuori le Mura).4© Whereas earlier Renaissance examples of the type incorporate the patron’s coat of arms within the web of regularly spaced coffers, at the Lateran these symbols were enlarged to monumental proportions, becoming focal points for the energized design.4” The ceiling is thus transformed into an environmental frame for the noble emblems of the pope. The transept facade and the nave ceiling both employ forms laden with imperial resonance to project the unique dignities of the basilica and of the papal office. Ultimately, the rehabilitation of the Lateran’s fabric and the contemporary reassertion of its preeminence were powered by a retrospective motive: to restore the imperial majesty and spiritual

primacy that the Lateran had possessed during the first age of Christian triumph under Constantine.

GREGORY XIII (1572-85) The works initiated by Pius IV set a standard to which all subsequent interventions at the Lateran need be compared. We turn now to a consideration of Gregory XIII, one of the central figures in the development of the Counter-Reformation vision of the Church Triumphant. A contemporary source remarks on Gregory’s commitment to complete Pius IV’s projects elsewhere in Rome, and it may be that his commissions at

the Lateran reflect a focused expression of his predecessor’s ideas.48 A measured plan of the Lateran complex preserved in the archive of the Lateran indicates that Gregory had far grander ideas than ever took shape during his pontificate (Fig. 5). Several projects that were completed by 1575 appear on the plan, suggesting this as an approximate date.*? Of this grand renewal scheme, the portions actually executed focused on making the Lateran more accessible to visitors and orchestrating the sites of sacramental observance. This twin focus was conceived with respect to the approaching Holy Year of 1575; indeed, when considered in tandem, it becomes clear that Gregory’s works were intended to identify the Lateran as the fulcrum of this central event in the spiritual life of the Church. Since its institution by Boniface VIII in 1300, the Anno Santo was proclaimed periodically (after 1450, every twenty-five years) as a call to the faithful to undertake a penitential pilgrimage to the Eternal City, where they would gain the exceptional indulgence that was likened to baptism in its absolute power to cleanse the sinner and ensure entry into heaven. Pilgrims flocked to Rome in 1575 in numbers far exceeding those of earlier Holy Years, and their behavior was characterized by extraor16

Mater et Caput

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LATRAN.

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a at YF oe “i of Le

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Figure 5. Ideal plan of the Lateran complex (“Archive plan”); north at bottom, engraving. (Fleury, pl. 5) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

dinary acts of devotion and charity. Gregory’s involvement in every aspect of the celebration was viewed as a notable addition to the customary rituals. In these ways Rome fulfilled its providential role as the center of Christianity and the font of piety. Three of Gregory’s interventions completed projects of Pius IV: the new portal through the Aurelian wall; the road leading into Rome that terminates at this point (Via Appia Nuova); and another thoroughfare

linking Santa Maria Maggiore to the north transept piazza of the Lateran (Via Gregoriana, now Via Merulana). In addition to these inherited projects, Gregory constructed another road from the same north piazza, continuing past the Porta Metronia to the Porta San Sebastiano, where it intersected with the Via Appia Antica (Via Ferretella, now Via dell’Amba Aradam and its extensions). These changes made the Lateran the centric point in a radiating scheme that facilitated access to three of the four churches Holy Year pilgrims were required to visit — the Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, and San Paolo f.l.m.—while San Sebastiano f.l.m. 17

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

was also brought closer to the reach of visitors. Physical accessibility was the tangible sign of the spiritual dependence of these same churches on the Lateran, the focus of the new thoroughfares.°! An engraving published in 1575 visualizes precisely this thought by representing the Lateran as the fulcrum of the Holy Year pilgrimage (Fig. 6).°2 Restoration of the baptistery was the second focus of Gregory’s interventions.53 The main entrance of the fifth-century structure faces away from the north piazza, toward the apse of the basilica. To bring the baptistery into a closer relationship to the piazza, Gregory enlarged a preexisting doorway located on the northern face of the octagon. This new entrance was elaborately enframed and inscribed with the pope’s name and the date of the Holy Year. Further restorations on the interior included new windows, repairs to the marble revetment, and fresco decoration — all lost in later interventions. The marble balustrade that encircles the recessed piscina at the center of the space bears Gregory’s coat of arms, and we know from a contemporary source that the ancient tub (labrum) of the type used in Roman baths, today located at the midpoint of the piscina, was moved there by Gregory to serve in the baptismal ceremony.>4 The baptistery chapel of Saint Venantius was completely renovated at this time to honor an image of the Madonna that had begun to work miracles in 1573. Using the generous donations of the faithful, Gregory built a coffered wooden ceiling emblazoned with symbols of the Virgin and the Lateran. A new entrance to this chapel from the central octagon was created, and an elaborate columned

ciborium was constructed

for

the image. The chapel was outfitted with liturgical vessels of gold and silver, vases, candelabra,

and vestments;

according

to one

contempo-

rary, they were rich enough to serve a large basilica. These renovations highlighted the baptistery’s historical prominence. Pious tradition held that Constantine was baptized by the pope on that spot, and credited the emperor with the construction. In keeping with its status as the episcopal seat of the pope, the Lateran was the preferred place for administering baptism in early Christian times, principally on the great feasts of Easter and Pentecost. During Gregory’s reign baptism was once again regularly performed in the Lateran baptistery on those feasts.‘> The renovation of the Venantius chapel formed part of this liturgical renewal: Gregory revived the tradition of conferring confirmation there immediately after the baptismal ceremony. The Constantinian resonance of these interventions, both architectur-

al and ceremonial, is more profound than might at first appear. The ancient tub that Gregory moved to the center of the piscina to serve in the baptismal ritual was identified in the Renaissance as the one that Con18

Mater et Caput

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Figure 6. Antoine Lafréry, Holy Year Pilgrimage to the Seven Rome, engraving. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D27423)

Churches

of

stantine himself had used.°” Furthermore, the catechumens baptized during Gregory’s reign were Jews and Turks, representing, respectively, the ecclesia ex circumcisione and the ecclesia ex gentibus, the twin sources of the unified Church, which had been brought into harmony at the Lateran by Constantine.°® Concerning the Venantius chapel, the miraculous Madonna icon that provided the impetus for the restoration recalls the emperor’s devotion to the Virgin, in whose honor, it was said, he had dedicated the new imperial capital at Constantinople.‘? The renewed practice of imparting confirmation in this chapel possibly carried a Constantinian reference as well, for the central component of this sacrament, anointing with chrism, shares a fundamental affinity with the salving of kings and emperors.® Indeed, writing in the early fifth century, Prudentius noted that the people “hasten in great companies to the house of Lateranus to get the holy sign of the king’s anointing.”¢! The 19

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

imparting of confirmation at the Lateran evokes the process by which Constantine’s own regal powers were sacralized. The sacramental and devotional concerns expressed in Gregory’s baptistery renovation also governed changes to the Scala Santa, the main staircase leading to the medieval papal palace. Its marble steps were said to be relics from Pontius Pilate’s praetorium in Jerusalem, where Christ had ascended them when he was condemned to death. Because they had come into direct contact with the body of the Savior, they were venerated as relics of Christ’s Passion.6? The tradition that droplets of the Lord’s blood had stained the stairs added a specifically eucharistic significance as well. Penitents would ascend these stairs on their knees, as they still do today, to receive a multitude of indulgences.°? Gregory installed additional stairways, one to either side of the Scala Santa, thus augmenting its importance by allowing penitents to descend with ease and without blocking the progress of others still ascending (Fig. 7; cf. Figs, 35, 10).°*

By promoting this relic of Christ’s Passion as a focus for penitential devotions, Gregory called attention to the Lateran’s historical role in extending the sacrament of penance to the faithful. Saint Jerome records that on Holy Saturday penitents would arrive dressed in sackcloth to make public confession.6> Constantine, paradigm of the repentant sinner, was identified with the Scala Santa through his mother, Saint Helena, who was credited with having brought them to Rome from Jerusalem.®§ Gregory’s sacrament chapel for the basilica completed this cycle of works. Contemporaries described its most notable features: “beautiful columns,”

“costly

marbles,”

“gilded

stuccoes.”

One

witness

even

claimed that “it is certainly one of the richest and most sumptuous [chapels] that can be seen in Rome.”®” This unusual material splendor made the chapel a veritable showpiece, underscoring Gregory’s veneration for the central mystery of the faith, a major feature of both his personal piety and public persona.®8 Although lost in later renovations, the chapel’s appearance is preserved in engravings illustrating Gregory’s most significant achievements (Figs. 8, 9).6? The altar appears within a space defined at its forward limit by a monumental arch supported on columns; the entablature sweeps without interruption around the interior, giving the impression of an apselike structure complete with crowning semidome. The pedimented altar aedicula, elevated on steps, is defined by columns backed by pilasters. Freestanding sculptures of the Risen Christ flanked by two kneeling angels perch on the pediment and serve to animate the ensemble./?

20

Mater et Caput

Figure 7. Natale Bonifacio, view of the Lateran showing additions to the Scala Santa, engraving. (Principio Fabricius, Delle allusioni, imprese, et emblemi... sopra la vita, opere, et attioni di Gregorio XIII... [Rome, 1588], 125) (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome)

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Figure 8. Marc Antonio Ciappi, deeds of Gregory XIII, single sheet engraving (detail showing the Lateran sacrament altar). Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preufsischer Kulturbesitz, Kunstbibliothek. (Museum)

Figure 9. Marc Antonio Ciappi, Lateran sacrament altar of Gregory XIII, engraving. (Ciappi, Compendio, 1596 ed., g) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

21

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

This was not the first sacrament receptacle at the Lateran. The medieval practice of reserving the consecrated Host in the sacristy was still followed at the Lateran during the fifteenth century.”! However, at least from the early years of the sixteenth century, an additional tabernacle existed in the public area of the church, located to the left of the northern entrance to the ambulatory that encircled the apse.’* Gregory had this area cleared, the ambulatory entrance rebuilt, and new windows inserted just within. It was here, in this chapel-like space closed off by a balustrade, that the sacrament was reserved in the elaborate new altar.73 Gregory’s grand sacrament chapel recalled the church’s primary dedication to the Savior and reflected the Lateran’s prominence in the history of the Eucharist. The Church council held at the Lateran in 1215 had promulgated the dogma of transubstantiation, and made it obligatory for all Christians to communicate at Easter.’4 The link between the Lateran and the Eucharist was further asserted by extraordinary relics claimed by the church, ones that provided proof of its unparalleled sanctity. Some were said to have come from the Sancta Sanctorum of the Temple of Jerusalem — most significant for their proto-eucharistic significance were the golden bowl filled with manna and the Ark of the Covenant — while others were relics of the highest sacramental pedigree, blood and water that had issued from Christ’s side wound at the Crucifixion and the table upon which the Lord had instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper.7> Since Constantine was often credited with having donated some of these holy objects to the Lateran, his memory was intimately linked to the sacrament.’® Gregory XIII’s Lateran commissions were focused on baptism, confirmation, penance, and the Eucharist, those sacraments considered essen-

tial to human salvation. that the full significance clear. Just as the Jubilee which the faithful were

It is in the context of the Holy Year celebration of Gregory’s program for the Lateran becomes indulgence provided an extraordinary means by reconciled with God, these sacraments provided

the perpetual means to effect this same reconciliation. One contemporary explicitly linked the sacraments to the Holy Year, saying “as often as it [redemption through Christ’s death] is applied to us in particular by the Sacraments, so often we make our Jubilee, that is, have remission of our sinnes, are made free, do returne to our former state.”’7 Gregory’s

commissions asserted the Lateran’s central role in the granting of the sacraments, based on historical precedent and confirmed by associations with the great imperial patron of the Church, Constantine.78 In a

more specific vein, the Lateran shared a fundamental affinity with the exceptional indulgence available during the Holy Year, and here too 22

Mater et Caput

Constantine’s memory was evoked. It was often claimed that in consequence of the grace the emperor had received in baptism, he had asked Pope Sylvester to extend the same possibility to others who would visit the church.7? The infinite number of indulgences available at the Lateran — even exceeding those at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem — were traced to Constantine’s request.89 A poem written in advance of the Holy Year of 1500 by Giuliano Dati, a canon of the Lateran, proclaims the perpetual state of grace prevailing at the Lateran: “non bisogni aspettare venticinquanni/chel giubileo e sempre in santo ianni.”8! Gregory XIII’s Lateran projects embodied this same message: The benefit of redemption achieved by Christ’s sacrifice was extended to all humanity at the Lateran in its role as the Mother Church of Christendom.

SIXTUS V (1585-90)

Among Sixtus V’s most significant contributions to the history of the Church during his brief pontificate was to revive the majestic papal ceremonial as it had been developed during the Middle Ages. He intended that this visible expression of Rome’s sanctity should extend beyond the confines of the Vatican to include the entire city, which would provide a vast urban stage for pious activities.’ Sixtus’s Lateran commissions form an essential part of his scheme of citywide renewal. The urban setting of the Lateran, rather than the interior of the church, was his primary concern.®? Little more than a month after he assumed office, Sixtus had his chief architect, Domenico Fontana, begin to orchestrate the site,

excavating from its ruins a majestic vision of the papacy in its ancestral seat.84 The crumbling medieval residence with its extensive accretions was swept away and replaced by a splendid Renaissance palace. Three of the most venerated elements of the complex were preserved: the private palace chapel (Sancta Sanctorum), the Scala Santa, and the apse of Leo III’s triconch reception hall, the mosaic decoration of which exalted Petrine authority.8° New streets leading to the piazza fronting the north transept of the basilica were constructed; the piazza was cleared of all encumbrances; and the twin-towered entrance into the church was augmented with a monumental loggia from which the pope could bless the crowds of faithful.86 The area was now defined by a coherent series of structures, bounded to the west by the newly isolated baptistery, and to the east by the building known as the Scala Santa, which incorporates the Holy Stairs and the Sancta Sanctorum. 23

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

Figure ro. Sixtus V Delivering Benediction at the Lateran upon the Occasion of His Possesso, Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, III.20.13)

Views of the Lateran before and after these interventions figure prominently in the fresco decoration of Sixtus’s Vatican library (Figs. 10, 11). Rather than being simple vedute, however, these scenes record significant events in the Sistine papacy: The first represents the new pope blessing the people from the loggia of Boniface VIII when he took possession of the church on 5 May 1585, and the second shows him inaugurating the new loggia on 29 March 1587, when he delivered the Easter benediction. Sixtus’s achievements at the Lateran must be viewed against the backdrop of his life-long affiliation with the Franciscan order. Indeed, as though to announce his program of Church reform in both its universal and particular applications, he commemorated his accession to the throne of Peter by issuing a medal showing Saint Francis physically preventing the collapse of the Lateran basilica.87 Sixtus first attended to the rebuilding of the Lateran palace, by that time a tottering ruin to which access was only possible by scaling a ladder.88 Utilizing the existing foundations, the new structure was completed in four years.8? Contemporary sources indicate that the pope intended it to serve when he and his court would come to the Lateran in connection with councils and consistories, activities that had not been

held there for some time.?? Like the basilica itself, the palace enjoyed a primary association with Constantine. It was identified as the emperor’s principal residence, ceded to the popes as part of the legendary donation by which he had trans24

Mater et Caput

Figure rz. Sixtus V Delivering the Easter Benediction at the Lateran, Sistino. Vatican palace. (Alinari 38014/Art Resource, NY)

Salone

ferred to Christ’s vicars imperial rights, honors, and dignities. During the Middle Ages the Lateran palace was called sacrum palatium and patriarchium, communicating the supreme authority exercised from within its walls.?1 The frescoes of the major rooms in the new palace were developed by the chief papal painters, Cesare Nebbia and Giovanni Guerra, who, along with a phalanx of assistants, were responsible for embellishing the Sistine buildings throughout the city with images celebrating all phases of sacred history. The palace decoration explores in eight linked cycles the Lateran’s significance as the divinely chosen place for the establishment of the Christian imperium.?2 The basic theme

is sounded

at the outset, in the Sala dei Papi, the

large reception hall located at the head of the main staircase. Here the key events in the papacy’s early history are recapitulated, beginning with Christ’s Charge to Peter seen in the two central frescoes, Feed My Sheep and the Delivery of the Keys. Encircling the walls and functioning as witnesses to the meetings planned to occur in the chamber are portrayed nineteen of the first thirty-three popes, spanning the period from Peter to Sylvester — that is, from the establishment of the Church to its temporalization by Constantine — each one enthroned and sheltered by a regal canopy. Inscriptions record the significant contributions made to the Church by that pope. Sixtus is placed in lineal descent from these illustrious predecessors by additional frescoes that record his imperialscale building projects in Rome. en

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

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The second room, Sala degli Imperatori, was intended for public sistories when the pope conferred with his cardinals, gatherings were likened to Christ’s meetings with the Apostles. Its decoration memorates the extraordinary discovery of 125 imperial gold coins came to light during construction of the new palace.?3 Each coin

conthat comthat bore the effigy of an emperor on the obverse and on the reverse an image of the cross. After consulting with the most knowledgeable church historians of the day as to the significance of the discovery, Sixtus promulgated a bull granting generous indulgences obtainable from the veneration of these coins, and he bestowed 26

9.058

them on various cardinals and heads of

Mater et Caput

Figure 14. Christian Emperors Adoring Ecclesia, Sala degli Imperatori. Lateran palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.21.14)

state.?4 The emperors represented, fourteen in all, were portrayed on the walls of the room with inscriptions recording their deeds in support of the papacy (Figs. 12, 13).?5 Sixtus recognized the workings of Divine Providence in revealing the singular devotion of these defenders of the Church at a time when “so many enemies of the Cross of Christ, the Lord, are most impiously fighting the truth of the Catholic faith.”?¢ A fresco on one of the end walls of the room shows him promulgating the bull, while the significance of his act, and of the discovery itself, is made

explicit on the opposite wall, where the emperors kneel before an enthroned personification of Ecclesia who prominently holds the papal insignia (Fig. 14).

In the following five rooms emphasis shifts to Old Testament histories, which proceed chronologically and are broadly concerned with the triumph of the Jewish faith, with particular focus on the establishment of Hebraic secular kingship.?” Beginning with the anointing of Saul by Samuel, the mantle of rule passes in successive rooms to David and then to Solomon. The final two rooms, devoted to Elijah and Daniel, are con-

cerned with the apostasy of Israel and its kings from the service of God. Fulfillment of the prophetic mission comes in the Sala degli Apostoli, 27

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

FLCON STANTINVS P RIMVS:ROM: IMP CHRISTIANA: FIDE-PVBLUCE SVSCEPTA A‘S'‘SILVESTRO:PAPA BAPTIZATVR

Figure 15. Baptism of Constantine, Sala di Costantino. Lateran palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico,

XX XIII.29.45)

where the Apostles and disciples of Christ go forth to evangelize the world.?8 This reintroduction of the Christian element in the palace program culminates in the Sala di Costantino, from which place the pope would descend to the basilica by way of the main ceremonial staircase.?? Constantine’s vision of the cross and battle with Maxentius, his baptism, donation to the Church, and the deferential officium stratoris whereby he acts as groom to the pope, are all depicted in frescoes conceived as framed paintings suspended upon the wall (Figs. 15, 16).!199 The idea that Constantine’s support of the Church fulfilled God’s plan is indicated by additional frescoes in which another level of reality is presented: Painted draperies dramatically part to reveal figures who exist in a realm contiguous with our own. On one side stand Aaron and Solomon, and on the other David and Moses 28

(Figs. 17, 18). These Hebrew

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17.

David,

Sala

di Costantino.

Lateran palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.29.50)

Figure 18.

Solomon,

Sala di Costantino.

Lateran palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XX XIII.29.43)

29

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

priest-kings witness the transfer of realm from Roman emperor to Roman bishop, signaling the subordination of kingly to priestly power. In the Sala di Costantino the themes seen elsewhere in the program coalesce. The pope is identified as successor to the Old Testament servants of God, as possessor of the Apostolic dignity that was Peter’s, and as heir to the Roman emperors. These themes had universal validity for the definition of the papal office, and they were employed in the earlier sixteenth-century decoration of the Vatican palace. While the Sistine program was surely developed from this model, not only did these same themes carry special meaning at the Lateran, seat of papal rule, but the emphatic juxtaposition of the imperial and Judaic sources of papal prerogatives revived traditional ideas concerning the Lateran’s unique sanctity. Particularly relevant here is the Lateran’s extraordinary relationship to the Old Dispensation, succeeding and inheriting the dignity of the Temple of Jerusalem based in part on its possession of the Hebrew cult objects.191 Sixtus reinforced the Lateran’s sacral significance by his treatment of the Holy Stairs and the palace chapel dedicated to Saint Lawrence, both sheltered by a new structure known as the Scala Santa (Fig. 19).!92 Originally quite separate from each other, Sixtus had the Stairs transferred to a position on direct axis with the chapel, the work carried out at night and in such a way that these holy objects would not be trod upon.!93 While the Stairs were venerated as relics of Christ’s Passion transported from the Holy Land, the chapel of Saint Lawrence was associated by its more

common

name,

Sancta Sanctorum,

with the inner

sanctum of the Old Testament sanctuary where the Ark of the Covenant and the chief cult objects of the Jews had been kept.!94 From at least the late twelfth century onward the main altar of the chapel was arranged to recall the Temple sanctuary. The acheropita (not painted by hands) icon of Christ, said to have been crafted by an angel and believed to reflect the Lord’s physiognomy, is positioned above a wooden arca containing the Lateran’s most venerable relics, a clear parallel to the biblical description of how God appeared above the Ark in Jerusalem.!95 It was even claimed that the Lateran chapel reproduced the precise dimensions of the Sancta Sanctorum of the Jews.!%% The association of the Lateran with the Old and the New Testaments,

documented in the Holy Stairs and the Sancta Sanctorum, are elaborated by two complementary cycles of narrative frescoes. The walls and vault that shelter the Holy Stairs appropriately concern Christ’s Passion, while the lateral stairs, constructed in emulation of Gregory XIII’s arrangement, are devoted to Old Testament themes.!97 As one mounts the central Stairs, which preserve stains of the Precious Blood, an im30

Mater et Caput

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age of the crucified Christ painted on the outer wall of the chapel is constantly in view.!98 Arriving at the top, one looks through a grill into this new Holy of Holies, toward the altar and the miraculous image of Christ. Sixtus himself revealed that the chief motivation behind this masterly orchestration of relics was to express by tangible means the ineffable glory of the Eucharist.197 In the series of works Sixtus commissioned for the basilica’s north piazza, the ideas present in the official domain of the papal palace and the devotional domain of the Scala Santa are restated in a public, celebratory context. All obstructions were cleared, the ground leveled, and the area enlarged by isolating the baptistery from the buildings that encircled it.119 New streets were planned to terminate in this area, and the great Egyptian obelisk excavated from the Circus Maximus was erected in the center of the piazza. These works in turn were designed with respect to the new benediction loggia that was constructed against the north transept facade of the basilica in substitution for the loggia of Boniface VIII.1!! Fontana replaced the fourteenth-century transept 31

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

portal with a monumental structure consisting of two superposed arcades of five bays each, the design modeled on the loggia built at Saint Peter’s in the prior century (Fig. 20, Plate I).1!2 Since the north transept functioned as the main entrance to the church, Fontana inserted two new doors flanking the central portal, which was also rebuilt.!13 Although a functional part of the project insofar as they eased the flow of traffic, these additions implied that the doors led into a proper basilican nave with flanking side aisles.!!4 Fontana reinforced the exalted appearance of the north facade by preserving the distinctive twin bell towers. He integrated them with the new loggia by applying balustrades of a similar design that in turn recalled the one that decorated the masonry bridge that had been constructed between the towers by Pius IV. Whereas Pius’s design had employed the towers to honor the papal office indirectly, as it were, through his coat of arms, the towers now set off an actual balcony where the pope would present himself in regal majesty. The imperial allusions of the towered loggia receive emphasis from the frescoes on the vault of the upper level. For the second time Sixtus had Constantine’s life depicted at the Lateran, now in seven scenes with the Donation and Baptism flanking the central area where the pope appeared to bless the people below (Figs. 21, 22).!!5 Proofs of Peter’s primacy as well as the superiority of Old Testament priestly power over temporal might are played out in additional scenes. The pope as heir to the Old Testament priests, the Petrine dignity, and Roman imperial power is here communicated in a ceremonial context visible to all from the plazza.

In the autumn of 1586, when construction of the palace and the loggia was underway, the pope ordered that the Egyptian obelisk from the Circus Maximus be excavated and transferred to the Lateran.!!6 Of the four ancient obelisks erected by Sixtus around the city to serve as symbols of triumphant Christianity, this one was distinguished by its august age, unequaled size, hieroglyphic inscription, and especially by its particular history.!!” The fourth-century historian Ammianus Marcellinus recorded that the obelisk originated as a donation to the sun god Ammon, raised in the most sacred part of his Temple at Thebes, “where it towered aloft like the peak of the world.”!!8 Following the conquest of Egypt, Augustus had brought two obelisks to Rome as trophies, but had allowed this one to remain out of respect for its extraordinary sanctity. However,

according to Ammianus,

Constantine

was

empow-

ered to move the obelisk “since he rightly thought that he was committing no sacrilege if he took this marvel from one temple and consecrated it in Rome, that is to say, in the temple of the whole world. .. .”119

At the emperor’s death in 337, the colossal shaft had been transferred 32

Mater et Caput

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Figure 20. Natale Bonifacio, Benediction loggia at San Giovanni in Laterano, engraving. (Fontana, Trasportatione, 1:47v) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

to Alexandria,

but it remained for his son, Constantius II, to complete

the transfer. Constantius offered this trophy to the Roman people as a

memorial of his triumph in 351 over the tyrant Magnentius, who had murdered his brother Constans and usurped the western throne. The inscriptions carved on the base when the obelisk was set up in the Circus Maximus in 357 were rediscovered in 1586; they refer to Constantine’s parallel triumph over Maxentius in 312.!2° By using the obelisk in this way Constantius documented the legitimacy of Constantinian imperial rule that had been established by God. Other, somewhat

less direct, associations surely contributed to Six-

tus’s decision to transfer this monument to the Lateran. Throughout the Renaissance Egyptian hieroglyphs were the subject of intense scrutiny, 33

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

cca

:

Figure 21. Donation of Constantine, Benediction loggia. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.16.11)

from an archaeological as well as more arcane perspective.!2! The hieroglyphs etched into the surface of the Lateran obelisk were unique insofar as their meaning was known. The Greek translation passed on by Ammianus has the all-powerful sun god Ammon exalting the Pharaoh Ramses as his son and granting him supreme power of world dominion.!22 The name Ramses would have recalled the odious pharaoh during whose reign Moses had led the Jews from Egypt toward the Promised Land.!23 In effect, God had annulled the kingship of Ramses and transferred authority to anew leader, thereby fulfilling his promise to Moses, “I make you as a god for Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:1).!24 The full significance of the Sistine works in the north piazza is revealed by the ultimate purpose for which they were conceived, namely, when on Easter the pope would extend benediction to the city and to the world and proclaim a plenary indulgence. One of Sixtus’s most important contributions to the spiritual life of the Church was to revive the early Christian tradition of the Stations when the pope would perform the Divine Office at the ancient churches of Rome on major feast days.!25 Eight Station Masses were depicted in the fresco decoration of Sixtus’s Vatican library, including one at the Lateran (Fig. 23). In a bull issued on 13 February 1586, Sixtus reinstituted the full cycle of Stations, expanding those held at the Lateran to include Christ’s Resurrec54

Mater et Caput

Figure 22. Baptism of Constantine, Benediction loggia. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.14.17)

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Figure 23. Sixtus V Celebrating the Papal Station Mass at the Lateran, Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.72.36)

35

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

tion on Easter Sunday.!2¢ It was no doubt to facilitate these papal celebrations that Sixtus ordered the removal of the screen composed of marble slabs and metal grills that divided the Lateran’s presbytery from

the high altar.!27 Sixtus also increased the magnificence of these ceremonies at the Lateran by providing for more splendid vestments for the clergy, the display of four silver maces, and silver keys.!28 Although Holy Saturday had been a Station at the Lateran from early Christian times, celebrated in the evening and accompanied by baptisms in the early hours of Sunday morning, the official Easter Stational church was Santa Maria Maggiore. This ancient practice, first recorded in the eighth century, was well known in the Renaissance, even though Saint Peter’s had long since become the preferred site for the Mass and papal benediction.!2? By associating the Lateran with Easter, Sixtus asserted the Lateran’s sacramental identity.139 On this day, when the work of redemption was fulfilled and when the faithful received the Eucharist, the pope opened the spiritual treasury of the Church, granting a plenary indulgence to those who had come to the Lateran. The obelisk held special meaning in the context of this ceremony, for the texts read during the Easter liturgy assert that the physical emancipation of the Jews from Egypt, recalled annually at Passover, was the antetype of the spiritual liberation achieved by Christ’s Death and Resurrection, which coincided with that Old Testament feast. With the transfer of the Easter Station,

Sixtus inextricably linked human salvation to the Lateran.

Sixtus’s interventions at the Lateran bring to a close a clearly defined period in the church’s history marked by renewed attention to its physical condition and spiritual dignity. The restructuring of the urban setting, initiated by Pius IV and continued by Gregory XIII, was brought to completion. Pius’s treatment of the twin-towered transept facade, with its imperial allusions, was developed in the form and decoration of the new benediction loggia. The reworking of the Scala Santa and Sancta Sanctorum, and the transfer of the Easter Station, were presaged by Gregory’s emphasis on the history of the sacraments at the Lateran. Constantine, honored indirectly in many of these earlier projects, was now celebrated in two fresco cycles.!31 Equally innovative was the revival of the Lateran’s age-old affiliation with the Old Testament Temple. In the end, Sixtus’s Lateran projects offer both a summation of preceding attitudes and an indication of future possibilities. His most significant contribution was to project the Lateran’s history, not as a sequence of discrete events, extraordinary though they might have been, but as a unified expression of the efficacy of God’s salvific plan. This synthetic point of view had a profound effect on the subsequent commissions of Clement VIII.

Chapter

CIDJEMUEINTE WHI

TORU Se IRAE

On 8 June 1592, four months after his elevation to the throne of Peter, Clement VIII (1592-1605) announced his intention to inspect personally all ecclesiastical foundations in Rome.! A bishop’s duty to examine his diocese received renewed emphasis at the Council of Trent, and during the late sixteenth-century pastoral Visitations were conducted throughout Italy. In Rome, however, they were infrequent, their scope was limited, and they rarely involved the pope’s direct participation. Not only would the Clementine Visitation be the most thorough ever conducted in Rome, but the pope saw it as the initiation of a comprehensive reform of the Universal Church. To implore divine assistance in this goal, he called for the exceptional observance of the Forty Hours devotion to the sacrament, with those who prayed for success being rewarded with a plenary indulgence.?

On the feast of Saint Basil, 14 June 1592, Clement began the Visitation at the Lateran. In his impassioned speech to the clergy he explained that his decision to start with the Lateran was due to its special dignities and venerable relics. He hoped that a new age of piety would begin with them, spread to the clerical and lay populations of the city, and ultimately encompass the entire world.4 In keeping with the new, official nature of the Clementine Visitation, detailed records were maintained, providing valuable information concerning the physical state of the church and baptistery and those changes Clement wished to see executed. In the baptistery Clement provided for the renovation of the chapels that ring the central octagon. The chapel dedicated to Saints Rufina and Seconda, located in the pronaos, would be outfitted with a wooden ceil-

ing and the marble revetment of the walls restored. The venerable fifthcentury chapels of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist were 37

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

to be entirely renovated, their walls sheathed with polychrome marble and embellished with frescoes. Additionally, the chapel of Saint Venantius, which had been the focus of a comprehensive renovation under Gregory XIII, would be expanded with the addition of a sacristy. Far more extensive was Clement’s plan for the basilica. All encumbrances would be removed, the nave colonnade repaired, new windows cut in to provide more light, private chapels restored and reendowed. The high altar along with its imposing Gothic ciborium were to be elaborately decorated with paintings and gilding. Access to the confessio chapel located below the altar would be facilitated by constructing new steps leading to it from nave level. Historical continuity with the ancient Lateran would be affirmed by the creation of splendid new settings for some of the more significant commemorative monuments.® Other objects would be returned to the locations they were known to have occupied in the past: the Last Supper table below the high altar, and the medieval inscription extolling the special dignities of the basilica along the architrave of the east portico.” Clement also ordered significant changes to the transept of the church.8 A new ceiling modeled on that of the nave would be constructed.” The organ and choir loft that filled the south transept would be removed, the organ transferred to the inner facade of the north transept entrance, and a balcony constructed there to allow the pope to observe the liturgical functions in private.!° Finally, it was proposed fo transfer the sacrament altar to-a “nobler place of the chureh where it would be most exposed to the eyes of the ones entering the church... .”!1 Evidently the altar would replace the organ so that the worshiper entering the basilica through the north transept would see it straightaway. Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici (later Pope Leo XI, 1605), one of Clement’s closest advisers and a member of the Visitation commission,

supervised the Lateran renovations until May 1596 when he left Rome for France, where, in his capacity as papal legate, he secured of the reconciliation of the French king, Henry IV, to Church.!* According to the cardinal’s biographer, under expenses at the Lateran were kept to a minimum, and when

ratification the Roman his tutelage he departed

the project was left unfinished.!3 Documents and literary sources confirm that the four years between autumn 1592 and summer 1596 mark a clearly defined phase in the history of the project. During this time many works decreed by the pope were carried out. The most prominent of these centered on the liturgical core of the church: construction of the new transept ceiling, and restoration of the high altar, the ciborium, and the confessio chapel.!4 38

Clement VIII’s Transept

As per the pope’s specification, the new transept ceiling was modeled on the nave ceiling of Pius IV, emulating its form as well as its symbolic program that commemorates the special dignities of the basilica by referring to its incomparable relic treasure (Figs. 24, 25).!5 Although the present ceiling was extensively restored in the last century, evidence suggests that it preserves the original design. The ceiling was entrusted to Clement’s favorite architect, the Florentine Taddeo Landini, who brought to it the same elegance that charcterizes his work as a sculptor; indeed, the ceiling is as much a sculptural as an architectural creation, incorporating five large figural reliefs carved in wood, painted, and gilded.1¢ A frontal, bust-length image of Christ underscored by clouds is flanked first by the heads of Peter and Paul, and then by full-length figures of the two Saint Johns displayed on pedestals in the manner of statues. The pope’s coat of arms, heraldically turned toward the center, occupy the last compartments.!” Although the ceiling is located in the transept, the figurative images are intended to be viewed from the nave, and it is exclusively from this position that they appear in conjunction with the objects to which they refer. The ceiling’s iconographic program celebrates the Lateran’s unparalleled dignity derived from its dedication to Christ and to the two Saint Johns, and documented by its sacred relics: the miraculous bust-length image of Christ in the semidome of the apse, and in the high altar the heads of Peter and Paul, along with objects related to the Baptist and the Evangelist, as well as to Christ’s Passion.!8 Frescoes of John the Baptist and his father, Zachariah, located in the spandrels of the triumphal arch

on the nave side, and scenes of the vocation and martyrdom of Peter and Paul painted on the ciborium itself, augment this program of relic commemoration that centers on the high altar of the church.!? Although all these works can be placed in the chronological frame between 1592 and 1596, less certain is whether additional interventions occurred in the transept at this time. The organ that occupied the south transept was dismantled, but whether it was mounted on the inner entrance facade as Clement requested is not known.29 The pavement of the transept was reworked to provide a unified level along the entire cross axis.2! In the preexisting situation the area that extended from the high altar to the apse was raised above the transepts. The new pavement

would afford the visitor entering the church from the north transept unimpeded access to Gregory XIII’s sacrament altar, which Clement wanted to be transferred to a position opposite the entrance.22 The church’s physical siting with respect to the surrounding city led the pope to take these first tentative steps to reshape the transept as a unified liturgical space. The Lateran had been constructed in the fourth 39

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

ene REPEL EVEL ECE EEL

‘es

ERD

Yipes ‘| Becomes

shaban»

Figure 24. Taddeo Landini, transept ceiling. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Photograph by author)

40

Clement VIII’s Transept

Figure 25. Taddeo Landini, transept ceiling (detail of central area). San Giovanni in Laterano. (Photograph by author)

century with its northern flank, rather than its nave, facing the street

system that led to the city center. Sixtus V’s projects attempted to assert a coherent axis leading from the new streets to the piazza, and then to the transept entrance defined by the grand benediction loggia. This linear sequence abruptly ended on the interior of the transept due to its division into three functionally and spatially distinct areas. Clement’s decision to unify the cross axis in effect extended the urban approach inside the church itself. In this way he resolved the anomalous siting of the church and at the same time honored the central mystery of the faith in an exceptional way. This first phase in the Clementine program for restructuring the Lateran ended in the summer of 1596, when plans to expand the project were being developed. An avviso dated 3 July, less than two months after Cardinal de’ Medici’s departure for France, announced that the pope was prepared to spend an additional 40,000 scudi on the project. The columns of the nave colonnade, which Clement had previously ordered strengthened by being encased in masonry piers, would now be replaced with ancient columns from the Roman imperial port of Nettuno, supplemented with others from the Roman Forum. The side 41

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

aisles of the basilica and the east portico would also be rebuilt. In addition to the pope’s own efforts, the archpriest of the Lateran and two cardinal patrons of the church were charged with opening a new road to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and with erecting a fountain in the Lateran’s east piazza. According to the same source, the pope also ordered construction of “another magnificent chapel in the area where the organ formerly stood,” indicating that plans for the transept would be expanded as well. No evidence exists that these projects were begun in 1596; nevertheless, the notice is significant for recording an intermediate stage in the process of reformulating the Lateran renovations. This process was concluded at some point before July 1597, when work had already begun on the revised program. At that time arrangements were made to transfer many slabs of fine marble excavated from the portico of the Pantheon to the Lateran to serve a new chapel that the pope was constructing with “notabilissima spesa.”24+ Another notice of the same month concerns the magnificent new organ that was then under construction.25 By September 1597, newly established financial accounts prove that fullscale activity on the final transept project was underway. Uninterrupted progress can be followed in these documents until the completion of the transept late in 1599, with the final polish extending into 1600. An important corollary to the process by which the transept became the focus of Clement’s renovations was that the separate aims of the first plan were integrated in the final formulation. Whereas the initial conception involved commemorating the basilica’s importance through an evocation of its special history and precious relics, pursued in the decorations that centered on the high altar, on the one hand, and the appropriate display of the sacrament in the transept, on the other, in the end these separate aims were combined so that the Lateran’s glorious past and the ineffable mystery of the Eucharist were fused. Giacomo della Porta, one of the most prominent architects active in late sixteenth-century Rome, was responsible for additional structural renovations during this definitive phase of the project.26 The medieval windows that pierced the lateral walls of the transept to the east and west were in-filled, and eight new windows were cut through to provide consistent illumination. The arches leading to the intermediate side aisles along the eastern extent of the transept were lowered to match the height of the outer aisle arches (cf. Figs. 26, 29).27 A similar process of regularization was effected along the western wall. The entrance to the ambulatory on the left, or south side of the apse, was rebuilt to reflect the appearance of its counterpart to the north, which had been rebuilt by Gregory XIII. Along with the uniform pavement level, these further 42

Clement VIII’s Transept

Figure 26. Marten van Heemskerck, northeast wall of the Lateran transept viewed from the ambulatory, drawing (detail). Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, PreufSischer Kulturbesitz, 79 D 2, fol. 70v. (Museum)

adjustments imposed symmetry and axial focus on the previously fragmented space. They indicate that the basic components of the decorative program were already planned, in particular the series of frescoes in the now unified frieze of the lateral walls, and the new sacrament altar positioned at the culmination of the axis. It is likely that della Porta, who had worked on multimedia ensemble decoration beginning with Gregory XIII’s chapel in Saint Peter’s, played a central role in developing the project’s main features.28 Upon entering the transept, we find ourselves in a brilliantly decorated hall. From the polychrome marble pavement to the painted and gilded ceiling, the space is vibrant with color (Figs. 27, 28; Plates II-IV). The inner entrance facade is defined by a double-storied triumphal arch in which

the lower area, constructed

of richly colored marble, provides

the stable base for a monumental organ whose wooden casement is elaborately carved, painted, and gilded. Above the main entry two athletic angels vigorously support the coat of arms of Clement VIII, while the side portals are surmounted by half-length statues of David and Solomon. Atop the elaborate architecture of the upper arch, a truly majestic scaenae frons, the Annunciation to the Virgin of the Incarnation is enacted: The splendor of the entrance facade is mirrored at the opposite end of the transept by the sacrament altar, whose architectural frame, consisting of a colossal, pedimented aedicula supported on four freestanding columns, is entirely constructed of gilded bronze. A secondary aedicula 43

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

Figure 27.

View of the transept looking toward the sacrament altar of Clement

VIII. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

(Anderson

20958/Art

Resource,

NY)

at the center composed of verde antico columns frames the repository for the sacramental body of Christ, a miniature temple decorated with gilded bronze, silver reliefs, and gems. Above this inner aedicula two angels, seemingly suspended in midair, elevate a relief that represents the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, a precious component of the ensemble that was originally wrought in solid silver. At the sides 44

Clement VIII’s Transept

4

Figure 28. Laterano.

re ‘A

FE

View of the transept looking toward the entrance. San Giovanni (Alinari 26610/Art

Resource,

in

NY)

of the altar four statues representing Hebrew priests seem to respond emotionally and physically to an unfolding drama that takes place in our

realm. crowns This to the

The action reaches its climax with the monumental fresco that the ciborium, where Christ Triumphant ascends to heaven. vocabulary of material opulence and dramatic activation extends lateral walls of the transept (Figs. 29-32; Plate III). The lowest Aan)

VaVAAN EVN ae

Fig ure

20.

View of the transept, northe a st wall. San Giov anni in L ater Rome, U.PI. De 9 501 )

liotheca Hertziana,

ano

(Bib-

Figure 30

View of the transept, southeast wall San Giovanni in Laterano U A alk Dg508) bf Rome,

(Bib-

liotheca Hertziana

47

Figure 31. View of the transept, southwest (Bibliotheca

Hertziana,

Rome,

U.PI. Dg502)

wall. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

Figure 32 View of the transept, northwest (Bibliotheca Hertziana ’ Rome, U,Pt . Dg506)

wall. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

49

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

zone, stretching from the pavement to the top of the arches, is sheathed with rich, polychrome marble. The load-bearing piers that support the arches are decorated with unified colors and equipped with rudimentary bases and capitals, while on the intermediate wall surfaces more varied colors are arranged in elaborate geometric patterns and further embellished with gilded bronze swags and stars, the latter drawn from Clement’s family heraldry.2? The complex articulation of this zone culminates with nine marble reliefs representing angels, and two visionary crosses located in the spandrels between the arches. In contrast to the emphatic physical presence of the lower wall, considerable illusionistic play is introduced in the middle field that extends from the top of the arches to the bottom of the windows. A cycle of frescoes celebrating the intertwined histories of Constantine and the Lateran is presented as a series of feigned tapestries appended to the wall. Where space permits, their voluminous borders hang free, but at times they curl up to accommodate the intrusive architecture, as occurs along the eastern wall and at each juncture with the end walls.3° This interweaving of two- and three-dimensional forms also appears at the topmost level of the walls, where the pedimented window aediculae, bearing swags, stars, and Clement’s name, merge with the painted decoration. This continuous architectural system, part real and part feigned, embraces the festive canopies between the windows that shelter figures of the Apostles and, to the sides of the altar, the Doctors of the Church.

Perched on the uppermost painted border, cavorting putti hold aloft the episcopal miter and the papal triregno (triple-crown tiara). This program of decoration addresses the hierarchical dignity of the Roman Church in its ancestral seat. The figures of the Old Testament priest-kings David and Solomon located at the entrance provide the prehistory to human redemption, traced from the Incarnation of Christ at the Annunciation to the final triumph at the altar when the Lord enters heaven at the Ascension. The Apostles and Doctors recall how revelation was extended to the world and the teachings of the Church were codified, while the pontifical regalia refers to the Lateran’s singular dignity as the pope’s official seat.3! The fresco cycle celebrates how Constantine, as the agent of God’s will, established the first, permanent church at the Lateran. Finally, the whole is referred to the Eucharist, the central Christian mystery that joins humanity to God and links all Christians in a common faith. These exalted themes are presented in a forceful, visual way in part

through the unified formal character of the decoration. The fusion of three-dimensional forms with illusionistic elements was an ingenious so-

50

Clement VIII’s Transept

caahee Wodlfine dr PP ESF- WEIBL:

Figure 33. Attributed to Giuseppe Marchetti, southwest wall of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano, drawing. Royal Library, Windsor, 10969. (The Royal Collection © 1993 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II)

lution to a particulary difficult problem. Despite the considerable structural changes to the transept, certain aspects of its original, nonaligned form remained. Where the height and width of the four eastern arches are approximately equal and the distance between them is constant, to the west the arches are narrower and lower and are not evenly spaced. Compare, for example, the strict vertical alignment of arch, fresco, and window to the east with the more haphazard situation to the west (Fig.

33,).34 The type of decoration that was chosen — geometric designs for the lower zone of marble revetment, the tapestry-like borders of the central fresco cycle, and festive canopies for the figures at the window level — was eminently flexible and thus capable of assimilating every variation in the architecture to a unified system. The redefinition of the transept toward greater unity did not result from aesthetic preference exclusively; rather, it was conceived to focus

51

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

maximum attention on the Eucharist. The role played by the new altar within the transept program and its significance for Clement’s conception of the entire church is provided by two exceptional documents. The monumental bronze aedicula of the new altar was erected during Clement’s prolonged absence from Rome during spring—winter 1598.93 Soon

after returning to the city, on 3 January 1599, he visited the Lateran to inspect the progress of the work.34 According to one notice he was dissatisfied with the appearance of the sacrament altar “since with little or no symmetry of architecture it turned out low and dwarfed.” The same witness explained that “since the altar is located in a corner of the church, it cannot be seen until one is right in front of it,” adding “they also say that if it would be raised a bit the defect would not seem so great, but [would] appear different from what we now see; this I cannot

believe.”3° From the beginning, Clement intended that the worshiper entering from the north transept portal would immediately see the Eucharist. The basic problem inherent in this plan arose from the location of the high altar in the crossing, where its towering ciborium blocked the view of the Clementine altar, as it still does today. Considering the colossal dimensions of the bronze ciborium, it is improbable that it appeared to the pope “low and dwarfed”; more likely, he was critical of the obstruction caused by the high altar. One proposed remedy apparently involved elevating the bronze ciborium, but an even more radical solution was advanced by Clement himself. A second notice concerning the same papal visit records that he ordered the high altar transferred from its position in the crossing into the tribune.3¢ Clement’s plan was never carried out, but the idea further reveals the transept’s essential function in the pope’s new conception of the Lateran. The Lateran’s high altar, recognized as the most sacred altar in Christendom

and a relic in its own

right, is the episcopal altar of the

pope, where he alone may celebrate the Divine Office.” By moving this altar into the tribune Clement would have resolved not just an aesthetic

problem concerning the visibility of his new sacrament altar, but certain liturgical and ceremonial problems as well. Foremost was the tradition that the Eucharist not be reserved in the vicinity of relics.48 Yet the highly visible placement of the relics of Peter and Paul in the high-altar ciborium forced a visual association with the Eucharist. Additional problems were caused by the location of the altar with respect to the apse. When the pope officiated at the Lateran, he would occupy the episcopal throne located at the base of the apse surrounded by highranking members of the clergy, a majestic visual expression of the eccle-

52

Clement VIII’s Transept

siastical hierarchy. The considerable distance separating the throne from the high altar must have diminished both the commodity for the pope and the magnificence of these ceremonies.2? Clement’s scheme would have resolved all three concerns, and in the process reinforced an aspect of the project that was implicit from the first formulation at the Visitation of 1592: the creation of two complementary liturgical spaces within the basilica, the nave and apse devoted to official, papal functions, with the transept serving to honor the sacrament.19 What is entirely unexpected in this solution to the Lateran’s architectural and liturgical peculiarities is how the transept was given precedence over the rest of the church, with the Clementine sacrament altar supplanting the traditional high altar. An engraving first issued shortly after 1600 and republished at least twice thereafter shows an exterior view of the Lateran with the north transept entrance prominently featured (Figs. 34, 35).4! Images of the most venerable altars then existing in the church and baptistery form a sacred frame, revealing the Lateran’s spiritual splendors. The traditional high altar, here designated “Altar degli Apostoli,” is grouped with the other subsidiary altars, while the new sacrament altar occupies the central field and is identified as “Altar Maggiore.”42 This extraordinary transfer of dignity responds to the burgeoning tradition in Counter-Reformation Italy of honoring the central mystery of the faith by placing permanent receptacles for the Eucharist on the main altars of churches.43 The designation “high altar” for the Lateran sacrament altar carries a particular resonance, evoking the basilica’s primary dedication to Christ the Savior, Basilica Salvatoris. It is a fact of considerable interest that the actual decorative idiom employed in the transept to achieve the new level of unity and focus on the Eucharist differs from the prior sixteenth-century tradition of church ornament as it had been developed in Rome. For much of the century simple, well-lit interiors were preferred; they were usually whitewashed, with colorful decoration relegated to the lateral chapels and the presbytery.44 Toward the end of the century, however, this austere purity was supplanted by a radically different aesthetic. Two basic modes of embellishment can be distinguished, and these were combined in the Clementine transept to produce a new genre of sacred decoration, one that was to have far-reaching consequences for the subsequent development of church decoration in seventeenth-century Rome. The use of polychrome marble, mosaics, gilded stuccoes, and precious metals that characterizes the first type had been introduced early in the sixteenth century by Raphael in the Chigi chapel of Santa Maria

53

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Centurv

i Dh

Some Ogamenanenenee ern

Figure 34. Giovanni Maggi and Matthias Greuter, the Lateran and its privileged altars, engraving. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D8550)

del Popolo.45 This mode of treating the sacred space as a precious envelope was exploited beginning with Gregory XIII’s sacrament chapel at the Lateran and the same pope’s Cappella Gregoriana at Saint Peter’s.4¢ Sixtus V’s funerary cum sacrament chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore continued the development.4” These papal commissions involved subsidiary areas of the host basilica, which were devoted to the Eucharist, to venerable relics, or in the special case of the Sistine chapel, to both. Indeed, the material richness defining these projects evokes the vocabulary commonly found on a reduced scale in tabernacles of the sacrament and containers of sacred relics.48 The ultimate source for this type of decoration applied on a monumental scale is to be found in antiquity, and in particular in the tradition of splendid interior decoration of imperial Rome, known to the Renaissance through literary descriptions and extant structures, such as the

54

Clement VIII’s Transept

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Figure 35. Giovanni Maggi and Matthias Greuter, Lateran sacrament altar of Clement VIII (detail of Fig. 34). (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D8555)

Pantheon.*? It was precisely this kind of embellishment that characterized Constantinian church foundations, including gilded wooden ceilings, silver and gold vessels, and rich fabric hangings. The ancient Lateran itself was the primary example of the type, sometimes called after its lavish appointments Basilica Aurea.°? Although these decorations had long ago disappeared, they were inventoried in the Liber pontificalis, which provided the basis for continual literary elaboration.5! In addition to costly vessels for use in the divine office, Constantine donated seven silver altars, golden candelabra, and the fastigium, a monumental architectural and sculptural ensemble composed entirely of silver. The

he)

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

interior of the church was sheathed in colored marble, including the pavement and areas of the lower nave walls. Verde antico columns separated the side aisles, while the nave colonnade consisted of monumen-

tal red granite shafts.‘ Through the material splendor of its decoration the Clementine transept recreates its long-vanished archetype, evoking the earthly triumph of the Church during the reign of Constantine. The second main component of the transept program, its painted decoration, calls forth associations

with the same

venerable

models.

Ac-

cording to the official records of the Second Council of Nicaea, which met in 787 to discuss iconoclasm, the legates of Pope Hadrian I asserted that Constantine had adorned the nave of the Lateran with a series of sacred histories drawn

from the Old and New

Testaments.

This notice,

which purports to record the first official church decoration, may have provided a point of departure for one of the main features of the transept decoration.°? That a reference to early Christian models was intended is proved by the way the frescoes are arranged, with the narratives in the middle zone and the pious witnesses at window level, recalling features of the then extant fresco cycles at Old Saint Peter’s and San Paolo f.l.m. (Fig. 36).54 The decorative scheme of the paleo-Christian basilicas of Rome had been widely applied during the Middle Ages with an especially creative elaboration appearing at the turn of the thirteenth century at San Francesco, Assisi.°5 In that case, the various zones of the walls are assimilated in a comprehensive system. Images framed by flat, abstract borders at the upper level narrate events from the Old and New Testaments, while the festive veils of the lower zone extend into the space of the spectator. In the center of the wall scenes from Francis’s life history unfold on the other side of an illusionistic colonnade, establishing an eter-

nal present of Christian renewal. An analogous example of how the spiritual revitalization of the Church could be expressed though allusion to the decoration of Rome’s most venerable basilicas occurred early in the fifteenth century when Martin V initiated a comprehensive restoration of the Lateran’s nave to celebrate the reestablishment of the papacy in Rome following the Great Schism.°® The fresco component of the scheme was entrusted to Gentile da Fabriano, and following his death it was continued by Pisanello; portions survived until the mid-seventeenth-century renovation of the nave by Francesco Borromini. A record of the format of the cycle, if not the subtle visual qualities for which it was so famous, is provided by a drawing from Borromini’s shop (Fig. 37). A cycle of the life of John the Baptist (and perhaps of John the Evangelist), arranged in a single tier,

56

Clement VIII’s Transept

Figure 36. Nave decoration of Old Saint Peter’s, engraving. (Ciampini, De sacris aedificiis, pl. 10) (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D25210)

occupied the central area of the walls.5”? Above this horizontal band, in the space between the windows, Old Testament prophets were painted in grisaille to simulate marble sculptures. Between the two zones a row of half-length prophets framed by windowlike apertures and small hanging curtains appeared to emerge into the real space of the church. Later in the fifteenth century, a simplified version of this scheme was applied in the chapel Pope Sixtus IV built at the Vatican.5§ In both the disposition of its frescoes and the rich materials employed, the Clementine transept proclaims the Lateran’s supreme position in the ecclesiological hierarchy by referring to the most venerable paradigms of church decoration; but whatever its debts to an idealized vision of the early Christian past may have been, the transept was not intended as an archaeological reconstruction. The pervasive references to temporary festive decoration rendered by means of painted illusion function in the

a7

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

manner of visual quotation marks, identifying the ensemble as a celebratory re-creation. This distinctive blend of the old and new, the real and ideal, recalls nothing less than the program employed at San Francesco, Assisi, to bring the past into the present. It is far from coincidental that at the close of the sixteenth century in papal Rome a similar mode of sacred decoration was developed to achieve precisely the same goal. In a series of restorations of paleo-Christian churches, coffered wooden ceilings, narrative fresco cycles, and ciboria over the high altars, all of which carry a retrospective emphasis, coexist with illusionistic devices of a decidedly festive nature.°? The widespread application of what might be called the revival scheme of Counter-Reformation church decoration was largely the work of cardinals who, like Clement VIII himself, were affiliated with

the Oratory of Filippo Neri, that fundamental repository of CounterReform values. Alessandro de’ Medici, entrusted by Clement with the first stage of the Lateran renovations, was the patron at Santa Prassede (1594-1600); and Cesare Baronius, author of the magisterial compendium of Church history, the Annales ecclesiastici, and Clement’s confessor, restored Santi Nereo ed Achilleo (1596-1602), his own titular

church, and he oversaw the renovation of San Cesareo for the pope (1597-1601).69 Historical continuity with the early Christian moment and the sense of participatory celebration encoded in the decoration of these churches are fundamental aspects of the Oratorian mission. The similarities between the Clementine transept and these projects of the 1590s speak to shared concerns, but in contrast to them the Lateran program differs in several important ways, each of which addresses the basilica’s unique spiritual status as Mater et Caput. Reference to the early Christian past is made with increased precision; the festive component of the decoration is intensified; and for the first time all elements

of the decoration are orchestrated to concentrate attention on a single point, the altar of the sacrament. The angelic and historical witnesses, who together comprise an ideal audience for the unfolding drama of Christian salvation, assist in the inexorable draw toward the Eucharist.

The nine angels represented in marble reliefs positioned along the side walls are garbed in liturgical dress, indicating their role in the divine liturgy (Figs. 38-46).°! They are cast in distinct emotional states depending on their distance from the sacrament; self-absorbed at the entrance, they gradually become more activated, their garments fluttering as if buffeted by an atmospheric turbulence. The last angel on the western wall races toward the altar with hands clasped in prayer.6? The painted Apostles and Doctors on the upper level - conceived as living beings who step forward and cast shadows on tapestry-like borders — are also 58

Clement VIII’s Transept

eves frees eacens dilHoan

Figure 37 Borromini shop, north nave wall of San Giovanni in Laterano, drawing. Staatl iche Museen zu Berlin, PreufSischer Kulturbesitz, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 4467. (Museum)

59

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century Figure 38-40 (facing). Reliefs of angels on the east transept wall. San Giovanni in Laterano. Photographs arranged from the entrance to the sacrament altar. Figure 38. Attributed to Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo way Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1064)

Figure 39.

Attributed to Francesco Landini.

(Valsoldino).

(The Conway

(The Con-

Library, Courtauld

Institute of Art, A74/1065) Figure 4o. Attributed to Nicolo Cordier. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1066) Figures 41-6 (below and facing). Reliefs of angels on the west transept wall. San Giovanni in Laterano. Photographs arranged from the sacrament altar to the entrance. Figure 41. Attributed to Ambrogio Bonvicino. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1067) Figure 42. Attributed to Tommaso della Porta. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1068) Figure 43. Attributed to Ippolito Buzio. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1069) Figure 44. Attributed to Camillo Mariani. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1061) Figure 45. Attributed to Egidio della Riviera. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1062) Figure 46. Attributed to Silla da Viggit. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1063)

Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43 ant

60

SO REE OES

Clement VIII’s Transept

Figure 44

Figure 39

Figure 40

Figure 45

Figure 46

61

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

amidase cPusosdado -

Figure 47. Giovanni

Bernardino Cesar, Saint Peter, transept. San in Laterano.

(Bibliotheca

U.PI. Dg510)

Hertziana,

Rome,

Figure 48. Paris Nogari, Saint James the Great, transept. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

Hertziana, Rome, U.Pl. Dg504)

characterized by increased activity in the altar’s vicinity (Figs. 47-50; Plates III, VI). The marble statues of Old Testament priests at the sides of the altar and the two angels who support the relief of the Last Supper continue this expansion of physical and emotional response. The dramatic action climaxes

with the fresco of the Ascension,

where

Christ and

the Apostles who stand at the outer edges appear to invade our space. The colossal gilded arches that define the organ and altar, the fictive tapestries, garlands, and all-pervasive dazzling splendor recall the type of temporary adornment that was standard in the Renaissance for triumphal entries as well as liturgical celebrations, most significantly, for the annual feast of Corpus Domini held in honor of the Eucharist.63 This species of temporary adornment appears in the Lateran transept as permanent decoration, implying that the celebration is a perpetual one. A catalyst for this defining aspect of the program was provided by one of 62

(Bibliotheca

Clement VIII’s Transept

Figure 49. Cesare Nebbia, Saints Ambrose and Gregory the Great, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.P]. Dg503)

Figure 50. Cesare Nebbia, Saints Augustine and Jerome, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg5o9)

the most significant celebrations ever experienced in the Eternal City, namely, the tercentennnial Holy Year Jubilee of 1600. Contemporary sources state that the transept was created for the Holy Year, and a monumental inscription that originally adorned the pavement just inside the transept entrance proclaimed CLEMENS PAPA OCTAVOS ANNO IVBILAEI MDC (Fig. 51).64

Conceived on the eve of the great year of reconciliation, the Clementine transept presents the Lateran in an ideal, festive recreation that evokes the Church at its first triumph during the Constantinian Golden Age. The Lateran’s geographical situation, with its flank turned toward the city, provided the circumstance to designate the transept as an independent church, replete with its own axis of approach, piazza, monumental entrance, and now completed by the Clementine transept defined by a basilican system of decoration and main altar dedicated to Christ.®5 It is to this semiautonomous

ponents, that we now turn.

church, and to each of its com-

The Lateran in the Sixteenth Century

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3

ENTRANCE

[SZ ANY Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

Truly drawn order, in His

He has embellished the universe with melody and the dissonance of the elements into the unity of so that the whole world might become harmony presence. — Clement of Alexandria!

The first stage of Clement VIII’s reorganization of the Lateran transept involved a new correspondence between the sacrament altar and the organ. The fifteenth-century organ then located in the south transept would

be reinstalled on the inner entrance wall to the north, and the

altar of Gregory XIII would stand on direct axis at the opposite end of the space. Ultimately, both structures were rebuilt on a grander scale, but the association between them was maintained. This both physically changed the appearance of the transept, and introduced an underlying conceptual unity. Traditionally, the organ functioned as the primary musical instrument of the liturgical service.2 This usage was reaffirmed in the sixteenth century when, under the impact of the Counter-Reformation, there was widespread concern for the proper role of music in the liturgy.? Although no regulations existed concerning the placement of the organ within the church, the instrument was often located in the presbytery and thus was physically associated with the high altar.4 Alternatively, the organ was sometimes erected at some distance from the altar on the church’s inner facade.) This situation is paralleled in the Lateran transept, where the organ is an integral part of a monumental propylaeum that defines the threshold of the sacred space. Altar and organ together demarcate the axis along which the worshiper moves toward the sacrament and salvation. The music activates the approach, giving auditory expression to those spiritual harmonies that are found at the altar. 67

The Nave Clementina

The Lateran instrument was created by the eminent Perugian organaro Luca Blasi, who also built a complex water organ for Clement in the gardens of the Quirinal palace.¢ In July 1597 Blasi boasted that the Lateran organ would be the largest and most complex ever seen, constructed entirely anew, and outfitted with reed pipes and trumpets.” Subsequent notices grant the organ a unique status due to its extraordinary size and the harmony of the music it produced. So unusual was Blasi’s achievement that Clement is reported to have elevated him to the order of knighthood.? Just as in the sophistication of its internal mechanism, the external form of the Lateran organ represents innovation of the highest order. The Milanese sculptor and architect, Giovanni Battista Montano, best known today for his graphic reconstructions of ancient monuments, was responsible for this extraordinary work (Fig. 52; Plate IV).19 Montano was previously employed on other projects with Blasi and Giacomo della Porta, and thus was a logical choice for the commission,

but his in-

ventive manipulation of antique forms must have influenced the decision as well.!! Fashioned of wood, painted, and gilded, the casement recalls the form of a triple-bay Roman triumphal arch. Above the lateral bays pedimented inscription plaques support freestanding sculptures. The central arch, higher than the others and framed by columns with distinctive corkscrew profiles, is crowned by a segmental pediment that emerges in stages as though it were an organic rather than purely architectural form. The entire structure is animated by the same quality of explosive energy. The more sober lower zone of the wall, incorporating the three entrances into the transept, mirrors the general form of the organ prospect, with sculptures above the lateral entries and a segmental pediment over the main entry.!2 At the center, freestanding columns of rich giallo antico marble carry an entablature that in turn supports the projected central bay of the organ. The more exuberant organ prospect is firmly supported by the solid marble structure of the entry zone, thus enhancing the unification of the entire wall. In considering the sources of the design, Boniface VIII’s Lateran benediction loggia demands notice (see Fig. 10). For almost three centuries this loggia was a primary stage for papal appearances, especially at the possesso when, following his consecration at Saint Peter’s, the new pope was crowned at the Lateran, taking control of his episcopal seat. Although demolished by Sixtus V, its original form is well known, and it is

clear that in essential ways it provided the model for the transept entrance. In both cases the elaborate decoration of the upper stage contrasts with the more restrained, classical vocabulary below, and the two

levels are linked by the projection of the central bay through the entire 68

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

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The Nave Clementina

height of the edifice. In addition to these formal similarities, both structures provide majestic backdrops for the appearance of venerable figures, the pope in one case and God the Father in the other. Overlaid on this recollection of Boniface’s grand structure is the ancient triumphal arch form, the defining characteristic of the organ prospect in Central Italy during the sixteenth century.!4 The organ in Santa Maria della Scala, Siena, is an early example of the type (Fig. 53).!° Mounted high upon the wall and supported by brackets, its pipes are divided into three major groupings defined by arches, all surfaces are elaborately painted and gilded, and at the top freestanding sculptures complete the decoration.!6 The late sixteenth-century organ in the Orvieto Duomo is elaborated in a new way that can stand to indicate the general development of these monuments during the sixteenth century (Fig. 54).17 The structure now fills the entire end wall of the left transept, extending from the springing of the arches to the vault. What was previously an article of church furniture appended to the wall has become an extension of the monumental architectural system. The sculptures perched atop the edifice, conceived with a powerful plasticity and animation, contribute to this effect by embracing the surrounding space. Apparently, the original plan at Orvieto involved remodeling the lower wall to provide a firm support for the organ, and to incorporate into the unified design the Cappella del Corporale, the chapel that conserves the eucharistic relics from the Mass at Bolsena.1!8 The application of the triumphal arch form in the church organ cannot be explained simply by Renaissance interest in the ancient past. It was well known that in antiquity organs were used in theater performances and circus games.!? They provided an auditory component to these celebrations, whose nature was as much religious as civic. Images of organs adorn late antique Contorniate medallions, which might have served as admission tokens in connection with such public celebrations (Fig. 55).2° Portraits of early emperors appear on the obverses, suggesting that whatever their ostensible function might have been, these medallions also had a commemorative purpose. The connection between the organ and the emperor conveys both literal and metaphorical meaning. Nero had a special fascination with the organ, and both Elagabalus and Alexander Severus were said to have been able organists.2! Gallienus is reported to have used the organ to accompany his ceremonial entrances.*? This last notice evokes the elaborate ritual of imperial presentation that was later developed at Constantinople in which organ music was a prominent feature.?> At the entrance to the palace an organ stood ready to accompany with its thundering sounds the advent

70

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

Figure 53. Organ. Siena, Santa Maria della Scala. (Grassi, Siena, 5622)

_—-Figure 54. Ippolito Scalza, organ case. Orvieto, Cathedral. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, Eg0992)

of the Basileus. Most elaborate of all were the organs in the emperor’s throne room, which were shaped in the form of trees, with the music produced by mechanical birds affixed to the branches. A panegyric honoring Constantine, written by the imperial court poet Publius Optatianus Porphyrius, employs the image of the organ as a metaphor of political concord.24 An example of the carmen figuratum, the poem takes the form of its subject with each line calculated to be longer than the last in order to mimic the typical arrangement of organ pipes in ascending size (Fig. 56). A central connecting band reads AVGVSTO

VICTORE

IVVAT

RATA

REDDERE

VOTA

(Augustus

Being

the

71

The Nave Clementina

Victor, It Is Pleasing to Render Certain Supplications). The upper portion of the text invokes Clio, muse of history, and describes with elliptical similes the melodic sounds produced by the force of air in the organ pipes. The lower text celebrates the victorious conclusion of the emperor’s “almost perennial martial labors” by referring to a ceremony of triumph and renewal that encompasses the entire empire, with special emphasis on Rome: “Now Rome, pinnacle of the civilized world, gives gifts and crowns, carrying victory statues in triumphal procession sparkling with gold, and now wishes are expressed already from the theaters and from dance troops.”25 The poet closes by identifying his work as springing from the font of Apollo, and referring to his state of exile from which he would soon be recalled by Constantine. Here the organ and its music symbolize victory, peace, and political concord. In the sixteenth century, when the church organ assumed the form of an ancient triumphal arch, the imperial associations of the instrument were invested with a new meaning. The organ now announces the presence of Christ at His earthly triumph, celebrating the unity of the Church and the concord that is human salvation. In the course of the sixteenth century, these broadly Christological themes were sometimes adjusted toward more specificity in order to honor the churches in which the organs were housed. For example, at Siena the Annunciation in the lateral roundels refers to the primary dedication of Santa Maria della Scala to the Annunicate Virgin; whereas at Orvieto, where the organ is located above the chapel that houses the relic from Bolsena, the statue that crowns

the ensemble, identified as Harmonia

Caelestis, elevates the eu-

charistic chalice.26 This burgeoning tradition of integrating both physically and conceptually with its site is pursued with focus at the Lateran to celebrate its unparalleled dignities. The triumphal arch motif that was so widely employed teenth century for organ casements tended to be generic in

the organ an unusual

in the sixits antique reference. In contrast, at the Lateran both the organ and the lower entrance system, while far from being archaeological reconstructions,

recall particular ancient structures. The model for the lower zone is suggested by the oval niches at the sides that refer to the Hadrianic medallions on the Arch of Constantine (Fig. 57). This link to the Constantinian monument is confirmed by the fact that a portion of its giallo antico marble revetment was removed from the arch specifically for use in the new structure.*” The organ case itself was modeled on the grand triumphal arch that was raised in the Roman Forum to honor Augustus, known in the Renaissance through ancient coins (Fig. 58).28 Characteristic of this monument and unique in the tradition of triumphal arches

72

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Contorniate medallion. (Andreas and Elisabeth Alf6ldi, Die Kontorniat-Medaillons, Part I, Katalog, Deutsches

(above).

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Figure 55

4A

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

\ i

(Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

are the crowning pediments above the side bays that support figural sculpture. The decoration that adorns both levels of the entrance wall extends the triumphal resonance of the architecture. Surmounting the central portal, and supplanting the winged victories on the Arch of Constantine ’ are angel-ephebes who set Clement VIII’s noble insignia in place (Fig.

59). The triumphal association is reinforced by the reliefs of musical instruments that are conceived as pendant victory trophies. The keynote of the program is sounded by the refulgent face of Apollo, pagan patron of music and prototype of the cosmic ruler, which appears on the soffit above the central entry (Fig. 60).27 The Hebrew kings David and Solomon, founders of the Judaic tradition of praising the Lord with harp and

73

The Nave Clementina

Figure 57. Arch of Constantine.

(Deutsches

61.2297)

Figure 58. Coin of Augustus showing the triumphal arch in the Roman Forum. British Museum, London. (By permission of the Trustees of the British Museum)

74

Archaologisches

Institut, Rome,

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

Figure 59. Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino), angels above the central entrance to the transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, IV.18.3)

Figure 60. Sol-Apollo, soffit of the central entrance to the transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Photograph by author)

75

The Nave Clementina

OTRO VAAN ee!

Figure 61. Ambrogio Bonvicino, David, transept. San Giovanni (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1071)

in Laterano.

organ, are framed by the oval niches above the lateral doors (Figs. 61, 62).39 With their instruments held to the side, these inspired authors of the Psalms and the Song of Songs turn to gaze upward, mouths open in song.?! The sculptures that adorn the organ case complete these references to sacred harmony by representing the moment when God assumed human form at the Annunciation. The archangel Gabriel appears to the left supported on clouds; on the opposite side the Virgin kneels before a prayer stool; and framed by the central aedicula, as though in a royal appearance loggia, God the Father holds the orb of the world and imparts the life-giving blessing to the Virgin.32 To celebrate the event, jubilant angels sing and play instruments. The central columns, modeled on the famous spiral shafts of Saint Peter’s, show putti harvesting grapes. These 76

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

Figure 62.

Francesco

Landini,

Solomon,

transept. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

(The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1073)

distinctive columns carry a dual reference to Constantine and to Solomon’s Temple, and they enhance the sacramental resonance of the structure.>? Indeed, the entire zone is laden with vegetative imagery, signifying the cosmic renewal that was initiated with the Incarnation.34 In the form and material of the arches, in their archaeological references, and in the decoration that animates them they function as a summa of Christian history. The spiritual triumph of the Incarnation that occurred during the reign of Augustus, visualized in the exuberant structure above, is complemented by the temporally defined lower zone where the earthly triumph of the Church under Constantine is evoked. The conceptual link between the two is the lineage of salvation, foreshadowed by Apollo, announced by the Hebrew kings and ancestors of Christ, David and Solomon, fulfilled at the Incarnation under Augustus, ad

The Nave Clementina

and promulgated to the world by Constantine. Finally, what might be called the regal aspect of the ensemble, its dependence on imperial triumphal arches and its reference to pagan and Judaic kingship, honors Christ as the King of Kings at the royal Lateran church. Beginning in antiquity and continuing into the Renaissance, an un-

broken tradition identified musical harmony as an expression of those underlying principles that govern the natural world. According to the teachings of Plato, Pythagoras, and their followers, the microcosm of the world and the macrocosm of the universe are linked in a proportional system that could be expressed through abstract numerical ratios, which in turn provide the basis for musical harmony.?° Not incidentally, these same ratios were also believed to have been divinely revealed to Moses and Solomon, who employed them in building the Tabernacle

and the Temple.36 Sacred architecture and sacred music express the same universal laws and both descend from God.3’ Seen in this way, music makes available to human perception the very structure of creation, and thus it could be interpreted as a symbol of heaven, of Christian

redemption, and of Christ Himself.38 These notions apply in a special way to the organ, whose unique properties made it the instrument most suited to divine praise and one that was often understood to refer to the Church.3? The physical composition of the instrument, at once complex and unified, was equated with the human body and its music with the human voice.49 The organ was said to share a special affinity with the divine, and thus its music could turn the human soul to God.*! In discussing the efficacy of the sacrament of confirmation, or the imposition of hands as it was called in the early Church, Tertullian compared the sacramental process to the way the organ is played, equating the instrument with humankind and the organist with God.4? In Athanasius Kircher’s compendium of musical erudition these ideas are expressed by the image of an organ divided into six groupings of pipes, each identified with one of the days of creation (Fig. 63).43 It is in the celebration of the Eucharist, when the Church

in heaven

and the Church on earth unite, that the divine nature of the organ is most evident. In the liturgy the organ is used to accompany the Sanctus, the hymn of adoration that introduces the Canon of the Mass, offered to the Creator in concert with the angelic company.44 At this moment the music is equated with the heavenly concert of praise, announcing the advent of Christ in the transubstantiated Host, consummate symbol of the unified Church. This chain of ideas that imparts a spiritual meaning to organ music assumes particular meaning in the context of the Holy Year, when the faithful flocked to Rome to assert the unity of the Christian nation and to reap the benefits of the extraordinary indulgence by which they were 78

Entrance: Spiritual Harmony at the Threshold of the Space

Teonilmus XXIII

(a Py HARMONIA NA

Figure 63. The organ as metaphor of the creation of the world, engraving. (Athanasius Kircher, Musurgia universalis sive ars magna consoni et dissoni in X. libros digesta..., 2 vols. in 1 [Rome, 1650], pt. 2, plate between pp. 366 and 367) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

reconciled with God. The great year of remission, which traditionally began and ended on the vigil of Christmas, was understood as a specific enactment of the reconciliation that had been achieved with the Incarnation.45 An essential link between music and the Anno Santo was suggested by the widespread notion that the Christian Holy Year fulfilled the promise held by the Hebrew Jubilee. Decreed by God for every fiftieth year, at this time debts were remitted, prisoners released, and alienated lands returned to their former owners (Leviticus 25:1—22). Music, specifically the sounding of the ram’s-horn trumpet (shofar), was the means by which the Old Testament Jubilee was announced, this, too, by

divine decree. The underlying links between the Old and New Testa79

The Nave Clementina

ment

Jubilees,

between

music

and the Incarnation,

and

between

the

shofar and the organ were explicitly stated in a treatise on the Holy Year published in 1600 in which Christ is identified as “horn of our salvation, risen from the progeny of his servant David, who, with the organ and other musical instruments of His most holy humanity, sounding sweetly, gives to all of us the fullest remission by which He grants the true Jubilee and the true peace with God... .”46 A medal issued by Clement to celebrate the year of reconciliation alludes to this Old Testament ancestry: The pope, enthroned and flanked by cardinals, oversees the reading of the bull by which the indulgence was announced, while trumpets are sounded by additional figures whose robes and conical hats sug-

gest Hebrew vestments (Fig. 64).47 The Lateran organ complex draws together ideas that had long been associated with music to celebrate the harmony of the Christian nation. This expression concerns the Lateran specifically since it was there that the concord between the Old and the New Testaments and between the imperium romanum and the respublica christiana was adocumented reality. The church itself is the tangible sign of the community of faithful —the mystical body of Christ - and of the Church Triumphant. The associations of music with reconciliation and Christian unity are brought into an immediate temporal context through the extraordinary event that was the Holy Year of 1600. We must imagine the ensemble not as a static, symbolic image, but as a functioning element within the larger program of the nave clementina.*® It defines the threshold of the space, announcing in its appearance as well as by the music it produced that we have entered a spiritual realm. Figure 64. Giorgio Rancetti, medal commemorating the announcement of the Holy Year of 1600. Museo della Zecca, Rome.

80

(Museum)

Chapter

4 CELEBRATION

Constantine and the Christian

Pini

deat

emeatcram

The preceding analysis of the transept’s entrance wall makes clear that the architectural and sculptural references were orchestrated to address the Lateran’s august role in human history. To be sure, the physical and even conceptual relationship of art and architecture to the place it occupies is far from uncommon, but the site-specific nature of the entrance wall constitutes a significant innovation. This approach is generally characteristic of the entire Clementine project, but it was applied with particular subtlety in the fresco cycle, where the intertwined histories of Constantine and the Lateran are celebrated.! Narrative cycles that treat the conversion of Constantine to Christianity were not uncommon in the later Middle Ages. Without exception they appear in churches or chapels dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (31 455), who according to a long-lived legend was responsible for baptizing the emperor into the faith. Constantine-Sylvester cycles virtually disappear between the middle of the fourteenth century and 1519 when Pope Leo X commissioned Raphael to decorate the large reception hall in the Vatican palace with a cycle devoted to the first Christian emperor. Following the master’s death in 1520, the project was carried out by his shop, led by Giulio Romano, reaching completion in 1524, during the reign of Clement VII. This cycle commanded enormous prestige and influenced the entire subsequent history of Constantine imagery. During the middle years of the sixteenth century, when Constantine was not the subject of monumental visual commemoration in Rome, two little-known cycles located in the papal-dominated region of the Emilia treated the emperor’s special contributions to Christian history: Prospero Fontana’s frescoes in the Palazzina della Viola, Bologna of the early 1550s, and Silla da Viggit’s marble reliefs that decorate the arca of Pope Sylvester in the Abbazia di San Silvestro at Nonantola of 1568-

AYNa

The Nave

Clementina

72.4 In the last twenty years of the century, however, a spectacular expansion of the theme occurred in Rome. Of the five cycles known to have been created during those years, three were conceived for the Lateran, the two that were painted under Sixtus V, and the final climactic

series in the nave clementina.° It is a significant fact that, with the exception of the Lateran transept series, none of the sixteenth-century cycles were painted within churches. The reversion to the sacred context that had been common in the Middle Ages exerted a fundamental influence on the iconography of the transept frescoes and, as we shall see, it also conditioned elements of their form.

Eight large scenes framed by voluminous tapestry-like borders are disposed equally between the two lateral walls, and along with the Apostles and Doctors of the Church at the window level, they re-create in a festive mode the principal features of the layered decorative scheme that still could be seen in the Constantinian basilicas of Saint Peter’s and San Paolo f.l.m (see Figs. 29-32; Plate III).6 It was Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino, one of the most prominent artists then active in Rome and especially favored by Clement VIII and his family, who supervised a team of painters in executing the commission.’ We are fortunate that Giovanni Baglione participated in the project, for he provided valuable information about the artists who were involved. In addition to himself, Baglione named Bernardino Cesari, Cesare Nebbia, Paris Nogari, Cristoforo Roncalli (il Pomarancio), and Giovanni Battista Ricci as responsible

for the principal scenes, while the Fleming Paul Brill executed the landscape portions of the frescoes (see Scheme).® With the exception of Baglione and Arpino’s brother, Bernardino Cesari, the others were mature artists who had been active in Rome for many years, working together on a variety of commissions that necessi-

tated balancing individual creative purpose with the requirements of a unified program. The interconnectedness of the individual frescoes is asserted by a consistent alternation between compositions disposed along a horizontal or diagonal axis and others that are centralized, with the sequence following the narrative action, moving away from the altar on the left-hand wall and toward it on the right. This alternation imparts a sense of movement to the series, leading the spectator around the transept in counterclockwise fashion and maintaining the centrality of the sacrament altar.? Stylistic affinities among the frescoes have also been observed, and we shall see that these are not fortuitous; rather, basic

formal and iconographic elements are common to all the frescoes.!° These observations suggest that Arpino’s role in the project was more than simply administrative. The frescoes form a tightly knit series, demonstrating in their format, composition, style, and iconography the pres82

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Scheme of frescoes Sacrament

altar Saints Augustine and Jerome (Cesare Nebbia)

Saints Gregory the Great and Ambrose (Cesare Nebbia)

Triumphal Entry of Constantine

Constantine’s Donation

(Bernardino Cesari)

(Giovanni Baglione)

Saint Peter (Bernardino Cesari)

Saint Paul (Cesare Nebbia)

Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul

Apparition of Christ at the Lateran

(Cesare Nebbia)

(Paris Nogari)

Saint Andrew

Saint James Major

(Giovanni Battista Ricci)

(Paris Nogar1)

to the Lateran

High altar Saint Simon (Pomarancio)

Saint Philip (Giovanni Baglione)

Discovery of Pope Sylvester on

Consecration of the High Altar of the

Mount

Lateran

Soratte

(Paris Nogari)

(Giovanni Battista Ricci)

Saint Bartholomew (Paris Nogari)

Saint Thomas (Cesare Nebbia)

Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine

Foundation of the Lateran

(Pomarancio)

(Paris Nogari)

Saint Jude-Thaddeus

Saint Matthias (Giovanni Battista Ricci)

(Orazio Gentileschi) Transept

entrance

ence of a guiding intellect. Arpino must have developed the general form for each scene and then permitted the more experienced artists a certain independence in their design and execution. It is likely that he maintained greater control over the two younger participants who executed the narratives that begin and end the series. Clement VIII entrusted Arpino with the most important public painting commission of his pontificate, and upon its completion he elevated the artist to noble status, conferring upon him membership in the knightly order of Saint Peter.1! In the historiography of art, however, the frescoes have not fared well. Almost from the beginning criticisms were voiced. Writing in the later seventeenth century, the archclassicist critic Giovanni Pietro Bellori reported Annibale Carracci’s sarcastic comment regarding Bernardino Cesari’s contribution to the cycle: “Concerning the triumph of Constantine in the Lateran, painted with much disgrace, he turned to his (companions)

and said ‘who would ever be-

83

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lieve that such a wretch could triumph.’”!2 In evaluating Annibale’s comment, we should take into account his animosity toward Arpino recorded in the sources. According to one report Arpino had been asked tocomplete Annibale’s grand fresco cycle in the Galleria Farnese, which if true would help to explain the viciousness of Annibale’s attack.!% It is proposed here that discussion of the Lateran frescoes be reopened by considering how they function within the larger scheme of the transept program. Only then can their unique style, which has proved so hard to define, be appreciated as an essential part of their content.!4 It would be well to keep in mind that Arpino’s artistic accomplishments were highly praised by contemporaries, who grouped his achievements alongside those of Annibale and Caravaggio. The artist’s considerable intellectual qualities are indicated by his having founded a literary academy, which no doubt utilized the theater he had constructed in his home.!5 Upon Arpino’s death in 1640 he was buried in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, but at some later point his family constructed a handsome monument in the Lateran as his final resting place, evidently to assert that his achievement in the transept was the principal basis for his everlasting fame.!¢ The first fresco in the cycle, the Triumphal Entry of Constantine (Bernardino Cesari), presents Constantine’s adventus into Rome in 312 following his momentous victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge (Fig. 65; Plate III).!7 The procession moves through the central portal of a structure articulated with massive columns of polychrome marble, the whole seen against the Roman cityscape, identified by the Colosseum to the right and the Tabularium in the distance. Allusion to this triumph, and by extension to the triumph of the Church, amplifies the meaning of the transept’s entrance wall, where reference is made to the arch erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine’s victory. The friezelike composition of the fresco and the form of the triumphal carriage may even have been adapted from the entry scene on the Arch of Constantine.!8 Constantine’s entry into Rome was rarely depicted, and never before had it received such prominence as in the Lateran cycle, where it introduces the narrative series.!? Sixteenth-century cycles generally begin with events that express the divinely sanctioned nature of Constantine’s military power, his vision of the cross on the eve of the battle with Maxentius, and the military confrontation itself.29 In the Lateran, however, these martial scenes were suppressed in favor of the triumphal entrance with its evocation of resolved conflict.2! Constantine is thus identified with peace as he had been on the ancient triumphal arch, where the Trajanic relief representing the imperial adventus is inscribed 84

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

we eee eee

62 wamseev

accross

Figure 65. Bernardino Cesari, Triumphal Entry of Constantine, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg517)

FVNDATORI QVIETIS. The fresco’s formal dependence on the famous ancient relief that shows the clemency of Marcus Aurelius toward vanquished barbarians emphasizes this message of reconciliation and peace

(Fig. 66).22

If Constantine’s entry into Rome had few visual precedents, there did exist a related theme that was introduced in the legendary Vita Silvestri.2> This biography of Pope Sylvester I presents a different version of Constantine’s life than was recorded in the authentic historical sources,

and it is truly a riveting tale. In this version Constantine is responsible for persecuting Christians and so is struck by God with leprosy, that most horrible disease especially favored for Old Testament apostates. Pagan priests recommend that to be healed he must bathe in a pool on the

Capitoline Hill filled with the foaming blood of 3,000 children. As the

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massacre of the children is about to begin, the emperor leaves the Lateran palace and encounters the children’s mothers, whose pitiable lamentations move him to renounce the cure. In reward for this noble act,

that same night Saints Peter and Paul appear to Constantine in a dream and reveal that to be healed he must seek out Sylvester, who had escaped the persecution by hiding in a mountain sanctuary near Rome. The imperial soldiers are sent to retrieve the pope, who is then brought to Rome. Following a period of penance, Sylvester baptizes the emperor in the baths of the Lateran palace. Upon entering the font a bright light shines forth and Constantine’s health is restored. This novelistic account was adopted as the official version of Constantine’s biography, appearing in the Liber pontificalis and the famous medieval forgery, the “Constitutum Constantini” or “Donation of Constantine. 24 A compressed version was popularized in the thirteenth century by Jacobus de Voragine.25 Twice in the late fifteenth century the complete text of the Vita was made available in published editions.26 The extraordinary importance it held in Christian tradition is indicated by the fact that from early Christian times the lessons read to the faithful on the feast of Saint Sylvester (g1 December) were drawn from this source. No less an authority than the great Counter-Reformation historiFigure 66. Clementia of Marcus Aurelius. Museo del Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome. (Negativo Archivio Fotografico dei Musei Capitolini)

86

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 67. Prospero Fontana, Constantine Renounces the Pagan Cure; Discovery of Pope Sylvester; Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul. Bologna, Palazzina della Viola. (Gabinetto Fotografico Soprintendenza alle Gallerie, Bologna)

an of the Church, Cesare Baronius, accepted it as a genuine document and based his treatment of Constantine on the information it provided.27 It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the visual tradition concerning Constantine’s life is in large part indebted to the Vita Silvestri. According to the tale, upon meeting the mothers the emperor delivers an impassioned speech, addressing his legal and moral objections to the proposed cure.28 In concluding, he speaks of the moral battle with vice in which the victor is paradoxically conquered, specifically by pietas, the source of Rome’s dominion: “romani imperii dignitas de fonte nascitur pietatis,” as the emperor proclaims in the text.2? Constantine then returns to the Lateran, and the children are reunited with their mothers.

A dramatized verson of the Constantine story, which was enormously popular in the sixteenth century, emphasized the triumphal allusions inherent in the episode.39 Since the ancient triumph itself was associated with pietas, it was ideally suited to express the inner meaning of the Vita story.?! This seems to have been the purpose of the two midcentury Emilian versions of the episode in which the locale of the action is set on the Capitoline Hill, the goal of the ancient procession (Figs. 67, 68). Silla da Viggit underscored the martial and triumphal resonance of the

87

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Figure 68. Silla da Viggit, Constantine

Addresses

the Mothers,

relief from the arca of Saint Sylvester.

Nonantola

(Modena),

Ab-

bazia di San Silvestro. (Soprintendenza per i beni artistici e storici di Modena e Reggio Emilia)

scene by representing Constantine dressed in armor with his head wreathed in laurel.32 In the Lateran transept, Constantine’s entry into Rome is developed as a hybrid image, alluding to the ancient ceremony of triumphal welcome and referring at the same time to the exalted demonstration of Constantine’s piety before the mothers. The conceptual resonance of these intertwined themes is now augmented by treating two of the image’s central elements, the horses and the kneeling women,

as emblems

of Constantine’s moral triumph. The motif of paired horses that rear up as they draw the emperor’s chariot, an essential component of the festive spirit that defines the image, was adapted from Prospero Fontana’s fresco in Bologna. By differentiating his horses by color and action, Fontana referred to the famous passage in Plato’s Phaedrus that compares the human soul to a chariot drawn by two horses, a noble and obedient white steed, and a dark one, base and unrestrained. In this way Fontana addressed the moral significance of Constantine’s action before the mothers and the transformation 88

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 69. Coin of Julia Domna showing the Vestal virgins sacrificing at the Temple of Vesta. British Museum, London. (By permission of the Trustees of the British Museum)

of pagan virtue into Christian morality. Cesari adjusted the conceit in terms of the known ancient practice at the triumph by depicting both horses as white.3? Their now coordinated upward movement evokes a common Republican coin type where Victory rides a two-horse chariot, and may have been intended to allude to the coin that commemorates Constantine’s own heavenly glorification.3+ Perhaps the strongest visual association of the fresco in its air of festive celebration is with Renaissance illustrations of Petrarch’s Trionfi, it too a moral allegory cast as a triumphal procession all’antica.3> These references all point toward a common theme of spiritual victory communicated by the movement of the steeds, who rise up in unison. The women who kneel before Constantine’s chariot function in a similar way to draw out the underlying significance of the scene by interweaving aspects of historical fact and poetic fiction. When read as a narrative image they can refer either to the people who normally welcomed the triumphator at his approach to the city, or to the mothers who figure so prominently in the Vita Silvestri tale. Emblematically, however, they allude to the members of that most venerable priesthood of pagan Rome, the Vestal virgins.36 The canonical number of Vestals was six, and they were divided into three pairs, distinguished by age and level of initiation. As conceived in the Lateran fresco the novitiates, identified by their streaming hair, appear in the forefront closest to Constantine; the middle two possess the typical braided coiffure secured with fillets that signifies full membership in the cult; and the final pair, located at the extreme left, appear with their heads veiled. The central-plan structure in the background reinforces the identification by recalling the tholus shrine of Vesta in the Roman Forum (Fig. 69).37

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The Vestal cult was prominent in Rome’s religious and civic foundation myth.38 According to Virgil, when Aeneas fled from Troy he took with him the eternal flame and the ritual headbands

sacred to Vesta;

they symbolized his mission to found a new city where the ancient Trojan civilization would be reborn (Aeneid, 2.296). The cult was introduced to Rome by Numa Pompilius and had an essential link to the well-being of the state. The priestesses embodied pietas, that singular virtue upon which Rome’s greatness was founded. Most significant is the fact that only once in the entire history of Rome did they participate in the triumphal welcome, an exceptional honor conceded by the Senate to Augustus in 29 B.C., to commemorate

Rome’s

victory over Egypt,

which marked the end of civil war and the inception of the pax romana.3? While the appearance of the Vestals before Constantine at his adventus has no historical basis, it likens him to Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire and paradigm of political concord. Augustus had restored Rome’s ancient religious observances, and it was during his reign that Christ was born. Constantine, himself an exemplum pietatis, would fulfill the promise held by Roman religion through his personal conversion to Christianity and the conversion of the entire Roman Empire.49 The dense manipulation of historical, legendary, and poetic sources that characterizes the Triumphal Entry of Constantine finds a parallel in certain compositional devices employed in its presentation. The way the action unfolds on a narrow foreground plane isolated from the background, as well as the naive perspective rendering of the Colosseum, prevent our reading the image as a realistic depiction. The two figures at the extreme right dressed in sixteenth-century costume lend a documentary appearance to the scene and suggest that what we see is a theatrical reenactment of the historical event: Costumed figures set upon a stage are viewed against a conventional theatrical backdrop (Fig. 70).4! The form and content of the image thus reinforce each other in their artificiality and celebratory tone. Like an intricately conceived panegyric in which the entire range of history, both human and divine, coalesces, the Lateran cycle leads us to understand the mysterious process by which the pagan world was converted to Christianity. The next three frescoes continue the sequence of Constantine’s life as it was set forth in the Vita Silvestri and codified in the medieval visual tradition.42 The way these events were visualized closely parallels the method we have observed in the Triumphal Entry, with allusions to both the structure and use of sixteenth-century theaters, and the grafting of parallel themes or emblematic conceits onto the main subject. In Constantine’s Dream of Peter and Paul (Cesare Nebbia), Saints Pego

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 70. Renaissance stage set, engraving. The Metropolitan Museum

of Art,

New York. Rogers Fund, 1941. [41.72(I.16)]. (All rights reserved, The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

ter and Paul appear to the emperor to guide him toward physical health and spiritual regeneration (Fig. 71; Plate III). As they enter the imperial bedchamber, a heavenly glow irradiates this private space, contrasting with the shadowed foreground where the emperor’s guards stand watch. The significance of this legendary episode in Constantine’s life concerns nothing less than his divine election. This crucial event, a feature of all medieval Constantine cycles, was relegated to a minor role in the sixteenth-century tradition, as in the Lateran benediction loggia of Sixtus V, where it appears as a vignette in the background of another scene. In the Lateran transept, its original prominence was restored.43 At the same time, an entirely new formal clarity has been introduced, in large part the result of reworking Raphael’s Liberation of Peter from Prison (Stanza d’Eliodoro, Vatican palace), in which another divinely illuminated scene of revelation is framed by shaded lateral areas occupied by uncomprehending soldiers. Both frescoes depict miraculous apparitions to sleeping figures whereby God intervenes in human history to promote the growth of the Church through a chosen agent: to Peter, who established the Church in Rome in terms of its spiritual dominion, and to Constantine, who confirmed its temporal existence.44 The active participation of God in the human sphere is further asserted by the gli

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subtle expansion of the grouped around the table the imperial hasta reaches the hour.45 The hourglass

foreground figures, especially those who are at the right where a young soldier who holds out to touch an hourglass, as though checking might symbolize the illusory nature of mortal

time, an especially potent association given Constantine’s illness. Alternatively, like the clock, it might evoke temperance and wisdom, essential virtues of the just ruler.4¢ That something along these lines was intended is suggested by a parallel theme from the Old Testament in which the same components - an ailing king, a timepiece, and divine intervention — coincide. In his piety and strict observance of Mosaic law, Hezekiah was one of the three most perfect kings of Judah. Following the reign of his idola-

trous father Ahaz, he restored the Temple of Jerusalem and reinstituted the sacred rites. Advised of his impending death by the prophet Isaiah, the king beseeched God to prolong his life. His prayers were answered, and as proof God reversed the progress of time, making the shadow cast by the sun recede ten degrees.4”? Hezekiah’s miraculous healing exemplified the divine approbation of royal power, and thus it was alluded to on the crown that was employed in the imperial coronation ritual during the Middle Ages.48 Although rarely depicted in the Renaissance, the subject was included in the encyclopedic program of decoration in the library at the Escorial. The scene also appears on an embroidered dalmatic, part of a set of vestments commissioned by Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici as a gift to Clement VIII (Fig. 72).4? This Old Testament theme of divine election and miraculous healing, along with Raphael’s Liberation of Peter, provides a visual exegesis on the significance of Constantine’s dream. Intersecting with these narrative conflations is a pointed allusion to the theater, announced by the interlocutor at the center of the composition who looks toward us and points inward to the vision. While his companions wear fantastic military garb, this prominent figure sports the berretta a tozzo, a hat commonly worn by gentlemen in sixteenth-century Italy.5° The entire scene unfolds within a stagelike environment that recalls a type invented in the Renaissance to reconstruct Vitruvius’ description of ancient theaters, as in a drawing by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (Fig. 73).°! The main action of the play would unfold on the forward area of the stage, and additional episodes might be represented within the openings of towerlike structures at the sides. Most like the Lateran fresco is the way the back wall of the stage would be equipped with movable shutters that could be opened to reveal a secondary space where additional scenes would

appear.>* These could either be painted on periaktoi — triangular frames able to rotate to display successive faces — or enacted by real people, 92

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

ad PROF

Figure 71. Cesare Nebbia, Constantine’s Dream

CRAFT

of Peter and Paul, transept.

San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg518)

but in either case Vitruvius recommends that they depict supernatural scenes, “una laparitione delli dei” in Sangallo’s notation. The use of the divided stage set as the locus for Constantine’s dream provides a conventional, and in a certain sense rational, context for the miracle. As in

the Triumphal Entry, the layered meaning of the narrative is paralleled by its presentation as a theater piece, and both devices elevate the subject to a metaphysical level. Building on the mounting dramatic tension developed in the Dream, the next scene offers another kind of revelation. Following the command of Peter and Paul, Constantine orders his soldiers to retrieve Sylvester from the mountain near Rome where he had fled with a group of clerics to escape persecution. The Discovery of Pope Sylvester (Paris Nogari) refers to that revolutionary change in the history of the Church 93

Figure 72. After Alessandro Allori, Miraculous Healing of Hezekiah, embroidered dalmatic (detail). Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Museo Sacro. (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

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Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 74.

Paris Nogari, Discovery of Pope Sylvester, transept. San Giovanni in

Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg515)

when Sylvester emerged from a furtive, isolated existence to assume the full powers of his public office as Christ’s vicar (Fig. 74). The scene is set in a verdant mountain landscape, calling to mind the derivation of the pope’s name from the Latin silvestris (wooded, rural) and the actual site

of Mount Soratte, where the event was thought to have occurred.53 The action unfolds along a diagonal axis that begins at the lower left, where Constantine’s army breaks the crest of the hill, and ends at the upper right, where Sylvester, accompanied by an angel, kneels in prayer before a cave. The spearbearers making their way toward the pope echo the dynamic action of the foreground horsemen, who occupy a full half of the composition. Although the Soratte episode was featured in medieval Constantine cycles, sometimes expanded to two scenes, it was never afforded such prominence in the sixteenth century; indeed, it is included in none of the 95

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later sixteenth-century Roman cycles. The full significance the subject had possessed in earlier tradition was reinstated at the Lateran, where the soldiers’ first sighting of the pope was isolated from the narrative to become the principal subject. Once again, the meaning of the event was expanded by reference to a related theme. In the Announcement to Peter of Morrone (Celestine V) of His Election to the Papacy from the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche of the Vatican palace, which forms part of a major fresco cycle executed during the reign of Gregory XIII, we see secular and ecclesiastic dignitaries ascend a hill to meet the hermit, who kneels in prayer as an angel brings him the papal triregno (Fig. 75).94 While the small-scale figural style of this image has been rejected in the Lateran, the kneeling pope, the gesticulating spearbearers at the head of the procession, and the twin horsemen who close it at the rear have all been extracted, enlarged, and placed in dramatic juxtaposition. The choice of compositional model was not fortuitous. The pious hermit who was raised to the pontifical dignity was often compared to those popes who had ruled the Church before it was transformed by Constantine’s endowment of temporal power.*° Celestine V (1294) was widely acclaimed as the prophetic papa angelus who would revive an age of spiritual purity in preparation for Christ’s apocalyptic return.>¢ Whereas the emergence of Sylvester from Soratte signaled the inception of the imperial church, Celestine’s election marked the return to those spiritual values that had characterized its apostolic manifestation. The fact that the Soratte theme received monumental treatment in the transept cycle speaks to the historical role of the Lateran as the official, legally constituted seat of the pope. In a broader view it responds to the Protestant censure in which the steadfast faith of the early Christians who were poor, persecuted, and often forced to worship in secret was contrasted with the more worldly concerns of the Roman

Church after

Constantine.°’ The Lateran fresco glorifies the transformation of the early Church to its new imperial splendor, and at the same time asserts that those original spiritual values were preserved intact. The Vita Silvestri records that the pope, realizing he has been discovered by Constantine’s soldiers, believes his death to be imminent. Gathering together his clerics, he delivers an oration in praise of martyrdom, citing the example of Christ’s own self-sacrifice. At the Lateran this aspect of the story was evoked by representing Sylvester kneeling with his arms outstretched and supported from behind by an angel, a formula that recalls the well-known type where angels uphold Christ’s dead body (Fig. 76).58 Sylvester’s willingness to accept martyrdom in emulation of Christ establishes his absolute spiritual purity. 96

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

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Figure 75. Announcement to Peter of Morrone (Celestine V) of His Election to the Papacy, Galleria delle Carte Geografiche. Vatican palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.43.30)

The underlying message of the Soratte story is also addressed in an emblematic fashion by the two horsemen who occupy so important a place in the fresco. They refer to the twin sons of Jupiter, Castor and Pollux, symbols of heavenly protection and the divinely willed dominion over the world that was Rome’s prerogative.°? Representations of the Dioscuri on Roman coins and especially by the monumental sculptures on the Quirinal Hill provided the basis for the elaboration in the Lateran, where a balanced contrast between the two is carefully constructed (Fig. 77).©° In the Renaissance, the Quirinal groups were located near the baths of Constantine where, until the reign of Paul III, they were flanked by statues of the emperor and his son Constantine II.61 As with many of Rome’s ancient monuments accurate identification of the Dioscuri coexisted with imaginative elaboration.§2 A longlived tradition introduced in the mid-twelfth-century Mirabilia urbis Romae interpreted them as two sages who had come to Rome during 97

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Figure 76 (above). After Paris Nogari, Discovery of Pope Sylvester, engraving (detail). (Gerardi, 2: pl. 46) (Library of the American Academy in Rome)

Figure 77 (above right). Horsetamer. Rome, Piazza del Quirinale. Archdologisches Institut, Rome, 75.589)

(Deutsches

the reign of Tiberius.¢> Their gestures indicated prophetic speech and their nudity the unconcealed truth of their message that the princes of the world were like the rearing horses who would be tamed by a true king yet to come, a veiled reference to the ultimate spiritual triumph of the Church.4 The Discovery of Pope Sylvester parallels the first two images of the cycle in its iconographic structure, and here, too, there is a similar reference to the stage. Outdoor settings in general and mountain scenes in particular were common in the theater and in pageants. Vitruvius described the satyric type of stage set as “painted with trees, caves, mountains and other country features, designed to imitate landscape.”®> The Lateran fresco might easily have been staged with the actors performing the roles of Sylvester and the angel mounted on a high platform located behind the scenery and with the rest of the figures — the horsemen in particular — painted on the backdrop, thus reinforcing their emblematic identity. With the next image, Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine (Cristoforo Roncalli, called il Pomarancio), we move

toward the first denouement

of the Constantine story (Fig. 78; Plate V).6& According to the authori-

98

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 78. Cristoforo Roncalli (called il Pomarancio), Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.Pl. Dg514)

tative historical sources, Constantine was baptized in Nicomedia while traveling to the Holy Land. A sudden illness prevented him from fulfilling his wish to be baptized in the River Jordan, where Christ had received the waters of the New Covenant from John the Baptist. The Vita Silvestri, however, tells a different tale. Upon his return from Soratte, Sylvester orders Constantine to lay aside the imperial garments and do penance for one week in preparation for his baptism. On the evening of the Sabbath, the pope leads him to the baths of the Lateran palace, where his body is healed and his soul purified. When Sylvester anoints him with the holy oil at the conclusion of the baptismal ritual, a loud sound issues from the font and a bright light appears: At that moment Constantine sees Christ.

99

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This idealized version of events, which exalted the role of the pope in Constantine’s conversion, was widely accepted.¢” The Roman baptism scene was included in all Constantine cycles and was depicted independently as well. An essential contribution to the iconography had been made in the Vatican Sala di Costantino, where the scene takes place in the Lateran baptistery, identified by a cutaway view of the octagonal pergola (Fig. 79). Isolated by the semicircular steps of the font, Constantine kneels before Sylvester to receive the sacrament. In two versions of this authoritative image that were painted at the Lateran under Sixtus V, the figures are clustered together and the scale of the architecture reduced, recalling conventions of medieval representation that serve to impart to the scene a historicizing visual quality (see Figs. 15, 22). In the Lateran transept fresco the classical treatment of the Vatican model was revived and its emphasis on compositional clarity developed. The architecture has been enlarged so that the column shafts are now cut by the upper frame while the number of figures is reduced and their scale increased. With his billowing chasuble adding a majestic touch to the event, Sylvester imparts the life-giving waters to the humble, kneeling emperor who rises up as though weightless. This new dramatic interpretation of the scene is accentuated by the encircling stairs of the piscina. While recalling the stairs of the Vatican fresco, their direction is inverted and they are cropped at the forward edge. Thus, rather than viewing the scene from across an intervening void, we are encouraged to imagine ourselves observing it from a point on the steps that lies just outside the painted field. This treatment suggests the structure of ancient as well as Renaissance theaters, where the audience would sit upon the semicircular cavea to view the action taking place below.’ The two figures positioned in the lower corners turn outward to confront the audience in the manner of interlocutors. The young, idealized soldier on the right dressed in armor all’antica displays the imperial regalia, while the older man with portraitlike features seen to the left is clothed in sixteenth-century costume and carries the mace, symbol of papal majesty.°? These complementary figures constitute a human proscenium that joins the past to the present on the site where the event actually occurred. Additional alterations to the prior visual tradition address the universal meaning of Constantine’s baptism. Defining elements of the composition, such as the parapet that rings the font and the figures who lean over it and gesture toward the center, are derived from Raphael’s Mass at Bolsena (Stanza d’Eliodoro, Vatican palace), whereas the turn of Constantine’s head, his prominent crooked elbow, and his full, sensual

100

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 79. Giulio Romano,

Pope Sylvester Baptizes

stantino. Vatican palace. (Anderson

Constantine, Sala di Co-

1138/Art Resource, NY)

torso — so different from the athletic, pinwheel stance that was used in scenes of his baptism throughout the Renaissance — was adapted from Michelangelo’s Risen Christ (Santa Maria sopra Minerva).’? These further associations elucidate the mystery of baptism as an expression of the harmony of the Christian community, joining the faithful to Christ and through Him to one another.’”! While similar ideas inform every Christian baptism, they carry unique resonance with regard to Constantine, whose baptism marked the end of the pagan world and the beginning of the age when all humanity would be united in Christ. The baptism of Constantine merges the idea of personal renovatio in Christ with the concept of a new world order. The identification of Constantine’s baptism as the moment when his temporal authority received divine approbation underlies every depic-

tion of the scene.?* The fundamental link between baptism and royal consecration was based on the affiliation with that prototypical baptism in the Jordan when Christ was initiated into His messianic role as both king and priest.’> The Gospels record that upon His emerging from

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the water the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. This spiritual consecration by the Holy Spirit was compared to the process by which priests and kings had been constituted in the Old Testament by the application of the holy oil, chrism.74 As developed in the Middle Ages, the ceremony of royal coronation involved a similar salving, based in part on the anointing at baptism and in part on Old Testament precedent.75 The baptismal anointing of Constantine marks the moment when he succeeded to the office that had been incompletely fulfilled by the Old Testament kings.76 In medieval representations of Constantine’s baptism the links with royal consecration were sometimes expressed through the prominent display of ampoules containing the holy oil, and in several cases the emperor wears the imperial crown as he is baptized.’” Allusion to the baptismal coronation was often conveyed during the sixteenth century by the pointed juxtaposition of the crown and the sacred unction.’8 In the Lateran transept, every element of the imperial regalia that was central to the coronation ceremony is prominently displayed: The young soldier who sits to the right elevates Constantine’s crown and scepter while the ceremonial sword lies at his feet.”7? It cannot be coincidental that in pose, gesture, and task he is visually associated with the deacon to the left of the pope who kneels and supports a tray with the holy oils. Both soldier and deacon are positioned along the same diagonal axis that extends through the emperor’s own body. These visual devices underscore the precept that Constantine’s royal power was sanctified at his baptism.80 That the ultimate source of Constantine’s power resided in Christ is suggested by the effulgence that breaks through the architecture to irradiate the scene with a supernatural glow. Although the baptism ritual mentions the illuminatio of the neophyte, this element of the fresco refers to the Vita Silvestri, where it is stated that at the climactic moment

of the ceremony when Constantine was healed “suddenly just like lightning, an unbearable light shone forth for nearly half an hour, which terrified the minds of all and covered their vision, and behold, a sound hav-

ing risen in the water as if a sizzling frying pan, as it were, of huge fish, Christ showed that whole fish pond of the font full; from which Constantine the Emperor coming out cleansed, confessed that he had seen Christ.”81 The spiritual rejuvenation of the neophyte, his participation in Christ’s regal office, and the invocation of the entire Christian community, all fundamental themes of baptismal theology, provided the basis for inter-

preting Constantine’s baptism as the inauguration of Christian kingship.

102

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Just as the kings of the Old Testament were anointed as God’s chosen, so Constantine, having received the waters and unction of the New Covenant, became the agent of God’s will. With Constantine’s baptism the evangelization of the pagan world initiated by the Apostles was fulfilled. The Lateran functioned as the divinely ordained site of this concord between pope and emperor on the one hand, and between the Church of the Jews and the Church of the Gentiles on the other.82 The fresco of Constantine’s baptism closes the series on the eastern transept wall. Constantine as an exemplum of pietas romana in the first image, his divine calling by Peter and Paul in the second, and the recovery of Sylvester from Mount Soratte in the third, conclude with this episode where the emperor is transformed in baptism, becoming an exemplum of fides christiana. Each of these scenes was developed with a complex layering of meanings, achieved through associations with allied themes in the history of art, in effect translating into visual terms a standard feature of ancient as well as Renaissance rhetoric whereby the underlying meaning of a subject was communicated through the use of parallel examples.83 Moreover, these scenes are defined by explicit references to the world of theater and spectacle. This affiliation extends to the narrative structure of the first four episodes, in which a sequence of reversal and discovery is interposed between a clearly defined beginning and end, recalling certain rules that governed classical tragedy. The principles of this dramatic unfolding as set forth by Aristotle in the Poetics were the subject of much discussion in the sixteenth century.84 The ultimate aim of this elision of reality and illusion at the Lateran was precisely that of ancient theater itself, a sacral celebration that leads us to spiritual revelation by engaging our minds and emotions. The august history of the Lateran is brought to the fore in the second part of the cycle, introduced by the Foundation of the Lateran (Paris Nogari) (Fig. 80). Sylvester and Constantine, accompanied by their retinues, stand behind an open trench while deacons singing the antiphons are grouped around an altar to the rear. Behind them a vast crowd of spectators extends into the distance. In the foreground, paired figures positioned at the sides turn to one another to discuss the event. Those figures at the right share the same ground plane as the central protagonists, but those to the left observe the action from the natural podium formed by a slight rise in the terrain. They are further distinguished from the main scene: The seated women are heroically proportioned and wear armored cuirasses, whereas the two standing men are dressed in sixteenth-century clothing, the younger one in fancy costume and the elder in the rough garb associated with pilgrims. Behind the densely

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packed front plane of the image opens a view of the countryside. The building of immense scale to the left must be the sumptuous Lateran palace where Constantine lived, and which he was said to have given to the popes as part of the donation.85 The obelisk and circular edifice that are silhouetted against the sky on the opposite side identify that site as the Vatican Hill.8¢ The Vita Silvestri records that in obedience to the directives of Peter and Paul as well as those of the pope, the emperor promulgates a series

of laws in favor of Christians, providing considerable subsidies for the building of churches. On the eighth day after his baptism, he initiates construction of Saint Peter’s by digging the foundation trench, removing with his own hands twelve baskets of earth, one to honor each Apostle.87 Only on the following day does the emperor begin to build the Lateran basilica. In the Middle Ages, the construction of Saint Peter’s was sometimes illustrated with full exploitation of the dramatic conceit of the emperor acting as humble laborer.88 A more elaborate version of the scene was included in the basamento of the Vatican Sala di Costantino, and in the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche the subject is paired with the building of San Paolo f.l.m. (Figs. 81, 82).8? No such visual tradition existed for the construction of the Lateran. The honor of chronological primacy granted to Saint Peter’s by the Vita Silvestri did not go unchallenged. In the “Donation of Constantine” it is claimed that the emperor began the Lateran before Saint Peter’s by digging the trench and carrying the twelve baskets of earth; this version became the authoritative one and was codified in the Church calendar with the Lateran’s dedication falling on g November, nine days before that of Saint Peter’s.?9 In this connection, the specific way the Vatican Hill is depicted in the transept becomes significant, for the monuments that identify it are pagan, and thus the point is made that at the moment the Lateran was founded Saint Peter’s did not yet exist. While it is related to the traditional iconography of building scenes, the Lateran fresco brings an entirely different focus to the subject by depicting a liturgical ritual that precedes construction. The theme of installing the first stone of a sacred building is a topos of ancient and biblical literature, but its codification as an essential act in the construction

of churches was introduced in the Liber ordinis pontificalis of Guilelmus Durandus

(d. 1296), which provided the basis for the subsequent devel-

opment of the Roman

Pontifical.?! These liturgical handbooks

were

often illustrated to clarify the prescriptions of the text and thereby to ensure conformity in the performance of the ceremonies. The transept fresco recalls this category of illustration in general and reveals specific debts to the image published in the revised Clementine Pontifical of 1595 104

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 80. Paris Nogari, Foundation of the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg513)

(Fig. 83). While assimilating the engraving’s documentary quality, the number of participants has been expanded and their activity increased, mirroring the great pomp that commonly accompanied the ceremony.?2 The ritual of laying the foundation stone of a particular church was rarely represented in the history of art. Boniface VIII’s Lateran benediction loggia, which was destroyed in the renovations of Sixtus V, is known to have been decorated with images of Boniface blessing along with the 105

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Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 83. Ceremony of Laying the Foundation Stone of a Church, engraving. (Pontificale romanum,

1595 ed., 290.) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

baptism of Constantine and the building of the Lateran basilica.?3 Giuliano Dati’s late fifteenth-century poem celebrating the Lateran bears an elaborate frontispiece that may record the essential character of these last two subjects (Fig. 84).?4 In the upper right field Constantine is shown shouldering a basket of earth in the traditional manner, while Pope Sylvester holds a squared stone. The thought that lay behind this startling innovation, one that was elaborated in the Lateran transept, was to document the origin of the sacred ritual by which all churches would be inaugurated and in this way to honor the Lateran as the first legally constituted, permanent place of Christian worship.?5 A consistent feature of the liturgical ritual of laying the foundation stone was an association with the biblical theme of the cornerstone, a

prophetic symbol of the Messiah in the Old Testament that Christ had applied to himself (Psalms 117:22; Matthew 21:42).?© Another fundamental evocation of the foundation stone concerns the famous pun contained in Christ’s charge to Peter: “Tu es Petrus et super istam petram aedificabo ecclesiam meum” (Matthew 16:18). The link between Peter and the rock upon which the Church would be built was related to the biblical prophecies of the cornerstone, and it too was intoned at the cer-

emony of foundation.?” With those words Christ had established the spiritual Church, but it was only with the placement of the foundation stone at the Lateran that the temporal Church came into being in fulfillment of Christ’s mandate. 107

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As Rome’s Cathedral and the first permanent church dedicated to the Christian cult, an unparalleled degree of sanctity attached to the Lateran, model for all other churches and fulfillment of those biblical prophecies that announced the coming of salvation and the establishment of the Church on earth. Similar concerns are developed in the succeeding fresco, the Consecration of the High Altar of the Lateran (Giovanni Battista Ricci), which records another essential liturgical ritual believed

to have originated at the Lateran (Fig. 85).?8 Although extensively restored in the transept renovations of the 1880s, the fresco accurately reproduces the original. A compositional study, one of the few that are known for the transept cycle, isolates the ritual core of the image (Fig. 86).9? As Sylvester anoints the altar with the holy oils Constantine, standing to the side of the papal throne, observes the event in the company of a circle of bishops. The fresco reveals two essential changes from the drawing that bring this image into conformity with the rest of the cycle. The locale of the scene is now identified as the Lateran, with the entrance to the transept represented in the form it received under Clement VIII. The sense of documentary immediacy is further conveyed by a notable increase in the number of internal witnesses, those to the

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Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 85. Giovanni Battista Ricci, Pope Sylvester Consecrates the High Altar of the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg516)

rear who press forward to gain a better view of the ceremony, and those in the foreground who turn to one another to discuss the event. One of the deacons at the right edge looks toward the spectator, while at the left a heavyset man with bald pate is clearly a portrait.10 The use of oblique perspective, empty foreground space, and internal witnesses, some of whom are dressed in contemporary costume, assert 109

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Figure 86.

Giovanni Battista Ricci, preparatory study for Pope Sylvester Conse-

crates the High Altar of the Lateran, drawing. Collection of D. C. Miller, Palo Alto, California.

a visual connection with the preceding Foundation scene. Both frescoes are distinguished from the rest of the cycle in the sheer number of figures represented and their relatively small size with respect to the environment. These devices convey the impression that the ceremonies depicted are ongoing events attended by the entire Christian community.!91 The public, celebratory ritual itself now assumes the quality of theater. The consecration of particular, identifiable altars was occasionally represented in medieval art, but the moment in the ritual commonly depicted was when the altar is purified through aspersion with holy wa-

ter.!92 A visual tradition did exist for the consecration with oil in illustrated Pontificals (Fig. 87), but with one significant exception the Lateran fresco is unique in the prior history of the monumental visual arts for showing the consecration of a particular altar at the moment of its anointment. The event at the Lateran had been represented in a late medieval fresco that once existed in the confessio chapel below the high altar and is known today from a seventeenth-century copy (Fig. 88).193 Sylvester stands to the right of the scene holding an ampoule and preparing to anoint the altar while the faithful, in the company 110

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 87. Consecration of an Altar with Holy Oils, engraving. (Pontificale romanum, 1595 ed., 421) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

Figure 88. Pope Sylvester Consecrates the High Altar of the Lateran, watercolor copy of a medieval fresco formerly located in the confessio chapel of San Giovanni in Laterano. (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Barb. lat. 4423, fol. 5r) (Foto

Biblioteca Vaticana)

111

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of Constantine, gaze in wonder as the face of Christ appears above them. The high altar of the Lateran was thought to be the first altar inaugurated in accordance with sacred ritual, providing the model for all later consecrations.!94 In addition to this temporal precedence, other historical elements contributed to its position as the most venerable altar in the Christian world.!95 According to pious belief, the altar incorporated the wooden mensa used by Saint Peter and his successors.!9€ During the age of persecution, when it had not been possible to establish permanent altars, the bishops of Rome carried Peter’s altar from place to place. Once this peripatetic phase of the Church’s history ended, with Constantine’s conversion, Sylvester decreed that henceforth all altars were to be constructed of stone. However, due to the special nature of this wooden altar, he raised it at the Lateran and proclaimed that only the Roman pontiff could celebrate Mass upon it. The altar in the transept fresco is depicted as though composed of wooden planks, alluding to this tradition. The Lateran’s high altar is distinguished from all others by its antiquity and its link to the Apostolic Church. It embodies the transformation in the status of the Church that was wrought by Constantine’s conversion. The Sacred Species could now be consecrated in full public view on the very surface that formerly had served the early Christian popes during the persecutions.!97 The history of the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant was exactly parallel, carried with the Jewish tribes until it was set up in Jerusalem in the Temple built by Solomon.!98 Just as the construction of a permanent house for the Ark marked the end of the nomadic phase of Jewish history, the physical establishment of the Church became reality when Peter’s wooden altar was installed at the Lateran.

While every Christian altar implies a relationship to the Ark of the Covenant in terms of supersession and fulfillment, for the Lateran altar this could be asserted on more than symbolic grounds.!9? The Ark itself was claimed as one of the Lateran’s most precious relics and had formerly been housed in the confessio below the Petrine mensa; indeed, these two sacred objects were said to share the same dimensions.!!0 This physical association between the Lateran’s altar and the Ark helps to explain the specific moment of the elaborate consecration ritual chosen for representation in the Lateran fresco. Following the completion of the Old Testament

sanctuary,

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Moses

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the Tabernacle with the chrism; only then was it possible to perform the sacred rites and only then would God descend to be among His peo-

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Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

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The chain of associations linking the Lateran with the Hebraic sanctuary is continued in the next scene, the Apparition of Christ at the Lateran (Paris Nogari) (Fig. 89; Plate VI).1!4 Nothwithstanding

the fresco’s

substantial restoration in the past century, its original form is preserved. The miracle represented was said to have occurred on the day the Lateran was dedicated, providing divine approbation of its primacy as Christ’s special seat on earth.!!3 The mosaic visible today in the semidome of 113

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the Lateran’s apse incorporates a bust-length image of the Lord, traditionally identified as the relic of the apparition miracle (Fig. go). When Nicholas IV redecorated the apse in 1291, the eschatological meaning of the Volto Santo was enhanced by its placement above the crux gemmata that rises from the mountain of paradise, motifs derived from images associated with the site of Christ’s death in Jerusalem.!!4 In the transept, this iconic

image

is reconceived

as a narrative

event:

Constantine,

Sylvester, and other worshipers observe from the altar area while additional witnesses occupy high platforms in the foreground. The single prior narrative representation of Christ’s apparition was the fresco that once existed in the confessio chapel, which also provided an important precedent for the Consecration. This model was adjusted in three essential ways: The scene now unfolds within a noble church interior; the composition follows a strict geometric ordering, with Christ’s face forming the apex of a triangle and representatives of the spiritual and temporal offices defining its base; and there is an emphatic contrast between the foreground witnesses and those figures in the background who actually participate in the historical event. These three aspects of the composition depend on Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican Stanze: The interior architectural view parallels the Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, the triangular geometric ordering is indebted to the Disputa, and the split-level arrangement is analogous to that of the Mass at Bolsena. In each case, the meaning of the model was directly relevant to the Lateran miracle, alluding, respectively, to its Hebraic, ecclesio-

logical, and eucharistic significance.!!5 The highly structured nature of the scene is further indicated by the inner spectators in the foreground, who function as our ideal counterparts. They are dressed in sixteenth-century costume and respond with great emotion, establishing a physical and psychological link between us and the historical moment. The platforms on which they stand suggest the relationship between audience and actors in a theater. This sense of artifice is augmented by the fact that they evoke stock iconographic types: The woman and children on the left as well as the kneeling pilgrim and woman of regal bearing on the right suggest the twin components of Christian Charity, amor Dei (love of God), and amor proximi

(love of neighbor).!!¢ Both ideas were resonant in a special sense during the Holy Year context when pilgrims came to Rome to be reconciled with God and were often assisted by the Roman nobility.!!7 The accompanying figures on both sides extend the visualization of these complementary modes of approaching the divine, expressing on the one hand an active, ecstatic response to the apparition and, on the other, one that is more inward and meditative. 114

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure go. Apse mosaic. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Alinari 7149/Art Resource, NY)

The emphasis on the twin aspects of Christian Charity underscores the fundamental meaning of Christ’s appearance at the Lateran, which provided visible proof of His love for humanity. The apparition miracle was a particular manifestation of a universal fact; it reasserted the New Covenant based on Christ’s self-sacrifice, that prototypical act of charity perpetually reenacted in the Mass. The reference to the sacrament was made unequivocal by placing the Volto Santo above an altar, following the scheme of the medieval fresco in the confessio chapel where Christ’s face appeared above the high altar as Sylvester performed the consecration.118 Ultimately, this conjunction is significant because it evokes the parallel of Yahweh’s appearance above the Ark in the Sancta Sanctorum in Jerusalem, suggesting that the Lateran miracle fulfilled the Old Testament promise of a sanctuary where God might be present among His

people.11? Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran (Giovanni Baglione) provides the concluding statement of these themes (Fig. 91; Plate VII).129 Sylvester stands at the entrance to the church and welcomes Constantine,

who kneels on the steps. The emperor gestures toward the liturgical ob115

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jects in the foreground, which include chalices, patens, vessels for the sacred oils, a holy water basin, an incense boat, and large amphorae fashioned in silver and gold. A soldier kneeling directly behind Constantine carries a statue of Christ. Other soldiers in the right foreground turn to each other and discuss the event; one even gestures out of the picture space toward the sacrament altar. The gift of vessels and other embellishments for the church traditionally accompanied the dedication ceremony. A parallel can be drawn between Baglione’s fresco and illustrations in Pontificals where vessels are displayed in preparation for their sanctification (Fig. g2).!2! The extensive inventory of Constantine’s gifts to the Lateran in the Liber pontificalis was frequently quoted and the emperor’s notable generosity was set forth as a model for subsequent endowments.!22 However, this lavish gift had never before been represented in the monumental visual arts. Since specific donations of any type are not often depicted, Raphael’s fresco of the Coronation of Charlemagne (Stanza dell’Incendio, Vatican palace) is all the more interesting as a model for the Lateran fresco.!23 In that image Charlemagne, who was traditionally honored as the novus Constantinus, kneels before the pope to be crowned, while his gifts are prominently displayed in the foreground.!24 At the Lateran the presentation of gifts becomes the primary theme, thus focusing attention on Constantine’s beneficence in an entirely new way.

Constantine’s donation of temporal authority to Sylvester, which did have a considerable history in the visual arts, was directly relevant to the genesis of the fresco. This legendary event is recorded in the “Donation of Constantine,” which purports to be the emperor’s legal deed granting to the pope powers, prerogatives, and lands in the west. Its spurious nature was proved in the fifteenth century, and renewed criticism came in the sixteenth century when papal claims to temporal power were again under attack.!25 Nevertheless, the validity of the privileges the document recorded, if not always the document itself, was staunchly defended in the papal camp.!2¢ In the wake of these controversies, there was a notable florescence of representations of the theme beginning with the version painted in the Vatican Sala di Costantino where Constantine kneels before Sylvester within Saint Peter’s and offers a golden statuette of Roma to symbolize the bequest (Fig. g3).!27 Explicit reference to this model was made in the Lateran fresco, but its meaning was fundamentally reinterpreted by shifting attention away from the more polemical aspects of the donation theme toward its underlying meaning as an act of religious veneration.!28 The Lateran fresco was the product of a complex development that can be followed rather closely since in this case we possess two compositional studies by Baglione. A rapid sketch in Besangon shows the pope 116

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

LAE IE COT Figure 91. Giovanni Baglione, Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. Dg 20)

standing at the left atop a flight of stairs and receiving gifts brought by emissaries of the emperor, who is seated on the opposite side (Fig. 94).!2? A choric figure wearing a flamboyant plumed hat stands at the center of the composition and links the two protagonists. A drawing in Oxford is a more elaborate version of the idea, developed around two centers of action in each of which Constantine’s gifts are the focus of

attention (Fig. g5).!39 The pope is now enthroned upon a high, stepped

117

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Figure 92. Benediction of Liturgical Vessels, engraving. (Pontificale romanum, 1595 ed., 329) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

Figure 93. Giulio Romano, Donation of Constantine, Sala di Costantino. Vatican palace. (Anderson 1139/Art Resource, NY)

118

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 94. Giovanni Baglione, preparatory study for Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, drawing. Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, Besancon (France), D.1502

recto. (Museum)

Figure 95. Giovanni Baglione, preparatory study for Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran, drawing. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, P.II.785. (Museum)

119

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platform and receives two imperial pages: One kneels to offer an object, while the other gestures toward the foreground where Constantine is seated on a low dais. The emperor consults with an aide whose dress and action recall the choric figure of the first drawing; he now points to a group of objects in the center. The architectural indications suggest a noble, vaulted interior that may have been intended as the Lateran itSele The fresco elaborates the Oxford design, clarifying its composition and accenting the sacramental aspect of Constantine’s donation. The emperor now kneels directly before the pope, and the two elements of the gift, which were separated in the drawing, are brought together. The vessels still occupy the foreground, but just above them a statue is held by a soldier who kneels behind Constantine. Painted in grisaille to simulate silver and representing Christ in an imperial manner, enthroned and blessing, this statue evokes the centerpiece of Constantine’s most lavish gift to the Lateran, the fastigium, which was described in association with the liturgical vessels in the Liber pontificalis.131 Unlike the statuette of Roma in the Vatican fresco, which communicated the political donation of realm, the statue of Christ is presented by Constantine as a votive gift symbolizing his faith. This point is emphasized by the statue’s placement on vertical axis with the vessels and by the emperor’s humble comportment. The fact that the emblems of office are no longer worn by the protagonists is also significant; the imperial basta and the pontifical cross are held to the side, defining a symbolic gateway through which the Heavenly King of Kings will pass into the church.!3 The meaning of the fresco is expanded by another fundamental change with respect to the drawings, namely, that the scene has been transferred outdoors, to the steps of the Lateran.!33 The motif of the emperor kneeling before the pope outside a church evokes the majestic welcoming ceremony when the emperor would be received by the pope in the portico of Saint Peter’s.134 The most compelling precedent, however, is another type of exterior reception scene in which the Virgin presents herself for service at the Temple, with Baglione’s own version of the subject providing the model (Fig. 96).!39 The emperor’s demonstration of his love of God in embellishing the Lateran with liturgical vessels is thus associated with the humility, devotion, and faith of that archetypal sacred vessel, the Virgin Mary, to whom Constantine was said to have borne a special devotion.!3¢ Implicit in the allusion to the Presentation of the Virgin is the parallel between the Lateran and the Temple of Jerusalem. This leitmotif of the second group of frescoes is asserted in the donation scene with particular resonance. Throughout the Old Testament the vessels used in the sa120

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

Figure 96. Giovanni Baglione, Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple. Rome, Santa Maria dell’Orto. (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, Rigamonti 70/396)

cred rites are discussed with close attention. On the day Moses consecrated the Tabernacle, God ordered that the leaders of the twelve tribes

bring an offering, in part consisting of gold and silver vessels filled with flour and incense, to be used for the dedication of the altar.137 When

Solomon built the Temple he donated new vessels that had been promised by David.!38 These, along with the Ark and the vessels from the Tabernacle, were brought to Jerusalem and installed in the new sanctuary.13? This portentous event in salvation history was included as part of the extended Old Testament histories painted in the Lateran palace under Sixtus V (Fig. 97). The subsequent vicissitudes of the Temple vessels were viewed in a messianic light. Despoiled twice before the Romans conquered Jerusalem, both times they were restored and their

number augmented.!49 With the final destruction of the Temple, the vessels and the main cult objects were brought to Rome and were displayed in the triumph.!4! These trophies, which were said to include the 121

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golden censer used by Aaron, the urn filled with manna, as well as the Ark of the Covenant — each of which carried proto-eucharistic meaning — were believed to have been given by Constantine to the Lateran.!42 In discussing Constantine’s Lateran donation, Baronius associated the emperor’s gift with Judaic models by claiming that the vessels he gave exceeded in number and value those given to the Temple by Solomon and others.!43 The Lateran fresco suggests this parallel in its compositional source, and it even evokes Constantine’s transfer of the Judaic cult objects by means of the elaborately decorated chest on which the vessels stand and the golden column at the side.!44 The final step in the foundation of Rome’s Cathedral is presented as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise: Constantine, the new Solomon, gives to the

Lateran, the new Temple, vessels to contain the sacramental body of Christ.145 The last four scenes of the fresco cycle complement the frescoes that concern Constantine’s conversion by addressing the Lateran’s unique dignities as successor of the Old Testament Temple and as the model for all Christian churches. The two halves of the series are not merely linked by means of their narrative sequence, but are arranged in significant pairs intended to be read across the space of the transept. This is reinforced by the pairing of similar compositions opposite one another. The first two scenes we see upon entering the transept, Pope Sylvester

Baptizes Constantine and the Foundation of the Lateran, proclaim that the basilica was established on this spot as the direct consequence of Constantine’s conversion (see Figs. 78, 80).!46 The spiritual benefits received personally by the emperor were to be made available to everyone at the Lateran. The next pair, the Discovery of Pope Sylvester and the Consecration of the High Altar, contrasts the peripatetic early Church with the first permanent, legally constituted church at the Lateran (see Figs. 74, 85). With the passage from the ecclesia primitiva to the ecclesia Constantiniana it was no longer necessary to consecrate the Eu-

charist in hiding; the installation of Peter’s wooden altar at the Lateran and its sanctification with the holy oils meant that henceforth the Sacred Species could be consecrated in full public view. With Constantine’s Dream and the Apparition of Christ at the Lateran, Christian truth is communicated through the appearance of divine personages (see Figs. 71, 89). Whereas Constantine’s vision was private and involved his personal redemption, Christ’s apparition was public and consecrated the Lateran as the font of salvation for all. The last two frescoes, which be-

gin and end the cycle — the Triumphal Entry of Constantine and Constantine’s Donation to the Lateran — link the emperor’s demonstration of pietas romana in the first instance with his expression of fides christiana in the second (see Figs. 65, 91). 122

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

EEE etal

RA

Figure 97. Procession of the Ark and Sacred Vessels to the Temple of Jerusalem, Sala di Salomone. Lateran palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.18.33)

This consistent pairing of scenes according to the idea of promise and fulfillment as embodied in Constantine’s life and the triumph of Christianity at the Lateran derives from the widespread medieval tradition of narrative cycles where events from the Old and New Testaments were juxtaposed in precisely the same way, the one foreshadowing the revelation of the other.!47 According to a well-known tradition, Constantine was credited with originating this typological system at the Lateran. At the second Council of Nicaea, which met in 787 to discuss iconoclasm, the legates of Pope Hadrian I defended the use of images by asserting that “Constantine the Great, emperor, once did something of this nature and of holy memory, for the Temple of the Savior having been built in Rome he designated on the two walls of the church Old and New [Testament] stories symbolizing on one side Adam leaving from paradise, and on the other side the [good] thief entering into paradise.” 148 The arrangement of the transept frescoes was a deliberate recreation of this typological system of decoration. Not only did it augment the early Christian evocation that can be observed in the scheme of the transept decoration as a whole, but it elevated Constantine’s biography and the Lateran’s history to the level of scriptural revelation. 125

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A variety of other devices combine to identify the frescoes as more than simple historical narratives. Of particular interest in the present context are the emphases that emerge when the cycle is considered as a unified series. Generally, when a cycle unfolds with the altar as its focus, the sequence moves in a clockwise fashion, the right side to the left.149 At the Lateran, however, the narratives begin to the left of the sacrament altar and proceed around the transept in a counterclockwise direction to end at its right.!59 This reversal responds to the practice of determining the privileged direction within churches not from the position of the laity or the officiating priest, but from the altar itself.!5! In other words, the right or favored side of the altar is to our left where the cycle begins. Thus, the frescoes are arranged with a particular relationship to the altar and to the Eucharist; they commence at the right hand of Christ.!52 Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the cycle is the one that most clearly reflects its grounding in the spiritual life of the Church. All the scenes that were chosen for depiction refer to the Breviary lessons read on the two liturgical feasts that most concern the Lateran.!53 A fifthcentury source reports that the Vita Silvestri was “read by many to the Catholics in the city of Rome, and according to ancient custom many churches imitate this.”!54 In the mid-twelfth century there is a notice that on the feast of Saint Sylvester, 31 December, the nine lessons read

124

at the Lateran were drawn from the Vita.!5° This continued to be the case in the sixteenth century. A Breviary of 1501 includes Constantine’s meeting with the mothers, his dream of Peter and Paul, and the discovery of Sylvester on Mount Soratte. When the text was revised during the pontificate of Pius V in 1568 and again under Clement VIII in 1602, the same episodes were commemorated and Constantine’s baptism was added.156 The last four frescoes in the cycle also find their literary source in the Breviary. A feast to commemorate the dedication of the Lateran on g November is first recorded in a text of the late tenth/early eleventh century, and by the sixteenth century it was observed throughout the Church, as it still is today.!5” The 1501 Breviary refers to Constantine’s baptism, the building of the Lateran, the consecration of the high altar with the holy oil, and the apparition of Christ, while the responses allude to the foundation. This text was substantially retained in the revised Breviaries of Pius V and Clement VIII, although the baptism of Constantine was transferred to the feast of Sylvester and there was a significant expansion concerning the importance of the wooden altar upon which Peter and all subsequent popes had celebrated Mass during the persecutions, permanently installed at the Lateran on that day.!58 The dependence of the transept fresco cycle on the Breviary passages

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

read during the feasts honoring Sylvester and the Lateran identifies the scenes as images of perpetual celebration. It is in this context that their particular sources and innovations are most fruitfully considered. The presentation of each episode in a clearly defined space and the forceful interaction of the protagonists at the most dramatic moment of the narrative are characteristic features of early sixteenth-century art, especially works painted by Raphael and his shop in the Vatican palace.!5? The Lateran frescoes revive this Roman High Renaissance visual mode that was associated with the renewal of Rome and the papacy. At the same time they involve the viewer more directly in the fictive world through a notable expansion of the physical presence and psychological animation of the figures. The impact of the scenes is further increased by their presentation as theatrical tableaux, achieved in part by overt references to stage sets, and in part to the coexistence of historical, symbolic, and con-

temporary personages — including portraits — in a single space.!6° Other devices, such as emblematic conceits and the use of visual models that

parallel the principal narrative theme, reinforce the affiliation of the frescoes with the world of theater and pageantry.!6! There was, in fact, a considerable tradition for honoring Constantine on the stage, in pageants, and as part of royal entries.162 The Lateran frescoes translate this tradition of ephemeral celebration into a timeless commemoration. Pictorial allusions to the theater had been widely employed by Raphael in the Vatican Stanze, and the device was developed throughout the sixteenth century, especially in northern Italy where the medieval practice of liturgical drama remained current.!63 In late sixteenth-century Rome, however, such allusions were limited to the private oratories of

pious confraternities, contexts that are themselves evocative of participatory celebration.!®4 The idea of revivifying the Constantine story by projecting it as a theatrical reenactment at the Lateran has everything to do with the fact that the frescoes were conceived for the locus sanctus,

the site where most of the events were thought to have occurred. In the end the frescoes are presented as incursions of divine revelation into the temporal sphere, scenes from a metaphysical drama that perpetually exalts the Church’s triumph under Constantine at the Lateran. The theme of triumph in general and that of Constantine in particular

was proclaimed at the threshold of the transept by the treatment of the inner entrance facade. It is restated in a sustained way in the fresco cycle, introduced by the emperor’s Triumphal Entry and concluded with his Donation to the Lateran. These scenes supplant those more commonly depicted in Constantine cycles, the emperor’s vision on the eve of battle and his political donation to the Church. The significance of these innovations develops from the relationship of the new subjects to the ancient Roman triumph.!®° In antiquity the ceremony was defined by its

125

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religious character and the expression of public joy that it inspired. Temples were opened for the occasion and were festively adorned with garlands. Public and private feasting, circus games, and theater performances were prominent aspects of the event. The triumphal procession itself evoked the victory in an exceptionally vivid manner: The triumphator was accompanied by his army and members of the Senate; vanquished kings and noblemen were paraded in fetters; and the rich booty captured from the enemy — including gold and silver vessels and statues

of the gods — was borne aloft by soldiers.!6° The goal was the Capitoline Hill, where the triumphator offered sacrifice at the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, honoring the chief deity of the Roman pantheon as author of the victory and protector of the state. In the Lateran transept the frescoes representing Constantine’s Entry and Donation mark the beginning and end of the triumph, now reinterpreted to underscore its Christian significance. The first scene defines the emperor’s victory as a spiritual one and the last indicates its specifically Christian nature. The Lateran now takes the place of the Temple of Jupiter, and the vessels the emperor donates are those used in the Christian Mass.!67 The reference to the ancient triumph both clarifies the iconography of these most important scenes that form visual parentheses around the rest of the cycle, and suggests a broader context for the general character of the painted decoration. Three elements of the ancient triumph are particularly relevant here. First, the sources report that royal fabrics were exhibited as part of the captured booty, which was probably also the case in Titus’ triumph over the Jews when the veils of the Temple and its most sacred vessels were brought to Rome.!68 Second, paintings of conquered lands, significant battles, and portraits of those who had died were carried in the procession; these tabulae pictae were praised for their mimetic value of bringing to life the heroic deeds commemorated by the triumph.!©? Finally, portable stages on which tableaux vivants were mounted served a similar purpose in recreating the important events of the war for the jubilant crowd.!79 Thus, the Lateran frescoes acclaim the triumph of the Roman Church in a distinctly Roman

manner;

their tapestry-like borders, theatrical allusions, and identi-

ty as a unified series of triumphal images all have parallels in this tradition.!71 Ultimately the Lateran cycle expresses the victory of the Church under Constantine as a metaphysical triumph of the Eucharist. The spiritual victory of the sacrament had long been linked to the ancient military triumph in the annual feast of Corpus Domini, when the Eucharist was carried in procession. In 1551 the Council of Trent affirmed the tradition of honoring in this way “the victory and triumph of [Christ’s] death”: 126

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran And thus indeed did it behoove the victorious truth to celebrate a triumph over falsehood and heresy, that in the sight of so much splendor and in the midst of so great joy of the universal Church, her enemies may either vanish weakened and

broken,

or, overcome

with

shame

and

confounded,

may

at length

re-

pent. 172

In keeping with its triumphal character, the splendid decorations that were employed in the Corpus Domini observance included tableaux, while both the route of the procession and the church that was its goal were decorated with tapestries.!73 The decoration of the liturgical space with fabrics can be traced to the earliest history of the Church. Constantine was credited with originating the custom, one that transposed the tradition of imperial splendor to God’s own abode.!74 It is recorded that the throne room of the palace at Constantinople was decorated with tapestries, and it may well be that the adaptation of this motif in the Lateran transept was intended to identify it as a species of aula regia, an imperial reception chamber for Christ.!75 The Liber pontificalis records for the Carolingian period that the popes

gave

entire cycles of narrative

tapestries

to the principal

churches of Rome, and these were displayed on special feast days.!176 This practice was revived in the sixteenth century when Leo X commissioned Raphael to design a set of tapestries for the Sistine chapel with scenes from the lives of Peter and Paul.!77 The tradition of incorporating painted fabrics in a comprehensive illusionistic scheme of decoration also has an illustrious history that begins in antiquity.!78 Painted curtains were employed to decorate the lower walls of churches in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a particularly prominent Roman example being the Sistine chapel. The fundamental reference in these instances is to liturgical veils, which were nonfigurated but might bear floral motifs and emblems of the patron.!7? Raphael must be credited with inventing the motif of feigned tapestries that carry narrative images, but he applied it exclusively in residential contexts and only in terms of fictive tende painted on the vaults, as at the Villa Farnesina and the Stanza d’Eliodoro of the Vatican palace.189 The motif first descended to the wall in the Sala di Costantino of the Vatican

palace, where

the deeds of Constantine

were

represented.!8!

This

conjunction was significant, for the very technique of tapestry carried a royal connotation that was especially appropriate to the subject matter. Indeed,

in the

sixteenth

and

seventeenth

centuries

a considerable

number of tapestry sets were created with depictions of Constantine’s noble achievements, no doubt for display at royal entries and other festive occasions. !82 In the wake of the Vatican Sala di Costantino, fictive tapestries with narrative scenes were increasingly featured in palace decoration, but it 127

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was only during the last decade or so of the century that they were applied in the sacred context of churches.!83 The Lateran frescoes diverge in significant ways from the sixteenth-century development of the type. Unlike earlier examples where the borders hang straight or curl slightly at the edges, at the Lateran they become an important element of the design. Rich, abundant stuffs are bunched below the window frames and rolled at the sides to reveal the back of the tapestries, which are also lavishly decorated. Partially furled tapestries appear at the juncture of the triumphal arches and at the corners of the side walls. As a result, the frescoes are perceived in a more realistic way that augments the illusion of their presence; thus, they emphasize the physical existence of the architecture, the sacred relic that is Constantine’s basilica. Equally meaningful is the fact that the tapestries’ ample borders are emblazoned with the heraldic devices of Clement VIII, the emblems of his nobility,

and these share a reciprocal relationship both with the subjects of the images and with the architecture itself. It was Constantine who confirmed the imperial nature of the papal office, and he, in turn, is honored by the pope in the royal Lateran church that he built. Meaning of another sort is suggested by the topos of the sacred curtain in Judeo-Christian tradition, beginning with the decoration of the Tabernacle that Moses erected in the desert. The curtains that constituted its structure were fashioned in accordance with God’s directives “with ten sheets of fine twined linen, of purple stuffs, violet shade and red, and of crimson stuffs; you are to have these sheets finely brocaded with cherubs” (Exodus 26:1).184 The cherubs that appear along the borders of the Lateran frescoes and the prominence of shades of red establish essential links with the Judaic prototypes. The Mosaic curtains, or ones similar to them, had been used in the Temple of Jerusalem, and they were brought to Rome by Titus along with the other Hebrew cult objects.185 The memory of the Old Testament curtains may explain why the Jews of Rome were apparently responsible for the tapestry decoration used in Corpus Domini processions. It is equally suggestive that

they were charged with hanging tapestries along the route followed by Clement VIII when he entered Rome in 1598 after an extended absence from the city.!86 Given the Lateran’s affiliation with the Old Testament sanctuary, the choice of fabric hangings to decorate the transept would have been made, at least in part, with these sacred curtains in mind,187 Besides the curtains that formed the walls of the Mosaic sanctuary, a

special part of appear tionally 128

veil was used to close off the Holy of Holies, the most sacred the enclosure where the Ark was kept and where God would (Exodus 26:31-34). In the Epistle to the Hebrews, a text tradicredited to Saint Paul, the Jewish sanctuary functions as a sym-

Celebration: Constantine and the Christian Triumph at the Lateran

bol of the more perfect union between humanity and God that would come with Christ. According to Old Testament law, entrance to the Holy of Holies was barred to all except the high priest, who was permitted access on one day of the year, yet at the precise moment Christ died on the cross the dividing veil was rent miraculously.!88 This signified that “through the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body” (“viam novam et viventem per velamin, id est carnem suam”) (Hebrews 10:19—20). Ultimately, the association of Christ’s body with passage through the curtain completes the circle of ideas that link the Lateran frescoes to the Eucharist. Yet another level of the frescoes’ meaning is suggested by one of the

central themes in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the relationship between Old Testament symbol and true reality. The author proclaims, “It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary [manufacta Sancta] which was only modeled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that

he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:23-24). The reference to heaven can be understood with regard to the fictive nature of the tapestries; quite literally they are not of human manufacture, but reflect a higher reality.18? Illusionism had long been used to express the ineffable mystery of the Eucharist, in the tradition of sacrament tabernacles that depend on the startling spatial effects of linear perspective, and in the elaborate apparati used in the Forty Hours devotion to the sacrament.!?9 It would hardly be overstating the relationship to say that in its uncanny effect to evoke an intangible reality, illusionism serves as a visual metaphor of the Real Presence of Christ in the Host.!7! The fictive tapestries of the Lateran transept find their rightful place in this tradition.

The Lateran fresco cycle commemorates the divinely willed process by which Constantine established the first, permanent, sanctified place of Christian worship at the Lateran. The frescoes, in their particular choice of subject matter, governed by reference to the Breviary lessons, in their disposition within the transept space according to liturgical directions, and in their typological arrangement, provide an honorific frame for the sacrament altar and a fitting adornment for the sacred walls of the Lateran church. Their distinctive formal qualities, characterized by the striking impression of a real physical presence that coexists with allusions to the artifice of the theater, the whole projected through the astonishing device of feigned tapestries, combine to create the sense of a transcendent reality that encourages intellectual and emotional engagement, leading to spiritual revelation. 129

Chapter

REVELATION

The Altar of the Sacrament

... che a riguardarlo induce stupore. — Giovanni Baglione!

Among the most significant achievements resulting from the spiritual regeneration that characterized the Counter-Reformation was the renewed emphasis on the Eucharist as the central article of faith. Altars dedicated to the Eucharist were built in the major churches throughout Italy, generally by the local bishops, and in Rome the popes themselves assumed the patronage of sacrament altars, thus asserting their particular relationship to Christ.2 Clement VIII’s decision to embellish the Cathedral of Rome with a sacrament altar to serve as a symbol of the Universal Church extended this idea in the most notable way.? The uniqueness of his achievement

is not limited to the scale and costliness of the altar,

which far outshines its predecessors, but further resides in assimilating the Lateran’s exceptional history to the underlying message of Christian salvation. The ciborium is the design of Pier Paolo Olivieri, sculptor and architect, who participated in other aspects of the transept project and had a long-standing professional relationship with Giacomo della Porta.‘ Conceived as a classical, pedimented aedicula supported on four columns of the Composite order, the ciborium defines a chapel-like space where

the Divine Office is celebrated

(Fig. 98; Plate II). Repeating the

basic form of the outer structure, a secondary aedicula shelters the altar and the tabernacle where the Eucharist is reserved. The architectural frames of early Renaissance altars were relatively simple, either placed directly against the wall or freestanding. In the course of the sixteenth Figure 98 (facing). Pier Paolo Olivieri, et al., altar of the sacrament, San Giovanni in Laterano. (Anderson 20961/Art Resource, NY)

130

transept.

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century a dynamic interrelationship between the altar and its environment was introduced; increasingly, the aedicula was set within a recessed niche and the columns were pulled forward to become freestanding.’ A tendency to apply colored marbles and gilded stuccoes that mirror the articulation of the surrounding walls can also be observed, and in many instances figural sculpture was included as well.6 The Clementine altar developed this tradition by combining the freestanding Figure 99. Plan and elevation of the Lateran sacrament altar, engraving. (Giacomo Fontana, Raccolta delle migliori chiese di Roma e suburbane..., 4 vols. in 2 [Rome, 1855], 3:pl. 9) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

=

132

z

48 Sheer

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure roo. Giacomo della Porta, facade of il Gest, Rome (detail). (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, B74/755)

and wall aedicula types, and by expanding the role of painted and sculpted elements. The central pair of columns are shifted forward to carry the pediment, and those at the sides are stepped back to support the entablature; where it meets the transept walls, the entablature is extended

to embrace them, supported by pilasters (Fig. gg).” The ciborium is thus firmly anchored into its context, gripping the lateral walls and forcefully projecting into the path of the worshiper. The traditional altar ciborium is here reinterpreted as a monumental entrance portico that is physically

integrated with the transept.® Certain details of the structure recall Giacomo della Porta’s facade of the Gesu, in particular the double-aedicula arrangement of the lower zone and the dynamic movement of the entablature, which extends outward from the central portal (Fig. 100).? At the Lateran, the type was developed in the third dimension, perhaps influenced by an unexecuted design for Saint Peter’s associated with Michelangelo where the entire facade is conceived as a freestanding columned portico (Fig. 101).!9 The wall treatment of the Gesu and the freestanding pedimented portico of the Saint Peter’s design are combined in the Clementine ciborium to ®33

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produce a new architectural form defined by visual clarity and dramatic emphasis on the center, distinctive features of the nascent baroque style. The portico-like shape of the ciborium constitutes only one aspect of its reinterpretation of traditional forms. Another is its material, gilded bronze. The pediment, the column bases, and three capitals are creations of the Clementine period, but all four shafts and one capital are Roman spoils dating from the early second century A.D.!! The existence at the Lateran of these columns — the sole monumental remains of ancient bronze architecture — is first recorded in the eleventh century, but the reference is a casual one, and it is probable that they had been there for some time, perhaps from the foundation of the church. Until they were moved to serve for the new Clementine foundation, the columns stood in pairs on either side of the high altar (see Fig. 23).!2 The use of bronze in architecture, while not unknown, is highly unusual. In antiquity this noble material was employed in structures that carried special meaning as commemorative or votive shrines, perhaps the most famous example in Rome being the Temple of Janus, whose doors were kept closed in time of peace.!3 The true origin of the Lateran’s bronze columns is unknown, but from the later Middle Ages they were associated with the great victories of the Roman past and with the triumph of Christianity under Constantine.!4 According to one explanation, they were cast using the bronze prows of the Egyptian naval fleet vanquished by Augustus at Actium. Another view held that the columns had formed part of Solomon’s Temple of Jerusalem and had been transferred to Rome by Titus following the conquest of the Holy City. Just as Augustus was credited with having initiated the pax romana, during which time Christ was born, so too Titus was intimately connected to the rise of Christianity, honored as the one who had vindicated the death of Christ by the destruction of Jerusalem.!5 In both the traditions concerning the origin of the bronze columns, Constantine was credited with donating them to the Lateran.!© Their associations with the Old Testament and the Roman Empire, which recall similar themes elsewhere in the Lateran transept, were amplified by the notion that the bronze shafts functioned as reliquaries, containing blood-soaked earth from the site of Christ’s death in Jerusalem, brought to Rome by Constantine’s mothez, the empress Helena.!7 In this way, a real, topographical link with Jerusalem existed at the Lateran and this link possessed a eucharistic component.!8 As a result of their unique sanctity, it was claimed that the columns worked miracles.!? The formal innovations of the Lateran ciborium need to be viewed against the background provided by these legends.

134

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure ror. Ideal View of Saint Peter’s. Salone Sistino. Vatican palace. (Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico, XXXIII.89.18)

Bronze occupies a prominent place in traditions relating to Solomon’s Temple.29 So extensive was the use of this material that the weight of the quantity of bronze was beyond calculation (1 Kings 7:47). In addition to the sacred objects employed in the liturgy, two bronze columns known as Jachin and Boaz flanked the Temple’s main entrance located to the east.21 In fact, all the Temple’s eastern gates were said to have been constructed with bronze elements, and in each case they were associated with events that imparted to them an especially sacred character.22 The Corinthian Gate opened of its own accord to signal the fall of the Holy City during the siege of Titus.23 The Beautiful Gate (Porta Preciosa) was the site of the first miracle of the Apostles, the healing of the lame man by Peter (Acts 3:1-10).*4 The nearby portico built by Solomon was said to have been embellished with a bronze column, and it was there that Solomon had prayed when dedicating the Temple.2°

This portico is mentioned in the New Testament as the place where the Christians would congregate (Acts 5:12) and where Christ first publicly revealed His divinity on the feast celebrating the dedication of the Tem-

SB)

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ple (John 10:23).26 An early sixteenth-century inventory of the Lateran’s relics specifies the “Porticus Salomonis” as the original location of the bronze columns that are the essential supports of the Clementine ciborium.27 Relevant as much for its name as for its form is another entrance to the Temple, called the Royal Portico by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus.28 Claiming that it was “more noteworthy than any under the sun,” he described its multitude of columns as being arranged in four rows, thus forming three aisles, with the central one being higher and wider than the sides. Somewhat ambiguous is the additional statement that the front of the wall was cut all around with architraves having columns built into it. This text evidently influenced certain Renaissance depictions of the Jerusalem Temple to which the Lateran cibori-

um bears a striking resemblance (Fig. 102).2? Complementing the reference to the Old Testament Temple is the parallel legend that associated the bronze columns with Augustus. In this case, too, there is reason to believe that the Lateran ciborium re-

ferred toa particular source. A series of coins issued by Augustus’ adopted son and successor, Tiberius, includes the image of a temple whose characteristic features — the projected pedimented pronaos, the lateral extensions of the rear wall articulated with niches and columns, and the

profusion of figures above the pediment — also define the Lateran altar (Fig. 103).39 In the entire corpus of ancient coinage the Tiberian coins are unique for representing a temple facade with its columned portico projected from the center of the cella wall, an architectural form unusual enough to be discussed by Vitruvius in a separate category.3! In the sixteenth century, when the study of ancient coins was pursued with remarkable

intensity and precision, the Tiberian coin was

drawn,

en-

graved, and copied.32 Although the image of the temple lacked an identifying legend, it was most often thought to depict the Temple of the Deified Augustus.33 One Renaissance copy of the coin incorporated a new

obverse

bearing a portrait identified as DIVVS

AVGVSTVS

P(ATER)

P(ATRIAE).34

An alternative tradition corroborated by archaeological discoveries made in the early nineteenth century identified the coin image with one of the grandest temples in ancient Rome, that dedicated to Concord.35 Originally constructed in the second century B.C. to celebrate peace between plebeians and patricians, this temple was rebuilt by Tiberius during the reign of Augustus; the lavish materials employed, the refined ornament, and the masterpieces of Greek art that were displayed there made it a showpiece of Augustan Rome.?¢ In fact, the temple’s original political significance was assimilated to the imperial family and to

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure 1o2

(above).

Francesco

Rosselli, Presen-

tation of Christ in the Temple, engraving. British Library, London. (By permission of the Trustees of the British Library)

Figure 103 (right). Coin of Tiberius representing the Temple of Concord. (Fototeca Unione at the American Academy in Rome, 3549F)

Augustus in particular: Tiberius dedicated the new structure to the Augustan Concord, Aedes Concordiae Augustae.3’ It is possible that in antiquarian circles of the Renaissance this temple was linked to the Aedicula Concordia that stood nearby, which is reported to have been constructed entirely of bronze.38 Augustus was so closely identified with concord as a political ideal that in the Renaissance both the Temple of Concord and the Temple of the Deified Augustus would have carried similar meaning. From a Christian viewpoint, the ultimate significance of the Augustan age was that it had been sanctified by the birth of Christ. S34)

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The third component of the Clementine ciborium links these references to Solomon’s Jerusalem and to Augustus’ Rome with each other and to the Lateran. Among the regal gifts that Constantine donated to the Lateran was an elaborate structure described in the Liber pontificalis. Apparently freestanding, it occupied a central position within the church, and was composed entirely of silver, including its figural decoration, which centered on depictions of Christ as earthly judge surrounded by the Apostles and as divine king flanked by angels.3? Perhaps the most revealing element of the description is the name that was applied to the whole, fastigium, in architectural nomenclature signifying pediment.#9 One of the defining elements of the Clementine altar — the projected pediment — alludes to this lost Constantinian model. Indeed, it is precisely this architectural form that would have recommended the sources cited previously, in which the pediment assumed an unusual prominence.

Originally a symbol of divinity that was used to define the entrances to ancient temples, the pediment became an essential aspect of the fully developed imperial ceremonial, denoting the place where the emperor would appear in majesty.4! Constantine’s gift to the Lateran in effect transferred the dignity of imperial presentation to Christ and His court, an idea that was especially resonant at the royal Lateran church. Its significance for Clement VIII’s sacrament altar is underscored by the fact that in the late sixteenth century Constantine’s fastigium was identified as the ciborium of the high altar. This idea was advanced in the context of the cache of imperial coins discovered during construction of the Lateran palace under Sixtus V.42 The reference occurs in relation to Valentinian III, who had restored the fastigium after it was plundered by the

Goths in the sack of Rome in 410 A.D.43 Valentinian’s pious deed was commemorated by a fresco in the Sistine palace where he is shown cradling an object that resembles a type of sacrament tabernacle that was widely employed in the Renaissance (see Fig. 13). This association between the fastigium and the Eucharist provides an essential conceptual link between the literary record of Constantine’s gift and the altar of Clement VIII. The three models integrated in the Clementine ciborium not only explicate its unusual form but suggest the intellectual framework that governed its creation. References to the Old Dispensation and to the pagan Roman past, which are combined in the form and material substance of the structure, function as a metaphor of Christian concord. Jerusalem is assimilated to Rome, and the ecclesia ex circumcisione is brought into harmony with the ecclesia ex gentibus. The expression of these themes at the Lateran was surely due to the fact that this historic conjunction

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

between the Jews and the Gentiles was first institutionalized in that very place and by Constantine himself. It was Constantine and the Lateran church that fulfilled the promise of unity held by the Old Testament and pagan antetypes.44 As though to underscore the all-embracing significance of the altar, the Trinity, supreme expression of Christian concord, is prominently displayed: God the Father appears in the tympanum of the pediment, the Holy Ghost in the center of the ceiling of the cibori-

um, and God the Son appears on the altar table.4° In its most profound meaning the structure of the Clementine ciborium functions as a metaphor of the ultimate concord between humanity and God that is embodied in the sacrament. It establishes a sublime foundation for the entire altar ensemble in which the mystery of Christian salvation and the history of the Lateran are fused. A case in point is provided by the instruments of Christ’s Passion, the Arma Christi, which are represented in polychrome marble inlay on the two vertical strips that adorn the altar’s rear wall (see Fig. gg).4® They also appear in the elaborately decorated wooden ceilings of both the nave and transept. At the altar their very configuration was developed to underscore the particular meaning they held for the basilica, dedicated to Christ and proud possessor of many of the Passion relics that constitute the Arma Christi.47 The nails, cross with superscription, and crown of thorns appear in the upper part of both areas, while the remaining objects are intended to be read from bottom to top and from left to right. The sequence begins with the column and whips of the Flagellation and culminates with the sponge and lance of the Crucifixion, implying a temporal progression as though the Passion were ongoing.*® The implements of Christ’s sacrifice embody a paradox; they are the means by which His death was effected and yet they are also the symbols of His triumph over death. The denomination Arma Christi carries a military connotation and also suggests the heraldic devices that constitute the coat of arms of noble families. Indeed, the Arma

Christi were

often arranged in armorial fashion to provide Christ’s own coat of arms. In this case the royal implications are made explicit: The emblems function as the Lord’s dynastic symbols.4? In the Clementine altar this royal significance is recalled by the terminal images, the crown of thorns and especially the superscription that proclaims Christ King of the Jews. Thus, in addition to its customary references to Christ’s Passion and to the sacrament, the Arma

Christi of the Clementine altar accents

Christ’s royal pedigree that was confirmed on this very spot by Constantine.°° In a literal and metaphorical sense, the fulcrum of the altar program is the sacrament itself, located in the tabernacle which glitters like a pre139

The Nave

Clementina

Figure 104. Pompeo Targone and Curzio Vanni, sacrament tabernacle, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1086)

140

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure ro5.

Curzio

Vanni,

Pieta, door of the sac-

rament tabernacle, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, E103951)

Figure 106.

Curzio

Vanni,

Resurrected

Christ, sacrament tabernacle (detail), transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, E103943)

cious gem at the core of the ensemble (Figs. 104—6).5! Conceived as a miniature architectural edifice — rising from a rusticated base, ornamented with pedimented niches, and crowned by a drum and cupola — the tabernacle is fashioned with colored marble, gilded bronze, and silver

reliefs. It is a particularly rich variation of a type of centrally planned, freestanding eucharistic container that had a wide diffusion in the Renaissance, most recently employed in Rome in Sixtus V’s chapel at Santa Maria Maggiore, where the gilded bronze structure is elevated by angels (Fig. 107).°4 In both its architecture and decoration, the Clementine tabernacle developed the prior tradition to address the special dignities of the site. While recalling the general form of the Renaissance tabernacle type, the Lateran tabernacle is neither freestanding, nor is its plan truly centralized. A pentagonal central core is extended by two bays at the sides to anchor the structure firmly to the enclosing niche. The forward section projects to meet the plane established by the verde antico aedicula.

141

The Nave

Clementina

In this way the tabernacle is firmly wedded to its architectural context, emulating the rhythms of the embracing architecture of the bronze ciborium.53 Thus, the two standard forms of Eucharist tabernacle, the ped-

imented wall aedicula and the centrally planned, freestanding temple type, are here integrated. The function of sacrament tabernacles to contain the body of Christ

occasioned their association with the Lord’s tomb.54+ This was often expressed by applying to the tabernacle the centralized plan that was the most characteristic aspect of the shrine Constantine had constructed in Jerusalem to honor the site.55 In many cases, as at the Lateran, the

allusion was further established by including a depiction of the Resurrected Christ.56 The Lateran tabernacle recalls the Anastasis rotunda and at the same time, with an entirely new level of precision, it evokes the inner chapel that shelters the actual tomb chamber in Jerusalem, which has an irregular plan terminating in a pentagonal apse (Fig.

108).°7 The physical integration of the tabernacle with its architectural surround is also a meaningful component of the design. Jerusalem 1s present in its twin historical phases: The ciborium refers to the Old Testament Temple, its New Testament fulfillment announced by the tabernacle-sepulcher. The mystical cohesion of the Temple and the Church is here translated into tangible form to provide a sublime metaphor for the Eucharist and to glorify the Lateran’s own exalted role in Christian history.°8 The life-size statues of Hebrew worthies set in niches flanking the al-

tar acknowledge the truth of this assimilation (Figs. 109-12).5? Generally recalling the Lateran’s supersession of the Old Testament sanctuary, their choice and position reflect their roles in the Old Dispensation and their relationship to Christ. Aaron and Melchisedech, located on the preferred side of the altar to our left, are archetypes of the priesthood; Moses and Elijah opposite them are examples of the Old Testament leader. In the privileged positions closest to the sacrament are Melchisedech and Moses, the priest-kings who were the direct models for Christ and His vicar on earth. The four figures herald the coming of salvation in a dramatic way as though they were privy to the awesome truth of the eucharistic mystery.6? Those to the left appear to be moving forward, Aaron

in a measured

advance, Melchisedech

in a determined,

forceful stride. Both approach the altar holding the vessels that indicate their participation in the sacred ritual.6! On the opposite side, Moses and Elijah are also conceived as a complementary pair, but here the contrasts are more emphatic. Moses, the most stationary of the group, looks upward, spiritually engaged; conversely, Elijah grasps his cloak and turns to the side as though running, his beard buffeted by his 142

Figure 107 (right). Ludovico

del Duca and Bastiano Torrigiani, sacrament

altar, cha-

pel of Sixtus V. Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, E103955)

Figure 1o8 (below). Natale Bonifacio, plan and elevation of the Holy Sepulcher, engraving. (Jean Zuallart, I/ devotissimo viaggio di Gerusalemme ... [Rome, 1587], 189.) (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome)

£43

The Nave

Clementina

Figure rog. Silla da Viggit, Aaron, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1080)

powerful

movement.®?

Figure rro. Nicolo Pippi, Melchisedech, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1075)

Reference

is thus made

to each figure’s indi-

vidual biography — Aaron censes the altar, Melchisedech strides toward Abraham, Moses communes with God, and Elijah races toward Mount Horeb — but since each of these events carries proto-eucharistic mean-

ing, the statues are simultaneously conceived as active participants in the great mystery that unfolds at the altar.6> The eucharistic significance is reinforced by the reliefs located above the statues, in which the narrative episodes relative to these figures — all associated with the offering and

144

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure rrr. Egidio della Riviera, Moses, tranFigure 112. Pier Paolo Olivieri (completed by sept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Camillo Mariani), Elijah, transept. San GiovanLibrary, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1077) — ni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1081)

consuming of bread and wine - are depicted (Figs. 113-16).°4 Ultimately, the statues extend the significance of the altar ciborium and the tabernacle by asserting the efficacy of the Eucharist and the authenticity of the translation of Jerusalem to Rome, at the Lateran.®5 What might be called the authentic sacramental presence at the Lateran was addressed by the silver relief of the Last Supper that was one of the most spectacular elements of the altar ensemble (Fig. 1177; see also Fig. 35).66 Although reduced to coinage during the French occupation

145

Figure 113. Silla da Viggit, Aaron Receives the Loaves of Offering, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1078)

Figure 114. Nicolo Pippi, Melchisedech Offers Bread and Wine to Abraham, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/ 1074)

146

ii} i

t

if

Figure 115. Egidio della Riviera, Gathering of the Manna, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (The Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1076) Figure 116. Pier Paolo Olivieri (completed by Camillo Mariani), Elijah and the Angel, transept. San Giovanni

in Laterano.

(The

Con-

way Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1083)

147

The Nave

Clementina

of Rome at the end of the eighteenth century, the appearance of the original relief can be reconstructed from literary sources and visual records.67 The image conveyed a remarkable impression of dramatic immediacy, achieved through the suppression of background space and a concomitant increase in the scale of the figures, which were life-size and worked in high relief.¢8 Graced with a radiant halo, Christ sat at the center of the table flanked by the Apostles, two of whom were placed symmetrically on the table’s near side; the one at the right turned to

look out. The remarkable prestige the relief possessed is indicated by the fact that it was used as a model by Alessandro Algardi and Gianlorenzo Bernini for their own depictions of the Last Supper.®? These works are also significant for making clear what is only hinted at in the graphic evidence, namely, that at the Lateran Christ was represented with His right hand raised in the gesture of benediction, signifying the precise moment when, acting as priest, he consecrated the bread and wine, thereby instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist.7° This sacramental emphasis was underscored by the following inscription mounted on a gilded metal cover that protected the relief: O SACRVM

CONVIVIVM

IN QVO

CHRISTVS

SVMMITVR

RECOLITVR

MEMO-

RIA PASSIONIS EIVS (O Sacred Banquet in Which Christ Is Received and

the Memory of His Passion Is Recalled) (see Fig. gg). This text forms part of the antiphon sung before the Magnificat at Second Vespers on the feast of Corpus Christi, when the institution of the sacrament at the Last Supper is joyously celebrated.7! The literary sources indicate that this cover had the form of a grill, suggesting that while the relief was normally visible in part, it was exposed in a dramatic unveiling only on the most sacred celebrations in the Church calendar. The strikingly dramatic visualization of the scene and its mode of presentation can be explained with reference to the presence in the Lateran of the actual table on which Christ and the Apostles had supped in Jerusalem. Traditionally, the table relic was placed on the high altar of the church for the veneration of the faithful on Holy Thursday, anniversary of the Last Supper, and one of the most important Station days that was traditionally held at the Lateran.’* Indeed, the way the relief is presented to us recalls the tradition of relic display by attendant angels.73 The two celestial beings fashioned partly in red marble and partly in gilded bronze appear suspended in midair, and without actually touching the object they miraculously set it into position above the inner aedicula (Figs. 118, 119).’4 They originally held torches in their outstretched hands to signal the presence of the Eucharist.7> Even the precious material used for the relief conveyed meaning, for in former times the table

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

b RO

Figure 117. Attributed to Giuseppe Marchetti, Lateran sacrament altar, drawing (detail showing the Last Supper by Curzio Vanni). Royal Library, Windsor, 10963. (The Royal Collection © 1993 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II)

relic itself had been sheathed with silver, fragments of which were then still visible.” Thus, in its iconography, dramatic interpretation, mode of presentation, and material substance, the relief possessed an emphatic sacramental focus that was generated by the presence of the relic from Jerusalem upon which Christ had instituted the Eucharist. The dramatic energy initiated with the statues of Old Testament worthies at the sides of the altar, and continued in a miraculous vein with

the presenting angels of the Last Supper, culminates with Arpino’s fresco of the Ascension of Christ above the bronze ciborium. This was a relatively late addition to the program. The original design called for monumental bronze sculptures of the Risen Christ and the two Saint Johns to stand above the ciborium; something of the effect they would have conveyed is indicated by two commemorative medals issued in 1599

(Figs. 120, 121).”7” The full-scale clay models

for these figures

were brought to the Lateran in December 1598, presumably for a trial installation. These freestanding sculptures reflect the organization of Gregory XIII’s sacrament altar, where statues of the Risen Christ and two angels were similarly positioned at the sides and at the top of the pediment (cf. Figs. 8, 9). In the Clementine plan the two Johns were substituted for the angels, thus reinforcing the site-specific nature of the altar.78 The three statues would now offer a compressed vision of Christian history with the Baptist announcing the coming of the Messiah,

149

The Nave

Clementina

Figure 118. Ambrogio Bonvicino, angel located to the left of the Last Supper, transept. San

Figure 119. Ambrogio Bonvicino, angel located to the right of the Last Supper, transept. San

Giovanni

Giovanni

in Laterano.

(The

Conway

Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1084)

Library,

in Laterano.

(The

Conway

Courtauld Institute of Art, A74/1085)

the Evangelist proclaiming His return, and the figure of Christ Himself at the center proving the efficacy of their prophecies. An integral part of the plan was its invocation of the basilica’s regal status derived from Christ and his kinship with the two Johns, all three descendants of David’s kingly line.”? Relics of the blood of Christ and the Baptist claimed by the Lateran would have reinforced this idea while assimilating it to a

eucharistic context.89 It is probable that the figures were in place when Clement visited the Lateran in January 1599.°! His dissatisfaction with the appearance of 150

Library,

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure 120. Monogramist C.H.C., medal of Clement VIII commemorating the Lateran sacrament altar. Paris, Bibliothéque Nationale. (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, A14941)

Figure 121. Emilio Bonis, medal of Clement VIII commemorating the Lateran sacrament altar. Medagliere Vaticano. Biblioteca Vaticana)

(Foto

the sacrament altar voiced at that time may have been partly due to the fact that the scale of the sculptures was insufficient to command the space above the bronze pediment.’2 The decision to substitute the fresco of Christ’s Ascension for the three sculptures responded to more than the formal requirements of animating this huge empty space (Figs. 122, 123).83 One result was to integrate more closely the components of the altar and thus to underscore its sacramental theme. The Ascension completes the sequence of Christ’s Passion introduced by the Crucifixion, represented by the altar cross, and the Resurrection, commemorat-

ed by the Risen Christ above the tabernacle.84 In the solemn prayer Unde et memores, intoned by the priest immediately after the words of consecration, the Host is defined in exactly these ways, recalling the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension.’5 The central events in the Paschal mystery are thus presented at the Lateran in a vertical sequence that unfolds as a continuous event before our eyes. A fundamental meaning of the Ascension that bears directly on the Lateran context concerns the tradition that Christ communicated the divine structure of His Church to the Apostles at the Ascension: Peter’s vicarage began, the sacraments became efficacious, and the Church as an institution was born.8¢ As if to proclaim the official nature of the image in Rome’s Cathedral, Arpino referred to august models of Ro151

The Nave

Clementina Figure 122 (facing, top). Giuseppe d’Arpino, Ascension of Christ, transept. San Giovanni in Laterano. (detail, Anderson 20961/Art Resource, NY)

man High Renaissance art. The basic compositional format is derived from Raphael’s rendition of the subject in the Scuola Nuova tapestries, which were used to decorate the room in the Vatican palace where the pope met with his cardinals to govern the Church (Fig. 124).87 For the hovering, static figure of Christ, however, Arpino turned to Raphael’s Transfiguration of Christ (Vatican Museums,

Pinacoteca).88 The Trans-

figuration marks the first manifestation of the Lord’s divinity and the moment when Moses and Elijah acknowledge Him as the Messiah. Known as the feast of the Savior, and celebrated with particular solemnity at those churches that bore the name of Christ, the Transfiguration was considered one of the Lateran’s eponymous feasts.8? In reworking these visual sources, Arpino reinforced the ecclesiological meaning of the theme. The increased symmetry of the composition recalls a common medieval formula that was extensively used in apsidal decoration, particularly a variation of the Traditio legis in which the Heavenly Christ appears in the midst of Apostles and saints to hand down the law of the New Covenant (Fig. 125).?9 Indeed, Arpino’s Apostles are positioned according to their roles in the creation of the Church, with emphasis on the two pairs of brothers who were the first to be called to the apostolate: Peter and Andrew kneeling at the center, John the Evangelist and James the Great standing at the sides.?! These last two Apostles, whose feet overlap the tapestry-like borders, also recall those Old Testament prophets who sometimes appeared on the arch that frames the apse of medieval churches, where they present the scene of Christian revelation to the spectator (Fig. 126).

Further meaning is conveyed by the physical association of the fresco with the altar ciborium, one that echoes a venerable tradition of highaltar decoration where a heavenly image is juxtaposed to earthly architecture.?2 In addition to reinforcing the identification of the Clementine altar as the high altar of the church, there is reason to believe that the visual conjunction of this fresco with the gilded bronze aedicula was developed to reinforce a particular aspect of the Lateran’s sanctity. In the exegetical tradition, Christ’s Ascension to heaven was related to the prophetic words of Psalm 24 (23): “Gates, raise your arches, rise, you ancient doors, let the king of glory in!”?3 This link between the Ascension and the idea of passage through a sacred portal had special relevance to the Holy Year celebration and to the Lateran itself. The great remission 152

Figure 123.

After

Giuseppe d’Arpino, Ascension of Christ, engraving. (Gerardi, 2:pl. 40.) (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

ro3

The Nave

Clementina

Figure 124. Nicholas Beatrizet after Raphael, Ascension of Christ, engraving. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, H1779)

of sin achieved at the Ascension was equated with the purificatory indul-

gence conceded to the faithful during Holy Years.?4+ This equation became an official part of the celebration in 1574 when Gregory XIII initiated the practice of announcing the Jubilee indulgence on the feast of the Ascension during the preceding year.?° A basic element of the celebration, passage through the Holy Doors — those sacred portals located in the four main basilicas - was understood as a proleptic passage into

heaven itself (Fig. 127).?6 These traditions assume particular meaning at the Lateran, whose exceptional indulgences had long been associated with a special door, sometimes called the “Golden Gate,” through which one passed to gain absolution.?”7 More important, legend held that Christ had passed through the Lateran’s Holy Door when He appeared on the dedication day.?8 This must have been the underlying meaning of the fresco of Christ Bramante painted above the Lateran’s

Porta Santa for the Holy Year of 1500.7? In a series of sixteenth-century r54

Figure 125. Rome, Santi Cosma e Damiano, apse mosaic, engraving. (Ciampini, Vetera monimenta, 2:pl. 16) (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D25165) Figure 126.

Rome,

San Marco,

apse

mosaic,

engraving.

Musaici della primitiva epoca delle chiese di Roma...

(Giovanni Fontana,

[Rome,

1870], pl. 19)

(Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome, U.PI. D23041)

iS SS Ca

.

== ie ==

nS

Sane SESS SS

SS Sed

Ae IS

ee

Seed = y res7

Lp

a aS EOI

155

The Nave

Clementina

Figure 127. Gian Federico Bonzagna, medal of Gregory XIII commemorating the opening of the Porta Santa of Saint Peter’s in 1575. Museo della Zecca, Rome.

Figure 128. Giovanni Paladino, sixteenthcentury medal commemorating the Holy Year of 1433. Museo della Zecca, Rome. (Museum)

(Museum)

medals that commemorate early Holy Years this miraculous event was assimilated to the acheropita, that other sacred image that confirmed the Lateran’s status as Christ’s special seat on earth (Fig. 128).!90 These traditions elucidate the meaning of the altar ensemble, and especially the placement of the heavenly Christ above the portal-like ciborium. The assimilation of the culminating event in salvation history to the Lateran’s particular dignity as Mater et Caput climaxes with what is surely the most extraordinary feature of the altar ensemble and of the entire transept program. The three main figures of the fresco, Christ and the two lateral Apostles, define a triangular grouping that reflects the shape of the bronze pediment. Indeed, the fresco appears in such close proximity to the ciborium that much of its central area is obscured by the architecture. When the fresco is viewed from afar all three figures seem to float high above the ciborium, but from a point about twothirds of the way down the transept the view changes: The Apostles’ feet, which overlap the borders, now

touch the entablature and Christ

alights on the pediment. From this position, the event appears to transpire within the actual transept space, thus reinforcing the central eucharistic mystery of Christ’s Real Presence. That this optical effect was conceived for the Lateran altar constitutes the ultimate expression of the basilica’s unique place in Christian history. The church’s own patron, John the Evangelist, and his brother James the Great, blood relations of

Revelation: The Altar of the Sacrament

Figure 129. Sacrament tabernacle. Capranica, Cathedral. (Alinari 35933/Art

Figure 130. Sacrament tabernacle. Rome, Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo al Laterano. (Soprintendenza dei Monu-

Resource,

menti di Lazio, 2617)

NY)

the Lord, witness His royal enthronement and provide the essential link between

Christ in heaven and Christ on earth, at the Lateran.!9!

The

miraculous nature of the illusion evokes the central event in the history of the imperial, Constantinian, Lateran church when Christ appeared on the dedication day to consecrate it as His sacred seat on earth and the place from which salvation would be extended to the world. There may even have been a further intention to identify the Lateran as the preordained site of the final, eschatalogical vision. As we approach the altar from the entrance and witness the gradual coalescing of the image with the architecture, Christ seems to be descending as though in fulfillment of the angels’ promise to the grieving Apostles: “Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen Him go there” (Acts 1:11).!92 This eo

The Nave

Clementina

dazzling visual formulation, occurring as it does in connection with the Eucharist, refers this idea to the eschatalogical aspect of the sacrament, itself a pledge of Christ’s return (1 Corinthians 11:23—27).!93 This was the meaning of a type of Renaissance sacrament tabernacle conceived as a

miniature sanctuary where Christ appears exhibiting His wounds and where angels carry the cross that traditionally announces the Second Coming (Fig. 129).!94 The eagle, symbol of John the Evangelist, appears at the bottom; with its talons it grasps an open book and with outstretched wings it holds the structure aloft. In these ways, the tabernacle is identified with Saint John’s vision of the end of time when the Heavenly Jerusalem will descend to earth and God will once again be present among His people (Revelation 21).!%5 An adaptation of this tabernacle type at the hospital church of the Lateran, Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo, adjusted this visionary imagery to assimilate a particular aspect of the Lateran’s own eschatalogical identity: In place of the full-length figure of Christ there now appears the acheropita of the Sancta Sanctorum (Fig. 130).!9€ Both the architecture and figural decoration of this class of tabernacle provided a primary source for the Clementine altar, and of the transept itself, where real space and real architecture are manipulated to create a proleptic vision of Christ’s final triumphant entry and to assert in a visually compelling way the idea that the Lateran is the earthly manifestation of the Heavenly Jerusalem.107 The Clementine sacrament altar constitutes a unified statement that equates the mystery of the Eucharist with the Lateran. The great moments in the history of salvation are conceived as unfolding within the real space of the transept. The prophets approach the altar, the image of the institution of the Eucharist is set in place by heavenly messengers, and Christ ascends to fulfill the New Covenant. Behind this activation lay what might be called the authentic sacramental presence of Christ, documented by the Judaic cult relics, the Last Supper table, and the Volto Santo. The bronze ciborium of the altar, with its references to Augustus, Solomon, and Constantine, provides the appropriate frame. The royal Lateran, consecrated by Christ’s appearance and secured by the dynastic blood lineage traced through Saint John, is confirmed as the locus of redemption and the analogue for heaven in the year of Christian Jubilee.

PART Ill KN

“iy

CHRISTIAN

CONCORD IN ART AND POLITICS

Chapter

6

CLEMENT VIII AND THE IDEAL GHRISTIAN STATE

IML ANY

... favored by God with the tranquility and universal peace of the Christian people, the augmentation of the divine cult, and of the ecclesiastical state, may the most glorious memory of so great a pope endure. ~ Cesare Ripa!

The Lateran transept occupies a unique place in Clement VIII’s patronage of the arts. Its location in the pope’s own church, from which he rules the Christian world as bishop of Rome, lends it enormous prestige. The particular issues addressed —- harmony between temporal and spiritual power in a Christian world and the Eucharist as the cornerstone of the faith — reinforce the Clementine transept as one of the principal expressions of papal ideology during the sixteenth century. The unity that pervades the decoration, in its iconography and visual formulations, was undoubtedly the product of focused planning. No written program for the Lateran transept has ever been discovered, and it is questionable whether one ever existed. We can speculate, however, as to who was involved in its planning and their underlying intentions. As we have seen, Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici was entrusted by the pope with supervising the first stage of the renovations, but the sources do not identify who succeeded him in this capacity in 1596 when a fundamental expansion of the project occurred. Both the Cardinal’s affiliation with the Oratory of Filippo Neri and Clement’s own connection with Neri and his followers make it likely that others belonging to this circle were involved. Contemporary notices concerning the inner workings of the papal court indicate that Clement was particularly close to 161

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

three cardinals, Silvio Antoniano,

Cesare Baronius

(both Oratorians),

and Roberto Bellarmino, all of whom lived in the Vatican palace and frequently consulted with the pope.” Baronius, the pope’s confessor from 1594 onward, supervised Clement’s renovations at San Cesareo, and participated in the decoration of the navi piccole of Saint Peter’s.3 Silvio Antoniano was no less experienced in such matters.4 Of particular interest in this context is a letter written by him to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini,

Clement’s

nephew,

concerning

the decoration

of the

family’s villa in Frascati. Antoniano penned the letter, dated 6 October 1601, in response to a request for an iconographic program, one that was in large part adopted in the fresco cycle subsequently executed by Giuseppe d’Arpino.’ Highly revealing is the closing paragraph of the letter where, with an ironic tone, he sets forth how projects of this kind

should be developed: This text, which is like a hodgepodge and a piece of rotten garlic, was written in obedience to whom it is owed and to serve as entertainment to the patron and to the ingenious painter who — one with greater inclination and the other better able to explain the excellence of his art — consult together, considering the area, the location of the villa, its lord, the nobility of the structure, and other circumstances. And when these two, that is the patron and the painter, agree on some details of the many that have been proposed, then with study, books, and discussions with learned people, they seek to give some form and polish to those things roughly blocked out. Meanwhile, it will do no harm to save this text, such as it is, because he who has sketched it out has little intelligence and does not know how to unravel this muddle any further.6

It is possible to imagine that Antoniano’s guidelines were followed for the Lateran transept. Clement, his advisers, and the artists who created the innovative visual vocabulary — chief among them Arpino and Giacomo della Porta —- would have participated in developing the specific iconographic details, as well as the underlying principles that characterize the decoration as a whole.’ In the end, however, whatever the design process may have been, the defining goals were surely set by Clement himself, whose aspirations as supreme pastor of the Church are expressed in every aspect of the commission. Clement codified his intimate connection with the Lateran project in a bull promulgated on 12 February 1601 in which he recorded the consecration of the sacrament altar and provided funds for four chaplains to celebrate Mass twice daily at the new altar.8 The nomination of these chaplains was reserved in perpetuity for the Aldobrandini family. In the preface to the bull, Clement expressed his veneration for the Eucharist, stating that his purpose in commissioning the decoration of the transept, which he proudly described, was to enhance the honor due to 162

Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

the sacrament by awakening in the faithful the idea of the presence of so great a mystery, as well as for the splendor and ornament of the Lateran. The passage closes with a remarkable invocation that identifies the project with the pope’s own personal salvation and with the salvation of all Christian people: In order that on the said altar the bloodless sacrifice of the Salvific Host may be continually offered for our salvation and for that of the Christian people, a suitable number of benefices and ministers might be set up there, endowed with suitable powers, for the praise of our same redeemer and the glory and veneration of the aforementioned most Holy Sacrament, and the increase of divine worship.?

The physical unity of the decoration of the Lateran transept and the theme of concord that it expresses provide visual metaphors of the larger unity that is the Catholic faith. This principal of unity was promoted by Clement not simply as a feature of his papal governance, but as the most profoundly felt element of his personal faith. To understand better the process by which Clement shaped his political image, and how this image closely parallels the form and meaning of the nave

clementina,

we turn to consider his central achievements

as

prince of the Church. Upon his elevation to the papacy, Cardinal Ippoli-

to Aldobrandini assumed the name Clement VIII.!9 This choice reveals certain crucial preoccupations and in each case they can be related to that great imperial virtue, clemency, the ultimate achievement of which is the establishment of concord.!1 Long before his elevation to the throne of Peter, Ippolito had distinguished himself as a peacemaker. During the reign of Pius V he accompanied the papal legation to France, Spain, and Portugal. A contemporary source reveals that Ippolito not only fulfilled his responsibilities in the capacity of Auditor Rotae, but he acted with particular skill as “ministro principale” in all the negotiations.!2 Ippolito was raised to the cardinalate by Sixtus V in 1585, and three years later was sent by the pope to negotiate a peace to the acrimonious dispute among Prince Sigismund of Poland, the Archduke Maximilian, and the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II over the rights of succession to the Polish throne.!3 The mission was successful, and upon his return Aldobrandini was received by Sixtus at the Lateran. One of

the marble reliefs that decorate Sixtus’s tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore commemorates the peace by showing Sigismund and Rudolf joining their right hands in the traditional gesture of concord (Fig. 131). In a purposeful breach of temporal and geographical accuracy, the reception of Aldobrandini at the Lateran is depicted in the background. The inclusion of this scene may be explained by the fact that with this event the new Lateran palace was inaugurated for official use.14 However, evi163

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

dence suggests that the relief was executed only after Clement’s elevation to the pontifical dignity in 1592, and thus it may be an early statement of the pope’s intention to lay claim to his role in this important diplomatic success.!>5 As pope, Aldobrandini articulated his already considerable reputation as a just and peaceful prince by his choice of name, one that carried a complex series of associations. On 30 December 1591, Pope Innocent IX - third occupant of the throne of Peter during the fourteen months that had elapsed since the death of Sixtus V - died after two months in office.!¢ The sense of political instability that resulted was exacerbated by the deeply divided papal conclave. Initially, Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santori emerged as the favored candidate, and announced that if elected he would take the name Clement to express his policy of amelioration. Ultimately, it was Aldobrandini who was brought forward as a candidate acceptable to all, and it was he who assumed the name. The name Clement recalls the not altogether felicitous history of the

noble during vester, return

Aldobrandini family, natives of the city of Florence.!7 In 1527, the reign of Pope Clement VII de’ Medici, Ippolito’s father, Sylsupported the expulsion of that family from Florence. Upon the of the Medici, Sylvester Aldobrandini himself was exiled. Despite

a brilliant career as a jurist and notwithstanding numerous appeals made on his behalf by influential supporters, the desired reconciliation with the Medici was not forthcoming, and he was forced to live far from his native city.!8 Thus, Ippolito’s decision to assume the name that had been borne by the Medici pope honored his Florentine origins while advancing his claim to possess that imperial virtue to a greater degree than had his predecessor. Perhaps the most significant factor determining Clement’s decision to adopt this name was a calculated association with Pope Clement I (88— g7). Although it was far from unusual for a pope to evoke the memory of a spiritual ancestor in this way — recent examples included both Gregory XIII and Sixtus V - Clement’s choice carried special resonance. The traditional sequence of popes places Clement I third in line after Peter, succeeding Linus and Cletus, but there existed a prominent alternative

lineage that identified Clement as Peter’s direct successor.!? The epistle written by Clement to James the Less, bishop of Jerusalem - an apocryphal text whose authenticity was widely accepted — records that Peter transferred to Clement the judicial powers of binding and loosing with which he had been invested by Christ, thus making him the first legal heir to the papal dignity.2? Clement VIII’s honoring of his namesake in the fresco decoration of the Sala Clementina in the Vatican palace and 164

Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

Figure 131. Attributed to Egidio della Riviera, Peace between Rudolf, Emperor of Austria and Sigismund, King of Poland with the Arrival of Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini at the Lateran, Chapel of Sixtus V, tomb of Sixtus V. Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore. (Alinari 28251/Art Resource, NY)

the Lateran sacristy was surely intended to forge visible links with this illustrious predecessor.*! The voluminous literature attributed to Clement I includes the apparently authentic First Clementine Epistle to the Corinthians. Reflecting Saint Paul’s own attempt to reconcile the factions that threatened the stability of the church in Corinth, Clement I exhorted them to set aside their differences and reunite. He emphasized that concord and harmony reflect God’s law and that salvation is impossible without them.22 One astute observer, writing in 1594, drew a parallel between Clement I’s actions and Clement VIII’s own emphasis on concord, which had already become apparent at that early date, “almost foreshadowing the eighth Clement, the number eight being a crown that joins the end to its beginning.”23

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

Clement I’s significance assumes even greater prominence in the context of the Lateran transept commission when it is recalled that he was a Roman citizen from the region Celimontana, the area in which the Lateran is located.24 According to one tradition he was related to the family of the emperor Domitian, and thus of royal blood.2° One source even suggests that he was related to the Lateran family, and when first Peter and then Paul came to Rome it was through Clement that they gained access to the palace.2¢ All these associations among Clement VIII, his namesake, and the Lateran can only have been reinforced by a further tradition that credited Clement I with initiating the practice of reserving the Eucharist.27 From the beginning Clement VIII saw himself as a just and merciful pastor of the Universal Church, his greatest desire being to create a new age of concord and piety. Shortly after his accession to the pontifical dignity, it was reported that he was planning to reform the clergy.28 Some four months into his pontificate, in June 1592, he began to implement his plan by announcing a Visitation of the religious institutions of Rome. To enlist divine aid, he called for the observance of the Forty Hours devotion to the sacrament. The faithful were asked to pray for success and were rewarded with a plenary indulgence. In his sermon to the Lateran clergy at the inception of the entire Visitation, Clement articulated his goal: the new age of piety would begin with them, spread to the clerical and lay populations of the city, and ultimately would encompass the entire world.2? Clement further defined his concerns for universal reform in a bull issued on 25 November 1592. Addressing the terrible calamities that were afflicting the Christian nation — the most important being the threat of the Turks and the apostasy of the French king, Henry IV — the faithful were asked to pray “for the peace and unity of both kings and of Christians,” and “for the Holy Catholic Church, so that errors having been dissipated, the truth of the one faith may be propagated in the whole world.” The bull instituted the perpetual observance of the Forty Hours devotion to be held in churches throughout the city so that “both day and night, at any hour, throughout the year, without intermission the incense of prayer may be directed in the sight of the Lord.”39 This was a significant innovation in the history of eucharistic veneration.3! The benefits of these actions, and of Clement’s astute political decisions, became apparent beginning in 1595. That year saw one of the most significant demonstrations of Clement’s policy of amelioration, his acceptance of Henry IV back into the Christian community, an act that would be ratified in 1596.32 Also in 1595, after long negotiations, the schismatic Coptic and Ruthenian churches were reunited with 166

Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

Rome.?? The contemporaneous defeat of the Turks at Gran in Hungary — largely the result of money and troops supplied by the pope — was hailed as a great victory, and one that foreshadowed the pacification of Europe.*4 Two additional achievements of enormous importance marked the year 1598, the seventh of Clement’s pontificate and the one emblazoned on both the sacrament altar and the organ of the Clementine transept. In that year the long-sought peace between the two eminent Catholic powers of Europe, France and Spain, was finally achieved because of Clement’s mediation.35 No less meaningful for the papacy’s prestige was the reabsorption of Ferrara into the papal states. In October 1597 Alfonso II d’Este, hereditary Duke of Ferrara by papal grant, died, leaving his illegitimate cousin Cesare as heir to the throne. Clement rejected the passage of title and demanded that the city revert to papal control.46 He excommunicated Cesare d’Este, placed the city under interdict, and amassed a great military force in preparation for battle; however, Cesare capitulated before this eventuality oc-

curred, with the final agreement being secured on 29 January 1598, vigil of the feast of Clement’s namesake, Saint Hippolytus — which was also the anniversary of his election to the pontifical office.3” It was not long after that Clement mounted an extraordinary celebration of his political and spiritual achievements. In April 1598, Clement took the unusual step of transferring his court to Ferrara, where it remained for eight months. The march through the papal states and the entry into the city were conducted in the manner of an ancient triumph (Fig. 132). Preceding the papal triumphator by one day, and accompanied by a contingent of more than fifty people, including Swiss guards and trumpeters, was the invincible Host. At each stage along the route the sacrament was re-

ceived as the victorious general had been in antiquity.2® The pomp attending the procession was a literal enactment of the triumph of the Eucharist — the enemy of the Church had been vanquished, not by the force

of arms, but by Christ in the sacrament.3? Two related aspects of Clement’s policy that had been apparent from the start were thus expressed in the most forceful way: his strong, clement rule, and his association of

that rule with the Eucharist. An inscription plaque dated 1598 prominently placed above the central staircase of the Palazzo del Senatore on the Capitoline Hill, the very spot that had witnessed the triumphal processions of the Roman emperors, celebrates the chief events of Clement’s pontificate, ones that had brought glory and prestige to the papacy and to Rome.49 Among other commemorations of Clement’s achievements, an engraving issued in 1599 is particularly evocative for demonstrating in visual terms how these same events were understood to reveal a larger truth about the

Christian Concord

in Art and Politics

pope (Fig. 133).4! The spiritual and temporal victories are grouped, respectively, to the pope’s right and left, while at the top the spiritual reconciliation of the temporal lord Henry IV bridges the two sides.42 Ref-

erence is thus made to the pope’s masterful exercise of his prerogatives in both spheres to attain Christian concord. Directly below Clement’s portrait personifications of Faith and Hope flank the papal coat of arms, which takes the place of Charity, the crowning theological virtue of which clemency and its goal, concord, are specific expressions. Clement’s desire for global pacification and religious harmony found its most illustrious manifestation in the Holy Year celebration of 1600, characterized by renewal of faith and reconciliation with God. In the bull announcing the Holy Year, Clement stated his hope that the celebration would result in a new religious unity. He expressed sorrow that Figure 132.

Triumphal entry of Clement VIII and the Eucharist into Ferrara,

engraving. (Rocca, Sacrosancto

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Christian Concord in Art and Politics

so many people were separated “from the unity and communion of the Catholic and apostolic Church,” declaring that he would be willing to sacrifice his life and shed his blood for their eternal salvation.43 As a centennial Jubilee, the Clementine Holy Year was considered to carry spiritual value surpassing those celebrations that fell within the century.44 Indeed, the widespread political unrest prevailing during the prior Holy Years of the sixteenth century had limited the number of pilgrims who were able to undertake the arduous journey to Rome. The most successful of these preceding Holy Years, that of 1575, was notable for the remarkable acts of devotion and charity performed by the pilgrims as well as by the pope. Gregory XIII’s participation in every aspect of the celebration was viewed as a significant addition to the customary rituals, heralding a new age of religious observance.*> The Clementine Holy Year realized the promise of 1575. The pope’s political achievements, which had secured peace throughout Europe, enabled more people to make the penitential journey to Rome; estimates run as high as three million, with many coming from outside Italy, especially from those former seats of heresy, Germany and France.*® No less remarkable was the extent to which Clement was personally involved. Each week during the year he visited the four patriarchal basilicas, and in each one he fulfilled the traditional devotions.47

Contem-

poraries were particularly impressed that Clement did not allow his physical infirmities to prevent him from making the painful ascent of the Scala Santa at the Lateran on his knees.*8 The pope’s extraordinary piety was also expressed by his charity toward the pilgrims. Not only were extensive provisions made for their care, but each day Clement invited a number of them to dine at his table where, in emulation of Christ at the

Last Supper, he would wash their feet before the meal began.*? This ceremony indicates the way the Holy Year was understood to reflect the sacramental communion of the faithful, their reconciliation with God, and their unity with the Church.5? Political unity and spiritual reconciliation — twin characteristics of the Holy Year of 1600 — parallel the Golden Age of the Church that existed during the reigns of Sylvester and Constantine.°! It is highly significant that the Holy Year of 1600 departed from normal procedure in one important respect: Holy Years traditionally began on the vigil of Christmas, but the Clementine celebration was postponed for one week. The sources report that the delay was necessitated by the pope’s poor health, and there is no reason to doubt their veracity.5* To be sure, the new date of inception, 31 December, marked the end of the calendar year, but the choice was also significant for being the feast of Saint Sylvester. In this way a correspondence was achieved between the present Holy Year 170

Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

and that original Golden Age of Christian harmony initiated with Constantine’s conversion. This association carried personal resonance for Clement, whose father had borne the name Sylvester. A contemporary poet addressed the meaning behind this fortuitous conjunction, drawing out the parallel between Clement’s pontificate and the age of Christian triumph under Constantine. How fitting it is that Clement was born of Sylvester, Clement shining forth with firm rule and command. Through the sacred commands of Sylvester and through the illustrious deeds of Sylvester the noble emblem of the pontiffs and ornament flourishes,

Who has brought forth that man into the atmosphere of light with a sacred sprinkling To whom there was the noble name of Constantine. And he put the cross upon the kingdom and the cross upon the sacred tiaras and he gave famous scepters to the Christians to rule. You also Clement, well-born son of a Sylvester, attribute your illustrious descent to pious families. Which faith Constantine increased with massive territories,

You amplify with true observance and honor. On this account you surpass Constantine as far as heavenly things surpass human goods in nobility.53

The subtle blend of personal and official, individual and collective seen throughout Clement’s pontificate here received eloquent literary expression.

A final example that brings together these evocations in a single conceit returns our discussion to the Lateran transept, where the fusion of Clement’s personae was expressed in the most concentrated way through visual means. I refer to the emblem he adopted as the symbol of his achievement - the mythic phoenix.°4 Images of the phoenix appear in other Clementine contexts, but it was first applied at the Lateran, and it was there that its rich meaning was exploited to extol the pope’s unique achievements.°5 The fabled bird appears most prominently at the sacrament altar where, in addition to the sixteen bronze phoenixes that decorate the capitals of the columns that support the ciborium, it is depicted in two marble reliefs on the balustrade, four additional ones below the statues of Old Testament figures, and another four incised in the pavement at the sides of the altar (Figs. 134, 135). In each case the bird stands on its flaming nest, and in the reliefs below the Old Testament figures it gazes toward the radiant face of the sun. Banderoles appear below the bird in every case, all lacking the usual inscriptions. 171

Figure 134. Laterano.

Bronze capitals of the sacrament altar, transept. San Giovanni

(detail, Anderson

Figure 135.

in

Resource, NY)

Phoenix below the statue of Elijah, transept. San Giovanni in Late-

rano. (Photograph by author)

172

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Clement VIII and the Ideal Christian State

Figure 136. Apse mosaic (detail of the Heavenly Jerusalem). San Giovanni Laterano. (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, E61789)

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The myth of the phoenix originated in antiquity, and it had a profound application as a Christian symbol to evoke paradise, as in the Lateran’s apse mosaic, where the bird appears above the jeweled city of the Heavenly Jerusalem (Fig. 136).°° Only one phoenix was said to exist at a time; when the end of its life drew near, it would self-immolate to produce the next phoenix, who would rise from the ashes. These aspects of the myth were interpreted by Christian authors with reference to Christ,

who existed sui generis and who renewed Himself in death.57 Pope Clement

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Della Porta was now charged with extending the polychrome marble incrustation, gilded stuccoes, and mosaics that defined the Gregorian chapel to the entire series of chapels, thus imparting a sense of unity to the space that had not existed previously. Monumental painted altarpieces representing the primacy, miracles, and martyrdom of Peter, subjects chosen by Baronius, would lend an equally new iconographic cohesion.!¢ When viewed as an interrelated series of works, it becomes clear that

Clement intended to achieve at Saint Peter’s a unity and focus that paralleled his works in the Lateran transept. In both cases his goal was to glorify the basilicas through decorative programs that were unified in both formal and conceptual terms. The particular messages involved, however, were quite distinct. In contrast to the imperial Lateran, where emphasis was placed on Christ, Constantine, and the basilica itself, at Saint Peter’s it was the Apostle who reigned supreme as Christ’s vicar. Clement VIII’s Petrine works brought forward the special sanctity of the site, derived from the presence of the Apostle’s relics, to provide a majestic statement of the hierarchical organization of the Church. For all this focused activity at Saint Peter’s, there was one pressing issue that Clement never resolved, namely, how the surviving fragment of the Constantinian nave would be treated. Perhaps influenced by conservation-minded cardinals such as Baronius, who is known to have

favored its preservation, Clement had necessary repairs made to the nave roof, but he took no definitive action either to restore or to demolish this

last vestige of the venerable early Christian basilica.!” The solution fell to his successor, Paul V (1605—-21).!8 Notwithstanding vigorous opposition, Paul had the Constantinian nave cleared away, and he commissioned Carlo Maderno to graft onto the centralized structure a basilican nave with flanking side aisles.1? The rejection of the ideal, centralized plan of the new basilica that had been introduced by Bramante and reaffirmed by Michelangelo brought the Renaissance building into conformity with its fourth-century predecessor. The memory of the Constantinian church was further achieved by inserting a portico between the new 279

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in Art and Politics

facade and the nave, in effect replicating the function of the early Christian narthex it replaced.29 Equally retrospective was the plan to frame the facade with twin towers, which would have recalled the imperial tradition in general while evoking the Lateran’s own paired towers, the first example of this highly charged architectural motif in Rome.*! The monumental statues of Christ and the Apostles that transform the Saint Peter’s facade into a species of scaenae frons may also reflect the unexecuted plan developed by Domenico Fontana for Sixtus V’s benediction loggia at the Lateran (see Fig. 20). In these ways the reconstituted structure of Saint Peter’s recalled its own glorious past, whereas elements drawn from the Lateran were applied to enhance its prestige.22 Within the basilica, Paul brought to fruition a project initiated by Clement in which the confessio chapel, located directly in front of and below the high altar, would be made visible from nave level.23 The pavement of the nave was stripped away in this area and an annular staircase constructed to permit the faithful to descend to this Sancta Sanctorum of the Roman Church (Fig. 140).44 The fresco component of the chapel’s lavish decoration chronicles the extraordinary sanctity of the site through an unbroken historical development beginning with the primitive oratory built by Anacletus I at the tomb of Peter, to Sylvester I’s consecration of the original high altar, and culminating with a de-

piction of Paul V before the new confessio.25 These works in the confessio formed an integral part of Paul’s larger plan to redefine the function of the crossing area with respect to its identity as the site of Peter’s tomb. The traditional papal altar would be transferred to the apse, thus severing a link between tomb and altar that had been a major feature of the complex since early Christian times. This separation had the benefit of freeing the area for the devotions of the faithful and simplifying the papal ceremonial, which required the seating of the pope and his clergy in the apse, located at some distance from the crossing.26 Although the altar in the crossing was never dismantled, and the pope did celebrate Mass there at various times during his pontificate, a new altar was established in the apse, and it was there that Paul officiated on Christmas in the first year of his reign.2”7 To distinguish these complementary sites, two honorific enclosures were erected that tangibly expressed the identity of the places they adorned. The apse altar was defined by an architectural canopy incorporating eight marble columns with distinctive swirling profiles, splendid ancient spoils that Constantine had employed at the original shrine. A screen of six columns extending laterally from the ciborium reinforced the evocation of the early Christian shrine.28 In contrast to this elaborate architectural structure, the tomb in the crossing was sheltered by a type of ephemeral 180

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Ecclesiae

Figure 140. Giacomo Antonio Moro, medal of Paul V commemorating the confessio chapel at Saint Peter’s. Medagliere Vaticano. (Foto Biblioteca Vaticana)

decoration, a celebratory canopy supported on staves held aloft by angels, the whole constructed of temporary materials.*? An essential component of the meaning of Paul’s ambitious program at Saint Peter’s was the fundamental debts to the works that had been carried out or planned by Clement VIII at the Lateran. Clement’s new entrance system to the confessio chapel at the Lateran —- cited by one contemporary as a model for the Petrine confessio — as well as his desire to transfer the papal altar from the crossing into the apse offer two parallels to Paul’s projects at Saint Peter’s.39 The retrospective aspects of the Lateran sacrament altar, where the bronze columns were utilized in

an imaginative recreation of Constantine’s fastigium, may have inspired the architectural canopy in the apse of Saint Peter’s, which incorporated material known to have been employed in the Constantinian ciborium. Even the radical design for a baldachin to shelter the altar in the crossing of Saint Peter’s reflects Clement’s Lateran program. A drawing of uncertain date records the design of an octagonal baldachin that is linked to Clement VIII through the presence of the Aldobrandini coat of arms (Fig. 141). When it first came to light the drawing was tentatively identi-

fied as a record of Clement’s 1594 architectural ciborium at Saint Peter’s. It has been demonstrated, however, that the design, which is decid-

edly nonarchitectural, was more likely developed for use at the Lateran, perhaps conceived together with Clement’s project to move its high altar into the tribune.*! Clement’s plans for the Lateran thus provided the essential background for Paul’s conception of New Saint Peter’s.

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The impact of the Lateran on the developing situation at Saint Peter’s was brought into sharp focus by Urban VIII (1623—44).32 Upon ascending to the throne of Peter, Urban took steps to define the crossing of the basilica in permanent materials as an eternal symbol of the triumphant Church.33 Urban engaged Bernini to develop a new design in which the tomb and the high altar would once again form an indivisible unit.34 By the Holy Year of 1625 Bernini’s initial formulation for the new altar canopy was visible in a large-scale model.3° It was from the Clementine high altar that Urban officiated on the feast of the dedication of Saint Peter’s, 18 November

1626, when he conducted the official re-

consecration of the new basilica.36 In its final form, Bernini’s creation was defined by a monumental bronze canopy that brings together, in what one contemporary saw as a “chimerical”

fusion, the architectural features of a ciborium with the

ephemeral elements of a baldachin to express the unique nature of the site (Fig. 142). It has long been recognized that in essential ways Bernini’s revolutionary design was indebted to the sacrament altar ensemble Figure 141. Project for a baldachin, drawing. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, THC 2003. (Museum)

182

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183

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

Clement had built at the Lateran; indeed, it was in the context of the Pe-

trine commission that the Lateran altar was introduced to modern arthistorical discussion.37 Bernini’s baldacchino for Saint Peter’s incorporates and expands allusions to the Eucharist and to the Temple of Jerusalem that are integral components of the Clementine sacrament altar. Bernini used the spiral columns from the Constantinian basilica as the models for the colossal bronze columns of his new structure. The marble originals were known to have embellished the tomb area in early Christian times, supporting a superstructure formed with crossed ribs in an arrangement that provided the model for Bernini’s design. Central to the meaning of these marble columns, and by extension to Bernini’s invention, was the Renais-

sance tradition identifying them as trophies from Solomon’s Temple.?® The decision to translate them into bronze, however, established a link

to the Lateran’s own bronze shafts, which, following a more venerable tradition, were honored as precious fragments of the Temple.” The recollection of the Lateran altar in the crossing of Saint Peter’s was reinforced by the second major element of Bernini’s ensemble, the four, over-life-size marble sculptures located in the niches of the crossing piers. The distinctive physical and psychological activation of these figures, conceived as complementary pairs, depend on analogous characterizations of the statues that flank the Lateran altar.49 In both cases these statues are animated with respect to the altar, and they refer to the extraordinary relic treasure in their respective churches, the Old Testament trophies at the Lateran, the Christological and Apostolic relics at Saint Peter’s.41 The unexecuted plan at the Lateran altar for a bronze statue of the Risen Christ to crown the ciborium is also reflected in Bernini’s intention to place a monumental figure of Christ, similarly projected as cast in bronze, to stand atop the baldacchino.*? Bernini’s most significant debt to the Lateran resides in his drawing together all these components to define the crossing as the site of a dramatic action centered on the altar in which the viewer becomes an active participant in the awesome mystery of human salvation taking place right then in that place.43 These explicit references to the Lateran sacrament altar in the crossing of Saint Peter’s expressed in a tangible way the mystical bond that links all churches to the Lateran in its role as Mother Church of Christendom. In a more particular sense, the embellishment of Peter’s tomb with elements that recall Christ’s own Lateran church furthered the association between Christ and His vicar that is the fundamental message of the crossing project. Finally, the spatial unification and the incorporation of the worshiper in a participatory role address the ecumenical na184

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Ecclesiae

ture of Saint Peter’s and define the all-encompassing nature of Urban’s

pontificate demonstrated at the Holy Year celebration of 1625.44 The allusions to Clement’s VIII’s Lateran that are discernible in the works at Saint Peter’s we have been considering, those of Paul V no less than those of Urban VIII, convey the flavor of homage to Clement VIII. Clement acted in a beneficent manner to both, raising Camillo Borghese to the cardinalate and advancing the career of Maffeo Barberini, whose family, like Clement’s own, was from the city of Florence.45 Upon Paul V’s elevation to the papacy he set about constructing a funeral chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was buried with Clement in paired tombs that complement each other in both formal and iconographic terms.46 While still a cardinal Maffeo Barberini authored poems honoring Clement.*” His pietas toward Clement was immortalized on the tomb Bernini designed for Urban at Saint Peter’s. The skeletal figure of Death that emerges from behind the sarcophagus inscribes the pope’s name in the Liber pontificalis. The page on which he writes flips up to reveal a preceding inscription where reference is made not to Paul V or Gregory XV, Urban’s immediate predecessors, but to Clement VIII.48 These gestures of respect should be seen as part of widespread admiration of Clement’s achievement in governing the Church that can be observed well into the seventeenth century.*? The influence of the Lateran on Saint Peter’s assumes larger meaning when considered against the background of the millennial conflict between these two Constantinian basilicas over the rights of primacy. This controversy, which unfolded during the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, was resolved de jure by Pius V’s confirmation of the Lateran’s inviolable position as head church of the Christian world. That the Lateran transept provided an essential model for the decoration of Saint Peter’s under Paul V and Urban VIII confirms the basilica’s renewed status and attests to the efficacy of the central idea of Christian concord expressed in the Clementine program. The final phase in this development in which the Lateran and Saint Peter’s were drawn ever more closely together came in the middle of the seventeenth century when the major themes that had been introduced in the Lateran transept, and were subsequently absorbed at the crossing of Saint Peter’s, were returned to the Lateran. In 1646 Urban’s successor Innocent X (1644-55) commissioned Francesco Borromini to renovate the Lateran’s nave and side aisles in preparation for the Holy Year of 1650, and upon its completion he bestowed on the architect membership in the knightly Ordine di Cristo (Fig. 143; Plate VIII).5° Borromini brought to this project a profound knowledge of Saint Peter’s developed over the years he had assisted first Maderno and then Bernini, 185

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

the latter on designs for the baldacchino.>! A source close to Borromini reported that had he been given a free hand by the pope he would have emulated the form of Saint Peter’s in his own designs for the Lateran.52 Whatever else was to be conveyed by this statement, and Borromini’s regard for his kinsman Maderno was surely an element here, it suggests that the architect intended to further the bond between the two basilicas that had received renewed emphasis in the first half of the century. At the beginning of Clement VIII’s pontificate, certain limited renovations were initiated in the Lateran’s nave and side aisles, and during Urban VIII’s reign a comprehensive renovation of this area of the church was proposed; but it is symptomatic of the attitudes toward the Lateran’s sanctity that plans to replace Constantine’s church, as had been done at Saint Peter’s, were never officially entertained.5+ Despite Borromini’s interest in substituting a majestic barrel vault for the sixteenth-century nave ceiling, and notwithstanding his personal desire to conduct extensive works in the apse and transepts, Innocent X decreed that the existing building be preserved to the fullest extent possible.>4 Balancing his own inclination with the pope’s demands, Borromini sheathed the walls of the nave and aisles in a casement that functions as a monumental reliquary. Its monochromatic tones reinforce the independence of this part of the church from the richly decorated transept. Borromini applied an inventive architectural vocabulary that makes palpable the sanctity of the basilica’s material structure by incorporating allusions to both the Old Testament Temple and Constantine’s Lateran.°> Explicit allusions to Constantine’s Lateran occur in the reliefs that represent Old and New Testament subjects in significant typological pairings across the nave space. According to an authoritative medieval source, the Constantinian decoration of the Lateran’s nave included the

Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden and the Entrance of the Good Thief into Heaven,

and these scenes appear, or are alluded to, in the

first pair of reliefs that establish the model for the entire seventeenthcentury series.°© At the upper level of the walls, the oval frames formed with garlands that now contain images of Old Testament prophets originally set off portions of the unadorned masonry, venerated as the actual structure of the fourth-century church.” The imperial theme is furthered by the division of the nave into a sequence of triple-bay triumphal arches where the central arch leads to the side aisles and the lateral areas are defined by sculpture niches. When the elevation of the wall is viewed as a unit, with narrative reliefs

and medallions aligned above the lateral bays, the evocation of ancient

186

Encaenia

Figure 143. Borromini, view of the nave of San Giovanni in Laterano.

Ecclesiae

(The

Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, B74/432)

184

Christian Concord

in Art and Politics

Roman triumphal display comes into focus as a particular allusion to the Arch of Constantine (cf. Fig. 58).°8 The reference to Constantine’s divinely willed victory at the Milvian bridge, for which the triumphal arch was originally dedicated, is further indicated by the presence along the frieze just below the ceiling of the Chi-Rho, the emblem of Christ that was identified with the sacred sign the emperor fashioned to carry into battle after receiving the vision of the cross (cf. Fig. 138). Despite their vivid differences, then, the Lateran’s nave echoes the underlying themes of the Clementine transept, where reference to the ancient triumph, typological pairing of the narrative scenes, identification of the basilica as a sacred relic, and Constantine’s role in affirming Christ’s imperial nature at the Lateran had all been treated in the context of a decorative campaign conceived for a Holy Year celebration. Even the festive component of Borromini’s architecture seems to draw on the Lateran’s celebratory formal vocabulary.5? The monumental statues of the Apostles occupying the niches of the nave bring the series of derivations full circle. Although forming an essential part of Borromini’s design, they were executed a half-century later during the reign of Pope Clement XI (1'700—21).69 We have no record of what the projected appearance of the nave statues was in Borromini’s day, but it cannot be coincidental that the sculptors responsible for the statues in the crossing of Saint Peter’s, including Bernini himself, were to have carved those for the Lateran.¢! Indeed, the closest parallels for the physical and psychological activation of the figures as executed are offered by those in Saint Peter’s. The similarities between the two groups are not limited to individual motifs. Just as in Saint Peter’s, where the high altar and the bronze baldachin provide the unifying focus for the figures, the Lateran Apostles are grouped in relation to the towering Gothic ciborium that shelters the high altar. In a direct, concrete way the relics of the heads of Peter and Paul sheltered in the Lateran altar constitute an unequivocal, physical link to the high altar of Saint Peter’s, where the bodies of both saints were believed to be interred.®2

At the Lateran, these venerable relics are complemented by the Last Supper table and the altar used by Peter himself, and in tandem they galvanize the space ina mystical reconstitution of the Apostolic Church.¢3 In its assimilation of elements from the Lateran transept with those drawn from the crossing of Saint Peter’s, the nave program asserted the Lateran’s identity as head church of Christendom and as font of the Christian artistic tradition.

One of the major themes linking the projects we have considered is the retrospective emphasis whereby the recent formulations at the Lateran 188

Encaenia

and Saint Peter’s were referred to the Constantinian age. Indeed, the historical flavor of the decorative ensembles evoke the moment when these first Christian basilicas were dedicated by Pope Sylvester in the presence of Constantine. Although Clement VIII and Urban VII presided over consecration and dedication ceremonies at Saint Peter’s, the idea is less

rooted in particular, temporally defined ceremonial acts than it 1s in the idea of renewal as a perpetual process. Perhaps the closest parallel is offered by the feast of the dedication of the Lateran on g November and that of Saint Peter’s on 18 November, celebrated annually throughout the Universal Church. At these times the site assumes a transcendant identity, returning to its original pristine state. It is in this context that Saint Augustine’s commentary on the Gospel of John quoted at the head of this chapter becomes relevant. The passage describes how Christ first revealed His divinity to the people on the feast marking the anniversary of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem (John 10:22—42).64 The encaenia assumed its Christian form with the dedication on 13 September 335 of Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the ever-vibrant center of Christendom that had supplanted the Old Testament sanctuary.®5 Eusebius emphasized the ecumenical character of that occasion: “Jerusalem became the gathering point for distinguished prelates from every province, and the whole city was thronged by a vast assemblage of the servants of God.”6® “Feasts and banquets on a scale of great splendor” were held, and the emperor provided food and clothing to the poor. Underlying these expressions of Christian faith and charity was the idea of concord. Constantine ordered the dedication of the Holy Sepulcher to coincide with the close of the council that he had convened at Tyre to heal the nascent schism in the eastern church, again in Eusebius’ words, “since

His law expressly forbids those who are at variance to offer their gift until they have first become reconciled and mutually disposed to peace.” In addressing the assembly of bishops, the emperor exhorted them to unity. Following the successful close of the council, the prelates proceeded to Jerusalem where they participated in the dedication of the Holy Sepulcher, the emperor’s “peace offering” to God.*7 Reports dating from the later fourth century confirm that the concord established by Constantine on that occasion was maintained in the annual feast celebrated in Jerusalem, understood to glorify the birth of the Church.®8 On every count the characteristics of the encaenia celebration recall the defining features of Holy Year pilgrimages to Rome in a later period. What is more, they are particularly evocative of the fundamental themes of Clement VIII’s pontificate that received focused expression during the

Ecclesiae

Christian Concord in Art and Politics

Holy Year of 1600, and were embodied in the decoration of the Lateran transept. Encaenia, renewal, marks the process by which the Church is restored to its pristine state by reference to its historical past. The fundamental contribution of the nave clementina to the art and thought of later generations lay in creating a visual metaphor of this process. The authority of the transept program was derived from those factors that contributed to the new vision it offered: the Eucharist as the central mystery of the faith, the Lateran’s special role in sacred history, and the restoration of the Christian nation to concord during the reign of Clement VIII. In the end, the art-historical importance of the Clementine project fulfilled a long development by which the royal, Constantinian Lateran church recovered its exalted position as Mater et Caput of the Christian world.

190

INTRODUCTION

“Vocabor

Ioannes. Nomen

Nobis dul-

ce, quia nomen patris Nostri: nomen Nobis suave, quia titulare est humilis paroeciae in qua baptismum accepimus:

nomen sollemne innumerabilium Cathedralium, quae in toto terrarum habentur, imprimisque sacrosanctae Lateranensis ecclesiae, Cathedralis Nostrae: nomen, quod in serie pervetusta Romanorum Pontificum gaudet de maximo

primatu pluralitatis” (28 October 1958). Discorsi messaggi colloqui del santo padre Giovanni XXIII, 5 vols. (Vatican City, 1960-4), 1:3-4. “Oh! se il Papa, Vescovo di Roma, raccogliendo gli uffici dell’amministrazione diocesana, presso questa sua cattedrale basilica, Lateranum fulgens e disponendo dei palazzi che la circondano,

Museums; anon., “Trasferimento delle raccolte lateranensi al Vaticano,” Monumenti musei e gallerie pontificie, Bol-

lettino 1, no. 1 (1959-74): 15-29. “Ora, ad incoraggiare, a Roma e dappertutto nel mondo, la risoluzione di molti problemi pastorali imposti dalepoca moderna e il riaccendersi di quelle ordinate attivita, che vogliono mostrare a tutte le genti la Chiesa quale essa é nel disegno del suo divin Fondatore, Mater et Magistra, lumen gentium, abbiamo proposto e definito di trasferire cola la sede del Vicariato di Roma, di quella Curia che ha il compito di coadiuvare il Papa nel governo spirituale dell’Urbe e di esprimerne in forme capillari lo spirito e le direttive pratiche” (6 January 1963). Acta Apos-

potesse radunare qui, con piu grande larghezza di respiro, tutta, o quasi, la organizzazione della diocesi di Roma!” (24 June 1962). Discorsi messaggi col-

tolicae Sedis 55 (1963): 94-5. I have quoted Rudolph Wittkower’s succint characterization of the writings of reform-minded writers in his Art

loqui, 4:405-6. To provide appropriate space for administrative offices, John restored the Lateran palace which, since the mideighteenth century, had functioned as a

and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750,

museum. For the restoration, see Armando Schiavo, Restauri e nuove ope-

re nella zona nense

extraterritoriale

(1961-1968)...

(Vatican

lateraCity,

1968). The Lateran collections were moved to a new wing in the Vatican

rev. ed. (London, 1982), 22.

Significant contributions in this regard have been made by Nicola Courtright, “Gregory XIII’s Tower of the Winds in the Vatican” (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1990) and by Stephen F. Os-

trow, “The Sistine Chapel at S. Maria Maggiore: Sixtus V and the Art of the Counter Reformation” (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1987).

191

Notes to p. 7 1. MATER

ET CAPUT

Georges Rohault de Fleury, Le Latran au moyen dge, 2 vols. (Paris, 1877);

ria dell’Architettura

and Philippe Lauer, Le palais de Latran: Etude historique et archéologique

The bull of Gregory XI is published in Collectionis bullarum sacrosanctae

(Paris, 1911) remain the fundamental historical studies [hereafter cited as Rohault de Fleury and Lauer, respectively]. The architectural history of the church is examined in Richard Krautheimer, Spencer Corbett, and Alfred K. Frazer, Corpus basilicarum christianarum Ro-

basilicae

mae:

The Early Christian

Basilicas of

Rome (IV-IX cent.), Monumenta di Antichita Cristiana, Pontificio Istituto Archeologia Cristiana, ser. 2,5 vols.

(Rome, 1937-77); 5:1-92. of the church and palace and rich bibliographic and material provided in Carlo ed., San

Giovanni

The history is surveyed illustrative Pietrangeli,

in Laterano

(Flor-

ence, 1990); and idem, ed., Il palazzo apostolico lateranense (Florence, 1991). Concerning the archaeology of the area, see Antonio M. Colini, Storia e topografia del Celio nell’antichita, Atti della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, ser. 3, Memorie, vol. 7 (Vatican City, 1944); Paolo Liverani, “Le proprieta private nell’area lateranense fino all’eta di Costantino,” Mélanges de Il’Ecole Francaise de Rome, Antiquité 100, no. 2 (1988): 891-915; and Valnea Santa Maria Scrinari, I! Laterano Imperiale, vol 1: Dalle “aedes Laterani” alla “Domus Faustae,” Monumenti di antichita cristiana, Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana,

ser,

2, vol. 14)

(Vatican

City,

1991). For these disasters and the subsequent renovations, see Augusta Monferini, “II ciborio lateranense e Giovanni di Stefano,” Commentari 13 (1962): 183-5; Ronald E. Malmstrom, “The Building of the Nave Piers at S. Giovanni in Laterano After the Fire of 1361,” Rivista

di archeologia cristiana 43 (1967): 155-64; and Augusto Roca de Amicis, “Considerazioni sulla basilica lateranense prima del rifacimento borrominiano,” Quaderni dell’Istituto di Sto-

192

n.s., fasc. 15-20

(1990-2): 345-54.

vaticanae..., 3 vols. (Rome,

1747-52), 2:20-1; and Onofrio Panvinio, “De sacrosancta

basilica, baptiste-

rio et patriarchio lateranensi, libri quatuor,” in Lauer, 425 [hereafter cited as Bullarum basilicae vaticanae and Panvinio—Lauer, respectively]. Gregory was formerly archpriest of the Lateran; Panvinio—Lauer,

433.

The abandonment of the Lateran palace has been discussed by Carol William Westfall, In This Most Perfect Paradise: Alberti, Nicholas

of Conscious 1447-55

V, and the Invention

Urban Planning in Rome,

(University Park, Pa., 1974),

4-7. For the growing isolation of the Lateran during the later Middle Ages, see Richard Krautheimer, “I] Laterano e Roma: Topografia e politica nel quarto e quinto secolo,” Adunanze

straor-

dinarie per il conferimento dei premi Feltrinelli 1 (1975): 231-40; and idem, Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308 (Princeton,

1980), 256-9, 311-26,

in

which the reason for Constantine’s having constructed the Lateran far from the populated center of Rome is treated. In 1853, the tomb of Martin V was transferred to the entrance to the confessio chapel; H. W. Janson, The Sculpture of Donatello, 2 vols. (Princeton, 1957), 2:232-5. The choice of bronze, which initiated a Renaissance tradition for papal tombs, recalls the tomb Constantine had provided for the relics of Saint Peter; L. M. O. Duchesne,

Liber pontificalis: et

commentaire,

Texte,

ed., Le

introduction

2 vols. (Paris,

1886—

g2) plus vol. 3, ed. Cyrille Vogel, Additions et corrections (Paris, 1957), 1:176 [hereafter cited as Liber pontificalis]. Martin’s tomb was cast in Florence and brought to Rome in 1445; Arnold and Doris Esch, “Die Grabplatte Martins V. und andere Importstiicke in den rémischen Zollregistern der Friihrenaissance,” Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunst-

Notes to p. 8 Ark of the Covenant. Eugenius’s bull was quoted by Pietro Luigi Galletti (d. 1790); Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. lat. 8033, pt. 1, fols. 113r—v, using a copy preserved in the Archivio Capitolare Lateranense [hereafter cited as BAV and ACL, respectively]. See also

geschichte 17 (1978): 211-12. Bartolomeo Platina claimed that the pope had wanted to be buried at the Lateran (“eius mandato”); Rerum italicarum scriptores..., ed. L. A. Muratori, new ed., Giosué Carducci and Vittorio Fiorinl, eas., Vols 9.1 (Citta di Castello; 1913), 312. In contrast, the majority

Westfall, Paradise, 7.

Nicholas V’s importance in favoring Saint Peter’s over the Lateran has been defined by Westfall, Paradise, 19-20. In January 1452, the pope ordered the prior of the Lateran to begin a restoration of the church “magna et continua”; Burroughs, From Signs to Design, 152. However, only minor work is recorded at this time; Lauer, 281. Unspecified work at the Lateran is recorded between 1447 and 1469; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:13. For Sixtus IV’s renovations at the Lateran, see Panvinio—Lauer, 433, 434, 4793 Rohault de Fleury, 253-4; and Lauer, 290-1. Repairs to the palace are recorded by Cesare Rasponi, De basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri quattuor

of popes were buried in Saint Peter’s; Innocent V (d. 1276) was the last to choose the Lateran; Renzo U. Montini,

“Il sepolcreto papale del Laterano,” Studi romani 1 (1953): 124-34, 25569.

Documents for both Martin V and Eugenius IV are collected in Anna Maria Corbo, Artisti e artigiani in Roma al tempo di Martino V e di Eugenio IV, Raccolta di fonti per la storia dell’arte, ser. 2, vol. 1 (Rome, 1969), 43-53; see also Panvinio—Lauer, 433-5, 465; Rohault de Fleury, 236-45; Lauer, 27280; Westfall, Paradise, 7. On Eugenius’s interest in the Lateran and its clergy, see Nicola Widloecher, La congregazione dei canonici regulari lateranensi, periodo di formazione (14021483) (Gubbio, 1929), 73-92, 107-9, 378-81; and Charles Burroughs, From Signs to Design: Environmental Process and Reform in Early Renaissance Rome (Cambridge, Mass., 1990), 1436. In the course of work on the new monastery, significant ancient remains came to light; Flavio Biondo, Roma instaurata [1.86], in Roberto Valentini and Giuseppe Zucchetti, eds., Codice topografico della citta di Roma..., 4 vols. (Rome, 1940-53), 4:280 [hereafter cited as Valentini—Zucchetti]. On 1 July 1425, Martin V announced the restoration of the churches of Rome and stated: “Nos cupientes ut dicta ecclesia [San Giovanni], que inter alias orbis ecclesias fidey et devotionis prerogativam habere dignoscitur,....” Quoted by Alfred von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, 3 vols. in 4 (Berlin, 186770), 3-1:515. In 1446 Eugenius IV favored the Lateran based in part on the decrees of his predecessors and in part on its extraordinary relics, including the rods of Aaron and Moses and the

10.

(Rome, 1656), 294 [hereafter cited as Rasponi]. The bull of Sixtus IV is dated 18 June 1475, in Rasponi, 55-7: “Verumtamen Lateranensi Ecclesiae Sponsae nostrae tanto singularius afficimur, & vigilantius assurgimus quanto illam excellentiorem existere, ac notabiliori in eius fabricae praesidio nouimus indigere, & eam omnium aliarum Ecclesiarum speculum, atque Caput, & insignem titulum, & principatum Sanctae Romanae, & universalis Ecclesiae,....” The text was incised in marble and installed near the high altar; it is now located in the cloister. See Panvinio—Lauer, 439; Vincenzo Forcella, ed., Iscrizioni delle chiese e d’altri edificii di Roma dal secolo XI fino ai giorni nostri, 14 vols. (Rome, 1869-84), 8:42 [hereafter cited as Forcella]; Lauer, 291 n. 3, fig. 108; and

Enrico Josi, Il chiostro lateranense: Cenno storico e illustrazione (Vatican City, 1970), 11, no. 84.

On 22 May 1480, Sixtus confirmed all privileges and prerogatives that had been conceded to the Lateran by his

193

Notes to pp. 8—9 predecessors; 11.

Antonio

12.

13. 14.

Giuliano,

“La statua

Concerning the relic list, see Rohault de Fleury, 363-7, 504-7; Lauer, 295-7 n. 1; and Onofrio Panvinio, De praecipuis urbis Romae sanctioribusque basilicis, quas septem ecclesias vulgo vocant, liber (Rome, 1570), 194. The roof of the baptistery was covered with lead sheets, and a coffered wooden ceiling was installed in the ambulatory. For these and other minor works, see Pan-

vinio—Lauer,

434, 464, 465, 484;

Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 155;

equestre

Fra Mariano urbis Romae,

(1990): 1-52; idem, “Parte II,” nos. 623 (1990): 1-56.

L’edificio a pianta centrale: Lo sviluppo del disegno architettonico nel Rinas-

The works of Alexander VI at the Lateran continued those initiated by Inno-

cimento,

cent VIII (1484-92); Lauer, 293, 302; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:13. Regarding Bramante’s fresco, see Chap-

no. 21; Heinrich

tel 5, 1. 00. The relationship of the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s to the neglect of the Lateran was noted by Romeo De Maio, Michelangelo e la controriforma, 2d The bull convening the council (“apud Lateranum, ubi plurima Concilia per antiquos patres nostros habita fuerunt, & Altissimus Petri Sedem collocari yoluit....,), 1s.dated 16 Aprils 2; Bullarum privilegiorum ac diplomatum romanorum pontificum..., ed. Caroli Coquelines, 14 vols. in 28 (Rome, 1739-62) 3.3:325-31,no0. 33 [hereafter cited as Bullarum romanorum pontificum].

See

also

Panvinio—Lauer,

460,

da Firenze, Itinerarium Studi di Antichita Cristia-

na del Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 2, 1931), 150; Lauer, 306. in a drawing ruzzi (Uffizi,

ed. Enrico Bulletti (Rome, Rasponi, 214, 294; and The ceiling is represented in part by Baldassare PeA.437 recto); Meg Licht,

Gabinetto

Disegni

e Stampe

degli Uffizi, 61 (Florence, 1984), 48-9,

17.

1981), 328.

484; and Lauer, 305. For drawings and literary sources that document the works executed in preparation for the council, see Nelson H. Minnich and Heinrich W. Pfeiffer, “De Grassi’s ‘Conciliabulum’ at Lateran V: The De Gargiis Woodcut of Lateran V Reexamined,” Archivium historiae pontificae 19 (1981): 147-72.

194

16.

di Marco Aurelio prima del suo trasferimento in Campidoglio,” Xenia 7 (1984): 67-76; and Lucilla de Lachenal, “Il gruppo equestre di Marco Aurelio e il Laterano: Ricerche per una storia della fortuna del monumento daleta medievale sino al 1538, Parte I,” Bollettino d’arte, ser. 6,75, no. 61

ed. (Rome,

15.

quoted by Galletti, BAV,

Vat. lat. 8035, pt. 2, fols. 118r—119v. Tilmann Buddensieg, “Die Statuenstiftung Sixtus’ IV. im Jahr 1471,” ROmisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 20 (1983): 33-73. For the preexisting situation and its political significance, see Ingo Herklotz, “Der Campus Lateranensis im Mittelalter,” Romisches Jahrbuch fur Kunstgeschichte 22 (1985): 143. For the Marcus Aurelius, see also

18.

19.

Wurm,

Baldassarre

Peruzzi Architeckturzeichnungen (Tibingen, 1984), pl. 453. For additional drawings, see Richad Stapleford, “A Reconstruction of the Fifth-Century Lateran Baptistery” (M.A. thesis, New York University, 1963), 19-15, 19-32. The repayment of this debt in the amount of 1,600 scudi was the subject of discussion between the cardinal vicar of the Lateran Girolamo Laurino and Pope Paul IV on 21 September 1558; Galletti, BAV, Vat. lat. 8037, pt. 2, fols. 78r-v, quoting ACL, K.XX, fol. 205. See Christian Huelsen and Hermann Egger, Die roémischen Skizzenbiicher von Marten van Heemskerck in koniglichen Kupferstichkabinett zu Berlin, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1913-16), 1:36—-9. For Paul III’s actions during his tenure as archpriest of the Lateran, see Alfonso Chacon,

Vitae et res gestae pontifi-

cum romanorum et S. R. E. cardinalium, ed. Augustino Oldoino, 4 vols. (Rome, 1677), 3:557; and a papal brief dated 11 July 1511, in Galletti, BAV, Vat. lat. 8037, pt. 1, fols. 6gr—v, and see also fol. 73r, for another grant dated 5 January 1535.

Notes to pp. g-12 20.

In a letter dated 25 April 1538, the architect Jacopo Meleghino reported, “La fabrica di Santo Ioanne in Laterano cammina, perché non ci mancan per

24.

ancora denari da mandarla verso il fine;

et le campane sonano et c’é bona provisione et ottimi maestri.”

A. Ronchini,

“Jacopo Meleghino,” Atti e memorie delle RR. Deputazioni di Storia Patria per le province Modenesi e Parmensi 4 (1868): 128; cited by Lauer, 309 n. 2. Paul also continued the restoration of the baptistery that had been initiated by Leo X; Panvinio—Lauer, 464. The order of transfer must have been made before 28 November 1537, when the canons agreed to supplicate the pope to retain the statue. The monument arrived on the Campidoglio on 25 January 1538;see Paul Kiinzle, “Die Aufstellung des Reiters vom Lateran durch Michelangelo,” Miscellanea Bibliothecae Hertzianae zu Ehren von Leo Brubns, Franz Graf Wolf Metternich, Ludwig Schudt, Romische Forschungen der Bibliotheca Hertziana, 16 (Munich, 1961), 255-70; and Cesare D’Onofrio, Renovatio Romae: Storia e urbanistica dal Campidoglio all’EUR (Rome, 1973), 177-8

nn. 12-14. In 1594

25.

the

Lateran canons were still asserting their legal rights of ownership; Flaminio Vacca, “Memorie

di varie antichita trovate

26.

in diversi luoghi della citta di Roma” [1 November 1594], in Roma antica di Famiano Nardini..., ed. Antonio Nibby, 4 vols. (Rome, 1818-20), 4:1112, no. 18 (separate pagination). 22.

23.

See D’Onofrio, Renovatio

Romae,

definimus,

Sacrosanctam

Ecclesiam

praecipuam

Lateranensem

Sedem

nostram

inter omnes alias urbis & orbis Ecclesias, ac Basilicas, etiam super Ecclesiam, & Basilicam Principis Apostolorum de Urbe supremum locum tenere, eamque de jure majorem esse omnibus aliis Ecclesiis, ac Basilicis supradictis, ac super omnes & singulas praefatas Ecclesias, & Basilicas prioritatis, dignitatis, & praeminentiae honore laetari.”

174,

178, fig. 116, for decrees of the Lateran canons dated 6 and 17 October 1537. In the latter decree they voted to hire an architect to supervise the demolition. An avviso published by Rohault de Fleury, 265, and Lauer, 312 n. 3, as a record of Paul IV’s intention to rebuild the palace is in error because 5 November 1561, the ostensible date of the text, actually falls within the pontificate of Pius IV, who had such a plan. Rohault de Fleury’s suggestion, which was followed by Lauer, that the Lateran Ar-

chive plan records an unexecuted project developed for Paul IV is insupportable. For this plan, see n. 49. Paul IV’s attitude toward Saint Peter’s was reported by Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis,52;and Tiberio Alfarano, De basilicae vaticanae, antiquissima et nova structura, ed. Michele Cerrati, Studi e testi 26 (Rome, 1914), 125-6, see also 105 n. 2. On the history of the controversy between Saint Peter’s and the Lateran, see Ingo Herklotz, “Der mittelalterliche Fassadenportikus der Lateranbasilika und seine Mosaiken: Kunst und Propaganda am Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts,” Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 25 (1989): 71-95. The treatise in defense of the Lateran was written by one John the Deacon, published in Lauer, 391-406; and Valentini—Zucchetti, 3: 326-73. For the history of the text and its manuscript sources, the earliest of which is dated to the last quarter of the eleventh century, see Cyrille Vogel, “La ‘Descriptio Ecclesiae Lateranensis’ du Diacre Jean: Histoire du texte manuscrit,” Mélanges en l’honneur de Monseigneur Michel Andrieu, Revue des Sciences Religieuses, supp. vol. (Strasbourg, 1956), 457-76; and Valentini— Zucchetti, 3:319-25. “ .. declaramus, decernimus, & etiam

Bullarum

27.

basilicae

vaticanae, 2:20-1.

Several unpublished tracts in support of both parties to the conflict are cited in Alfarano, De basilicae vaticanae, ed. Cerrati, xx—xxili; and De Maio, Con-

troriforma, 328, 346—7 nn. 93-4. It was probably in this connection that Panvinio wrote his treatises on the Lateran and

Saint

Peter’s.

For the former,

see

NS)

Notes to p. 12 lioteca appartenuta al Prof. Costantino

Lauer, 410-90; excerpts of the latter in Angelo Mai, ed., Spicilegium romanum, 10 vols. (Rome, 1839-44), 9: 192-382. The hearing was supervised by Francesco Sarmiento, Auditor Rotae, and it was he who prepared the de-

Corvisieri, 2 vols. (Rome, 1899-1901),

2:375, no. 1784 (first item), and another contract for the roof is dated 23 July 1567; ibid., 2:376, no. 1796. See also Renato Lefevre, “Schede su Matteo Bar-

cision in favor of the Lateran, dated 20

September

1568; Biblioteca Vallicellia-

na, Rome, G.21, fols. 4g2r—-v. For Pius V’s bull, see Bullarum basilicae vatica-

nae, 3:72—5; Bullarum,

diplomatum

29.

et

Varchitettura

privilegiorum sanctorum romanorum pontificum, Taurinensis editio. . . , 2

On the renovations initiated by Pius IV and continued by Pius V, see Rohault de Fleury, 264-6, 519-20; Lauer, 31216, and 602-13, for extensive excerpts from the documents including Archivio di Stato, Rome [hereafter cited as ASR], Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 1524, reg. 1, which provides details of the project. basilica,

how the archbishop of the

Achille

Maffei,

told Pius

30.

IV

that for a considerable time the Lateran had no “beneficent or illustrious pope” and that the fabric of the church was “almost ruined and deformed, completely exposed to rain and storms, lacking maintenance and any ornamentation whatsoever.” Interventions in the baptistery are mentioned by Panvinio— Lauer, 464. The papal architect, Pirro Ligorio, is mentioned in an undated payment in ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 1524, reg. 1, fol; 517 “M-:o Pirro Ligorio Architetto per diversi disegni et per revisione della fabrica. . .”; and see also fol. 75 for a receipt dated 15 April 1564, and signed by Ligorio “per le fatiche fatto per san Giouanni in Laterano per conto della fabrica e reparatione di essa Chiesa. ...” Matteo Bartolini da Citta di Castello is also mentioned in documents of 28 June 1564 and 14 July 1566, concerning the roof, nave ceiling, and transept facade; ibid., fols. 1g—27 (Lauer, 606). An undated “Impegno firmato di riattare il campanile” with Bartolini is cited in Felice Tonetti, ed., Catalogo della bib-

(Rome,

taxes collected from June to December 1563, “per l’acconcio della Strada di S. Gio.” Ligorio mentioned the “diverticolo dalla via Latina, dove hora é fatta la nuova via pia, che parte dalla nuova porta pia di san Ioanne in laterano.” Quoted in Rodolfo Lanciani, Storia degli scavi di Roma e notizie intorno le collezioni romane di antichita, 4 vols. (Rome, 1902-13), 3:239.

[hereafter cited as Bullarium romanum|; Rasponi, 55; and Forcella, 8:91.

It recounts

del Cinquecento

1973), 97-9. See ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche, reg. 1516, fols. 78a—8a, for

vols, (n.p., 1857-72), 7:794, no. 147

28.

tolini da Castello architetto in Roma nel tardo Cinquecento,” Rassegna degli archivi di stato 27 (1967): 148-9. Documents for this work are cited by Sandro Benedetti, Jacopo del Duca e

A payment of 3 December 1565 for the road from Santa Maria Maggiore is recorded in ASR, Camerale

I, Fabbriche,

reg. 1516, fol. 4gb. Work on this road, and the piazza, continued under Gregory XIII and Sixtus V; Réne Schiffmann, Roma felix: Aspekte der stadtebaulichen Gestaltung Roms unter Sixtus V., Europaische Hochschulschriften, ser, 28, vol. 96 (Bern, 1985), 43. The project for the piazza is recorded by Ligorio; BAV, Ottob. lat. 3370, fol. 65r: “et poco tempo e che molti vestigij delle Therme laterane si vedevano ancor in piedi davanti alla piazza d’essa ammiranda Chiesa dal lato della porta verso tramontana, et per spianare, et ridurre in luogo in Piazza, si tagliarono dalle radici le mura et si guastarono af-

31.

fatto alcuni pavimenti delli piani d’esse Therme d’opera tassellata.” See also Luigi Contarini, L’antiquita, sito, chiese, corpi santi, reliquie et statue di Roma... (Naples, 1569), 76. For the documentary material concerning Pius’s projects in the church, see the literature cited in n. 28. For the organ and choir complex, see Catalogue, §II.E.3.

Notes to pp. 12-14 Pius V also completed Pius IV’s plan to reglaze the windows of the nave “accio che l’acqua et il vento marino non guastino il solaro et loro”; Lauer, 603. In a Borromini shop drawing one of these windows appears with Pius V’s

coat of arms and the inscription PIVS .

Soe

Studien zu altchristlichen und byzantinischen Monumenten, Romische Quartalschrift, supp. vol., 30, ed. Walter N. Schumacher (Rome, 1966), 195-9; idem, Rome, 209. 34-

V .PONT . MAX. 1568 (see Fig. 37, present volume). On the loggia of Boniface VIII, see Panvinio—Lauer, 483; Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 182-3; and Rasponi, 327-8. For documents, see Eugéne Miintz, “Etudes sur histoire des arts a Rome pendant le moyen-age, I: Boni-

ran Fresco of Boniface VIII,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 14 (1951): 1-6; and Silvia Maddalo, “Boniface VIII e Jacopo Stefaneschi: Ipotesi di lettura dell’affresco della loggia lateranense,” Studi romani 31 (1983): 129-50.

The Hall of the Nineteen Divans in the imperial palace at Constantinople, which provided the model for Leo III’s multiapsed Sala del Concilio at the Lateran, had an appearance balcony in this position. Boniface may have rebuilt a smaller structure that formed part of Leo’s original complex; Richard Krautheimer, “Die Decanneacubita in Konstantinopel: Ein kleiner Beitrag zur Frage Rom und Byzanz,” in Tortulae:

Itinerarium,

148,

facilis est ita ingressus advenientibus sicut ille.” Similar observations were made by Pompeo Ugonio, Historia delle stationi di Roma che si celebrano de quadragesima... (Rome, 1588), 43r: “Questa parte risguarda verso Tramontana, doue é, da molto tempo in qua l’entrata piu commune alla chiesa

de Rome 1 (1881): 111-37. Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 182-3, recorded that the loggia was “de novo restitu-

2:288-96; Charles Mitchell, “The Late-

da Firenze,

reported: “Ad istam ecclesiam communiter ingreditur per ostium quod est in fronte sinistri lateris crucis ecclesiae, eo quod principalis frons illius ad meridiem tendens, iuxta moenia urbis, non

face VIII et Giotto,” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de I’Ecole Frangaise

ta” (cf. Panvinio—Lauer, 483), possibly referring to an initiative of Pius IV. This may explain the differences in the loggia as shown in Figures 3 and 10 of the present volume. The decoration, which exalted papal power through Constantine’s patronage of the Lateran, is discussed by Gerhard Ladner, “Die Statue Bonifaz’ VIII. in der Lateranbasilika und die Entstehung der dreifach gekronten Tiara,” Romische Quartalschrift 42 (1934): 35-69; idem, Die Papstbildnisse des Altertums und des Mittelalters, 3 vols. (Vatican City, 1941-84),

Mariano

35-

del Laterano per esser volta verso la citta habitata.” For the portal of Gregory XI, see Panvinio—Lauer, 433, 434; Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 114; Pompeo Ugonio’s description of the Lateran in

Lauer, 577 [hereafter cited as Ugonio-— Lauer]; Ugonio, Stationi, 43r. Documents concerning its restoration are

published in Lauer, 605-6. For the lions that decorated the portal, see de 36.

Lachenal, “Marco Aurelio [I],” 19-20. De Maio, Controriforma, 321-5.

37:

Lauer, 2°70.

For the iconography see Jurgen Werinhard

of the dream, Einhorn, “Das

Stiitzen von Stirzendem: Der Traum des Papstes Innocenz III. von der stirz-

enden Lateranbasilika bei Bonaventura: Vorgeschichte und Fortwirken in literatur- und kunstgeschichtlicher Sicht,” in Bonaventura: Studien zu seiner Wirkunsgeschichte, Franziskanische Forschungen 28, ed. Ildefons Vanderheyden (Werl Westfalen, 1976): 170-93; Maria Andaloro, “Il sogno di Innocenzo III all’Aracoeli: Niccolé IV e la basilica di S. Giovanni in Laterano,” in Studi in onore di Giulio Carlo Argan, ed. Silvana Macchioni and Bianca Tavassi La Greca, 3 vols. (Rome, 1984-5), 1:29-

37; and Julian Gardner, “Papstliche Traume und Palastmalereien: Ein Essay uber mittelalterliche Traumikonogra-

oo

Notes to pp. 14-15 phie...,” in Tradume im Mittelalter: Tkonologische Studien, ed. Agostino Paravicini Bagliani and Giorgio Stabile (Stuttgart, Zurich, 1989), 113-24. Further to the significance of the dream as it pertains to works executed at the Lat-

43.

erany see Noy.

39-

40.

The sources and meaning of the twintowered form are discussed by Gunter Bandmann, Mittelalterliche Architektur als Bedeutungstrager (Berlin, 1951), 207-19; E. Baldwin Smith, Architectural Symbolism of Imperial Rome and the Middle Ages (Princeton, 1956), 74-106; and Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 2d ed. (Harmondsworth, 1975), 145, 164-5. For a tentative dating of the transept to the reign of Nicholas IV, see Enrico Josi, Richard Krautheimer, and Spencer Corbett, “Note lateranensi,” Rivista di

44-

the church, to be based on the one in Santa Maria Maggiore, was announced

in an avviso of 8 November 1561; BAV, Urb. lat. 1039, fol. 308v (excerpts in Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, 5th ed., 34 vols. [St. Louis, Mo., 1923-41], 16:468, app. 20 [hereafter cited as Pastor]. The construction history of the ceiling, designed by Daniele da Volterra, can be followed in documents of 1562-70; see Lauer, 602-193; Antonio Bertolotti, Artisti lombardi a Roma nei secoli XV, XVI, XVII: Studi

archeologia cristiana 33 (1957): 84-94; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:12, 20-1, 66. Sible de Blaauw, “Cultus et decor:

Liturgie en architectur

e ricerche negli archivi romani, 2 vols. (Milan, 1881), 1:61-2, 136-41; idem, Artisti francesi in Roma nei secoli XV,

in laatantiek e

middeleeuws Rome, Basilica Salvatoris, Sanctae Mariae, Sancti Petri” (Ph.D. diss., Leiden, Rijksuniversiteit, 1987; publ. Delft, 1987), 108-14, argued for a date in the 1130s; see also idem, “De-

ambulatori e transetti: I casi di S. Maria Maggiore e del Laterano,” Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, Rendiconti 59 (1986-7): 93-110. Both Panvinio—Lauer, 479; and Ugonio— Lauer, 578, note the original location of the doors. For the history of the doors, and the iconography of the decoration, see Antonio lacobini, “Le porte bronzee medievali del Laterano,” in Le porte di bronzo dall’antichita al secolo XIII, 2 vols., ed. Salvatorino Salomi (Rome, 1990), 71-95; and Cata-

42.

logue, §I.B.2. The form was revived in Rome in the mid-fifteenth century with Nicholas V’s plans to construct twin-towered facades on both the Vatican palace and Saint Peter’s; Debra Pincus, The Arco Foscari: The Building of a Triumphal Gateway in Fifteenth Century Venice (New York, 1976), 155-8. It continued to be an important component of the Saint

Peter’s design into the seventeenth century. The inscription, papal coats of arms, and balustrade are mentioned in documents published by Lauer, 606. The coats of arms remain in place, but the inscription is lost. The total refurbishment of the palace and the construction of a new ceiling in

XVI e XVII (Mantua, 1886), 63-6; and Giovanni Ludovico Masetti Zannini,

Pittori della seconda meta del Cinquecento in Roma, Raccolta di fonti per la storia dell’arte, ser. 2, vol. 2 (Rome, 1974), xlvii-xlvili, 26. Additional sources in Pastor, 16:442 n. 1, 17:121 n. 5. See also Paul Barolsky, Daniele da Volterra: A Catalogue Raisonné York, 1979), 111, cat. no. 26. 45-

Brunelleschi Lorenzo,

revived

Florence;

the type Isabel

(New

in San

Hyman,

Fif-

teenth Century Florentine Studies: The Palazzo Medici and a Ledger for the Church of San Lorenzo (New York, 1977), 356-7. Thereafter it was used in Rome at San Marco and Santa Maria Maggiore; Christoph Luitpold Frommel, “Francesco del Borgo, Architekt Pius’ II. und Pauls II., II: Palazzo Venezia, Palazzetto Venezia und S. Marco,” Rémisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte

21 (1984): 85-6, 119-20, fig. 64; Philip Jacks, “Alexander VI’s Ceiling for S. Maria Maggiore, Rome,” R6émisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 22 (1985): 63-81.

Notes to pp. 16-18 For the meaning of the decoration of the Lateran ceiling, which includes references to Peter and Paul and to Christ through the Arma Christi, as well as for the ceiling’s importance in the subsequent development of the type, see Johannes Zahlten, “Beobachtungen zur Mittelalter-Rezeption in der Ausstattung romischer Kirchen nach dem Tridentinum,” in Mittelalter-Rezeption: Ein Symposion, ed. Peter Wapnewski

cesco

50.

8.63, 86, 257.

The

48.

1275 (1903): 285-99. Bricarelli observed that the central axis of the ceiling is displaced slightly to the left of center, and he suggested that this was due to the location of the high altar, which is also not centralized with respect to the nave. For what follows, see Jack Freiberg, “The Lateran Patronage of Gregory XIII and the Holy Year 1575,” Zeitschrift fiir Kunstgeschichte 57 (1991): 66-87, with the relevant documents tran-

Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:3, 47-8, tentatively dated the plan to the Holy Year of 1575. The depiction of the medieval papal residence indicates a terminus ante quem of 1585. For its demolition beginning in that year, see n. 84. See Pietro Tacchi Venturi, “Il giubileo

and Maria Luisa Madonna, eds., Roma

1300-1875:

La citta degli anni santi,

atlante, exhib. cat. (Milan, 1985), 178-

93. The association of the Holy Year indulgence with baptism was made by Sebastiano Fabrini, giubileo dell’anno 51.

1600), 11. Compare Peter

Dichiaratione del santo... (Rome,

Damian’s

(d.

1072)

statement concerning the Lateran’s location between Saint Peter’s and San Paolo f.l.m, joining them together by its own “sacramentum”; J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus. . ., series

latina, 221 vols. (Paris, 1844-55) [hereafter cited as PL], 144:255—-6, quoted by Baronius in the new edition of the Roman Martyrology that was initiated by Gregory XIII; Martyrologium roma-

docu-

ments, however, refer to the coat of arms of the pope, the Roman senate, and the basilica; Lauer, 607. For restorations, see Carlo Bricarelli, “I restauri al soffitto di S$. Giovanni in Laterano,” Civilita cattolica ser. 18, vol. 11, no.

protagonista

giubileo,” Strenna dei romanisti 34 (1973): 371-85; and Marcello Fagiolo

trance now contains the arms of Pius VI (1775-99) who restored the ceiling;

Forcella,

Un

del 1575,” in Gli anni santi (Turin, 1934), 67-84; Maria Teresa Russo, “1575: Organizzazione e cronaca di un

Decke der Basilika,” in Charites: Studien zur Altertumswissenschaft, ed. Konrad Schauenburg (Bonn, 1957), 24964; and idem, “Kassettendecken,” Festschrift fiir Otto Demus zum 70. Ge-

47-

Volterra:

1991), 73-7:

49.

Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:86—-7, 98, 173. For Constantine’s directive that the Holy Sepulcher basilica be decorated in this way, see Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 3.32, 36. In general on coffered ceilings, see Friedrich W. Deichmann, “Untersuchungen zu Dach und

burtstag, Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinistik, 21, ed. Herbert Hunger and Marcell Restle (Vienna, 1972), 83107. Pius IV’s coat of arms appears in the central compartment of the ceiling, that of Pius V appears near the high altar, and the compartment near the east en-

da

dell’architettura post-Tridentina (Roma,

(Stutt-

gart, 1986), 80-104, esp. 88-92.

46.

scribed. The same documentary material is analyzed by Laura Marcucci, Fran-

num...

52.

(Rome, 1586), 551,8.v.

Madonna,

53-

“g No-

vember.” See Amato Pietro Frutaz, Le piante di Roma, 3 vols. (Rome, 1962), 1:183; and Marcello Fagiolo and Maria Luisa eds., Roma

sancta:

La citta

delle basiliche (Rome, 1985), 269-74 (Alessandro Rinaldi). According to a document of November 1576, the restoration was supervised by Francesco Capriani da Volterra; ASR, Camerale I, Tesoreria segreta, reg. 1304, fol. 33b (24 November 1576): “scudi 20 d.o in oro si sono pagati a fran:co da Volterra Architetto che ha hauto cura di d.a fabri.a.” See Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 71-5, 87, no. 55.

299

Notes to pp. 18-20 54-

Do:

ed., Patrologiae cursus series graeca, 161 vols. 1903) [hereafter cited 1108, 146:100-1. The

completus. . . , (Paris, 1857-

1969), 34, 82, 230; and further notices in Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 80 n. 61.

as PG], 134: association of the Virgin with Constantine’s city is discussed by Averil Cameron, “The Cult of the Theotokos in Sixth-Century Constantinople,” Journal of Theological Studies n.s., 29 (1978): 79-108. Robert Deshman, “Otto II] and the Warmund Sacramentary: A Study in Political Theology,” Zeitschrift fiir Kunstgeschichte 34 (1971): 1-20. Prudentius, Contra Symmachum 1.5856: “Coetibus aut magnis Lateranas currit ad aedes, / Unde sacrum referat regali Chrismate signum.” Quoted in Panvinio-Lauer, 423. English translation

Ugonio,

from Prudentius,

Classical

Libra-

ry, 2 vols., trans. H. J. Thomson

(Lon-

Ugonio-Lauer, 578: “Vi si vede anco un bellissimo vaso di paragone, che essendo in un canto, fece quivi porre nel mezzo Papa Gregorio 13° che l’anno del suo giubileo rallustro tutto questo loco.” The material is dark green basalt. See Marco Romano, “Materiali di spoglio nel battistero di San Giovanni in Laterano: Un riesame e nuove considerazioni,” Bollettino d’arte, ser. 6, 76, no. 70 (Nov.—Dec. 1991): 51-2, 66-7 n. 70. For the lavish appointments mentioned in the following paragraph, see Ugonio—Lauer, 580-1. See Gregory Martin, Roma _ sancta

60.

61.

(1581), ed. George Bruner Parks (Rome,

56.

sancta,

57-

Stationi, 471; Martin,

Roma

82.

A fifteenth-century witness described the tub used for Constantine’s baptism, then located in a small chapel to the right as one entered the baptistery, as “hewn out of a black stone shaped like a whole trough”; Ye Solace of Pilgrimes: A Description of Rome, circa A.D. 1450 by John Capgrave, an Aus-

tin friar of King’s Lynn, .., ed. C. A. Mills (London, 1911), 49, 71 (modernized spelling). Another Renaissance source is quoted in Romano, “Spoglio,” 66 n. 79. Antoine Lafréry’s undated engraving, which provides an ideal reconstruction of the early Christian edifice (before 1569), shows the tub in the center; Christian Huelsen, “Das Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae des Antonio Lafreri,” in Collectanea vari-

don, 1949-53), 1:39562.

On the Scala Santa, see Mario Cempanari and Tito Amodei, La Scala Santa, Le chiese di Roma illustrate, n.s., 23, rev. ed. (Rome, 1989), 45-60; and Cesare D’Onofrio, Le scalinate di Roma

63. 64.

Martin, Roma sancta, 35, 93-4. Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 75-6, plus documents. These stairs are also shown

(Rome,

on

Florentino,

sexagenario...,

ed.

58.

Ludwig Bertalot (Munich, 1921), 144, no. 11. Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 80-1, esp. n.

59:

61. See Petrus

Canisius,

De

Maria

Virgine

incomparabili et Dei genitrice sacrosancta... (Ingolstadt, 1577), 771, who cited for the dedication of Constantinople to the Virgin Johannes Zonaras (d. ca. 1130) and Nicephorus Callixtus Xanthopoulos (d. ca. 1335), “Historia Ecclesiastica” [8.26]; J. P. Migne,

200

1973), 81-127.

the Archive

plan and

in the Biblioteca

on

a plan

Vallicelliana,

Rome,

G21, folwo3n (Lauer, e439. figs 117): The vault that sheltered the central staircase existed by the mid-sixteenth century; Andrea Fulvio, Delle antichita della citta di Roma. .., trans. Paolo dal Ros65.

so (Venice, 1543), 68r. Panvinio-—Lauer, 447, citing Saint Jerome’s letters to Oceanus and Fabiola.

66.

Ottavio

ae doctrinae: Leoni S. Olschki biblipolae

Loeb

Panciroli,

I tesori nascosti

Valma citta di Roma...

(Rome,

nel-

1600),

747: 67.

See Ugonio—Lauer, 577 (“bellissime colonne e pietre di gran prezzo”); Angelo Pientini, Le pie narrationi dell’opere piu memorabili fatte in Roma l’anno del giubileo

1575

(Viterbo,

1577),

31

(“che certa @ vna delle piu ricche e piu suntuose che si vegghino in Roma”); and Mare Antonio Ciappi, Compendio delle

heroiche,

et gloriose

attioni,

et

santa vita di Papa Greg. XIII ..., 2d

Notes to pp. 20—2 pendio ... (Rome, 1591); Jurgen Kriger, “Das urspriingliche Grabmal Greg-

ed. (Rome, 1596), 9 (“ornata di colonne, marmi fini, & stucchi dorati”). Further details are provided by Francesco del Sodo, “Compendio delle chi-

ors XIII. in St. Peter zu Rom,”

ese con le loro fondationi consegrazioni e titoli de’ cardinali, delle parochie con il battesimo, o senza delli hospitali, reliquie et indulgentie di tutti luogi pj di Roma

...,”

Biblioteca

Vallicelliana,

eds., La citta degli anni santi, 183.

70.

Rome, G.33, fol. 36v: “Ve un altare doue si conserua il santis.o Sacrame.to qual € molto ben adornato per la santi-

Francesco

ato dorato e colonne di pietra fine grande e vi sono attorno al altare belli marmi con una simile balustrata assai bella qual altare fu consecrato l’anno 1580. alli 12. di marzo et in questo giorno ue indulgentia plenaria.” On 1 September 1580, Gregory provided funds for special chaplains to serve at the new altar; see Lauer, 639, no.

1455

115 referring to BAV, Vat. lat. 8035, pt. 2, fols. 159r-160r: “Tanta honoris excellentia excogitari non potest ut digne valeat Santissimum Eucharistiae

69.

da

Volterra,

and

that

the

states: “Item unum

tabernaculum

de ere deauratum aptum ad ferendum Corpus Christi”; Galletti, BAV, Vat. lat. 8035, pt. 2, fol. 97r, published in Eugene Muntz, “Les arts a la cour des papes: Nouvelles recherches sur les pontificats de Martin V, d’Eugéne IV, de Nicolas V, de Calixte III, de Pie II et de Paul II,” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de !Ecole Francaise de Rome

Sacramentum venerari, quatenus tamen imbecillitas nostra patitur imminente eius Divinitatis Cultu ubique, praecipue vereo in nostris maioribus Ecclesijs conservando, atque augendo facultatem no-

bis ex alto concessam devoto animo exercimus. Etenim eum pridem in Ecc.a nostra S. Io. Lateranen. de Urbe Cappellam, et Altare SS.mi Sacramenti ad illud ibi adorandum et asservandum opere insigni edificanda, et instituenda Curaverimus sacrisque vestibus pretiosis et alijs suppellecti ... ad praecellens

The documents record that the tabernacle of gilded wood was the work of pedimental sculptures were executed in marble by his frequent associate Giovanni Battista della Porta; Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 76—7. These sculptures may survive in the decoration of the altar aedicula in the Colonna Chapel; Dizionario biografico degli italiani (Rome, 1960- ) [hereafter cited as DBI], 37:184, s.v. “della Porta, Giovanni Battista” (Carroll Brentano). An inventory made of the sacristy in

ta di Papa Gregorio XIII. in prima un bellissimo tabernacolo di legnio intagli-

68.

Korre-

spondenzblatt Collegium Germanicum Hungaricum 95 (1986): 50 n. 38, 56, fig. 1g. A later edition of this engraving is illustrated in Fagiolo and Madonna,

72.

g (1889): 171. Panvinio-Lauer,

438;

Panvinio,

De

praecipuis basilicis, 124. See also Francesco Albertini, Opusculum de mirabilibus novae et veteris urbis Romae

[1510], in Valentini-Zucchetti, 4:498; and Mariano

da Firenze, Itinerarium,

37-8.

hoc sacrarium necessarijs ornaverimus, Convenionis esse Censamus ut ad hoc sacrum ministerium Sacerdotes idonei ordinentur, congrua etiam mercede eis singulis, qui specialem illius curam ASANO 3 3 For what follows, see Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 76-80, plus documents. Figure 8 (present volume) is a detail of a singlesheet engraving celebrating the pope’s deeds, perhaps issued in connection

(eke

with the first edition of Marc Antonio Ciappi’s biography of Gregory, Com-

75:

74:

See the representation of the north ambulatory entrance on the Archive plan (Fig. 5, present volume); see too a fresco in the Salone Sistino of the Vatican palace, which shows the celebration of a papal Mass at the Lateran (Fig. 23). The balustrade in Figure 9 is also mentioned by del Sodo, quoted in n. 67. Raymonde Foreville, Latran I, I, III et Latran

IV (Paris, 1965), 278, 298-9,

357-8. For the relic treasure of the Lateran, see the treatise of John the Deacon, in Val201

Notes to pp. 22-3 entini-Zucchetti, 3:336—8; and the relic list of Pope Nicholas IV (1291) in

na Curcio, “Giuliano Dati: ‘Comincia el tractato di Santo Ioanni Laterano,’”

Forcella,

in Scrittura biblioteche e stampa a Roma nel Quattrocento, Atti del 2° seminario, ed. Massimo Miglio with the collaboration of P. Farenga and A. Modigliani (Vatican City, 1983), 271-304; Giovanna Curcio and Mario Manieri

8.15;

and

Panvinio—Lauer,

437. For the political and liturgical significance of the Hebrew objects, see Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 73-80; and Sible de Blaauw, “The Solitary Celebration of the Supreme Pontiff: The Lateran Basilica as the New Temple in the Medieval Liturgy of Maundy Thursday,” in Omnes Circumadstantes: Contributions Towards a History of the Role of the People in the Liturgy Presented to Herman Wegman..., ed. Charles Caspers and Marc Schneiders (Kampen, 1990), 120-43. Some of these objects were mentioned in a bull of Eugenius [V; see ns 7: For Constantine’s association with these relics, see Chapter 4, n. 142.

Elia, Storia e uso dei modelli architettonici (Rome, 1982), 255-62; and DBI 33:31-4, s.v. “Giuliano Dati” (Giovanna Curcio). 82.

83.

Martin, Roma sancta, 220-1. Courtright, “Gregory XIII’s Tower,” 58-

79:

80.

61, discusses another example of how Gregory used Constantine to focus his program of Church reform. Alois Weifthanner, “Mittelalterliche Rompilgerfiihrer: Zur Uberlieferung der Mirabilia und Indulgentiae urbis Romae,” Archivalische Zeitschrift 49 (1954): 60-1. See also Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:336. The tradition is also recorded in a redaction of del Sodo’s “Compendio delle chiese” that dates to the pontificate of Sixtus V; BAV, Vat. lat. 11911, fol. 119 (old numeration). A related tradition concerns the right of sanctuary, whereby transgressors would escape civil punishment if they came to the Lateran; see John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:334; and Panvinio—Lauer, 424. For the comparison of the indulgences available at the Lateran with those at the Holy Sepulcher, see A X Vth Century Guide-Book to the Principal Churches of Rome, Compiled c. 1470 by William Brewyn, ed. and trans. S. Eveleigh Woodruff (London, 1933), 5, 9, 25Giuliano Dati, Comincia el tractato di Santo Ioanni Laterano composto per misser Giuliano Dati doctore fiorentino

penitentiere

in Laterano...

(n.p.,

n.d. [1490]), sig. a x verso. See Giovan202

One month after taking office, on 25 May 1585, Sixtus declared an extraordinary Holy Year; Bullarium romanum, 8:576-8, no. 5. Domenico Fontana described the area surrounding the Lateran: “prima era pieno di fabriche vecchie di poco valore, la maggior parte rovinate senza commodita alcuna, talche pit tosto erano d’ingombro oscure, e sordide da vedere, che altrimenti per essere un luogo di tanta devotione” Della trasportatione dell’obelisco vaticano et delle fabriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto V, 2 vols. (vol. 1, 1st ed:, Rome, pegqos2d ed:

with addition of vol. 2, Naples, 16034) [ed ed. hereafter cited as Fontana],

84.

1:48r. The first edition is available in facsimile with a useful bibliographical essay by the editor, Adriano Carugo (Milan, 1978), 53-4. Sixtus was elected on 24 April 1585, and Fontana’s first payment of 1,000 scudi was made on 7 June; ASV, Archivium Arci, I-X VIII, Armadio B, vol. 27, fol. 6v: “a M.re Dom.co Fontana mur.re di S.Sta per p[rima] paga[mento]

et per dar principio al novo Palazzo Ap.lico in op.a nova, ordinata da S.Sta in San Gio. Laterano.” The beginning of construction was reported in an avviso of 8 June 1585; BAV, Urb. lat. 1053, fol. 265¥v, in Pastor, 22:428, app. 1. In general on these works, see Pastor, 22:265-—78; Lauer, 319-24; Lanciani, Scavi, 4:139-44; and the extensive descriptions by Fontana, 1:46r—53v, 60v— 64Vv; 2:2r-8v, gor.

The relevant

docu-

ments are preserved in ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche, Buste 1527, 1528, 1533.

Notes to pp. 23-4

si e della lunigiana in Roma nei secoli XV, XVI e XVII: Ricerche e studi negli

hard Schimmelpfennig, “Die Kronung des Papstes im Mittelalter dargestellt am Beispeil der Kronung Pius’ II. (3.9.1458),” Ouellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 54 (1974): 192-270. The loggia of Boniface VIII was also used by Sixtus for the Easter benedic-

archivi

tion in 1586; avviso dated 12 April, in

See

Enrico

Guidoni,

Angela

Marino,

and Angela Lanconelli, “I ‘Libri dei conti’ di Domenico Fontana: Riepilogo generale delle spese e Libro I°,” Storia della citta no. 40 (1986): 45-77. Antonio Bertolotti, Artisti modenesi, parme-

romani

(Modena,

1882), 32-9;

BAV, Urb. lat. 1054, fol. 128r. He delivered the Easter benediction from the new loggia for the first time in 1587;

and Lauer, 613-17, published excerpts from the material in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano [hereafter cited as ASV], Archivium Arci I-XVIII, Armadio B, vols. 10, 18, 27. Concerning the palace, see Bettina

85.

86.

Burkart,

BAV, Chigi G.IV.108, fols. 180r—-v, excerpts in Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma g (1931): 331. See also Pastor, 22:272 n. 2, and for the Easter benediction of 1588, see ibid., 21:389,

“Der Lateran

Sixtus V. und sein Architekt Domenico Fontana” (Ph.D. diss., Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat, Bonn, 1987; publ. Bonn, 1989). See Hans Belting, “Die beiden Palastaulen Leos III. im Lateran und die Entstehung einer papstlichen Programmkunst,” Frithmittelalterliche Studien 12 (1978): 55-83; Krautheimer, Rome, 115-17, 345-6; and Antonio Jacobini, “Tl mosaico del Triclinio Lateranense,” in Fragmenta Picta: Affreschi e mosaici staccati del medioevo romano, exhib. cat. (Rome, 1989), 189-96. For the expansion of the street system, see Schiffmann, Roma felix; Helge Gamrath,

Roma

sancta

renovata:

app. 19. For the medal of Sixtus, see Filippo Buonanni, Numismata pontificum romanorum quae a tempore Martini V

usque ad annum MDCXCIX, 2 vols. (Rome, 169g), 1:381, no. 2. Other depictions of the scene during Sixtus’s reign are discussed by Corrine Mandel, “Golden Age and the Good Works of Sixtus V: Classical and Christian Typology in the Art of a Counter-Reformation

Storia

dell’arte,

Franciscan

no.

62

Pope

Nicholas IV alluded to the vision in inscriptions commemorating

Studi

sull’urbanistica di Roma nella seconda meta del sec. XVI con particolare rife-

his renova-

tions at the Lateran; Lauer, 192-3; Pan-

nici, supp. vol., 12 (Rome, 1987); and Giorgio Simoncini, “Roma _ restaura-

vinio—Lauer, 433; Forcella, 8.16; and Francesco Gandolfo, “Assisi e il Laterano,” Archivio della Societa Romana di Storia Patria 106 (1983): 64. The same link was made concerning the Lateran

ta”: Rinnovamento

patronage of Sixtus IV, who was also a

rimento al pontificato di Sisto V (1585— 1590), Analecta Romana Instituti Da-

87.

Pope,”

(1988):51 n.106.The

urbano al tempo di

Sisto V (Florence, 1990). Sixtus’s possesso is recorded in an avvi-

go dated 8 May 1585; BAV, Urb. lat. 1053, fol. 220r: “[The pope] fu a pigliare il possesso di san Gio. Laterano con le solite cerimonie, et dopo data la benedittione dalla loggia di Bonifatio ottavo....” On the history and significance of this ceremony, see Francesco Cancellieri, Storia de’ solenni possessi de’ sommi pontefici detti anticamente processi o processioni, dopo la loro coronazione dalla basilica vaticana alla lateranense. .. (Rome, 1802); and Bern-

Franciscan;

Ugonio—Lauer,

576; Ugo-

no, Stationi, 44r.

88.

89.

Panvinio—-Lauer, 479; Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 180. Apparently certain parts of the palace were still used as habitations; see del Sodo, “Compendio delle chiese,” Biblioteca Vallicelliana, G.33, fol. 45r: “oggi non si vede del detto palazzo essendo gran ruuine in le quale ui sono alcune abitazione per li penitenzieri della presenti sacro sancta Basilica.” An avviso dated 6 April 1589 records that, following the Easter ceremonies at

203

Notes to pp. 24-7

go.

the Lateran, the pope gave a banquet at his vigna, “non havendo potuto la S.ta Sua secondo desiderava banchettare nel nuovo, et gran Palazzo Lateranense tutto il sacro collegio, reassumendo il rito antico, per la freschezza, et imperfettione delle stanze 570 YAM, lUitloy, Ilene 1056, fol. 198r, in Burkart, “Lateran,” 56. However, at the end of May the pope was able to welcome Cardinal Aldobrandini in the first official ceremony held in the palace; see Chapter 6, n. 14. An avviso of 26 July 1589 reports that Sixtus minutely inspected the palace “ridotto hormai a perfettione”; Pastor, 22:498, app. 37. An avviso of 28 June 1585 reports: “In san Giouanni Laterano si sono gia cominiciati a cavare i fondamenti della fabrica d’un Palazzo che S.Sta ha ordinato di volervi fare acciO occorrendo al Papa di andare in quella Chiesa, che é suo Ves.to, habia luogo commodo da habitarvi dicendo che era cosa indegna et inconveniente che II Ves.vo non habbia la Casa

nel suo

Vescovato.”

BAV,

Urb: lat. 103s fol, 2o6y, im JoA. F. Orbaan, “La Roma di Sisto V negli ‘avvisi,” Archivio della Societa Romana di Storia Patria 33 (1910): 283. See also

Fontana, 1:48r: “é molto copioso di stanze si per commodita dell’istesso Principe, come per la famiglia tutta, e per poterui ancora far dentro Consistori, Concilij, & ogn’altra sorte di Congregatione, ch’occorresse,....” Also relevant here are passages in Giovanni Baglione, Le vite de’ pittori scultori et architetti dal pontificato di Gregorio

XIII. del 1572 in fino a’ tempi di Papa Urbano Ottavo nel 1642 (Rome, 1642), facsimile ed., ed. Valerio Mariani (Rome, 1935), 36, 85, and the avvisi cited by Pastor, 22:274 nn. 3, 4. Reinhard Elze, “Das ‘Sacrum Palatium Lateranense’ im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert,” Studi gregoriani 4 (1952): 27-

92.

54: For the Lateran palace frescoes, see Maria Luisa Madonna, ed., Roma di

Sisto V: Le arti e la cultura (Rome, 1993), 94-103 (Corrine Mandel), 10319 (Rita Torchetti); and Liliana Barroe-

204

ro, “Il palazzo lateranense: II ciclo pittorico sistino,” in I] palazzo apostolico lateranense, ed. Carlo Pietrangeli (Flo-

rence, 1991), 217-21. The subjects of the frescoes are recorded by Fontana, 1:48r—53r,

and more

evaluations

of the work

precisely in two

approved

by

Sixtus in February and May 1590; ASV, Archivium Arci I-X VIII, Armadio B, vol. 18, fols. goor—210r, 214v—221V; excerpts in Bertolotti, Artisti modenesi,

93%

34-7. Not considered here is a room located between the Sala di Daniele and the Sala di Costantino decorated with seasonal landscapes. Concerning the discovery of the coins, see Ugonio, Stationi, 309v—-310r; Giovanni Ciampini, De sacris aedificiis a Constantino

Magno

constructis. Synop-

sis historica... (Rome, 1693), 9-10; Lanciani, Scavi, 4:139—-40; and Pastor, Door

oie

wa7Gis,

Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santori recorded the pope’s insistence on the importance of these emperors: “Mi commise anco la bolla ch’egli havea a fare circa alcune medaglie ritrovate in S. Giovanni Laterano, ch’io la rivedessi, ove si nominavano molti imperatori, e massime Giustiniano gia heretico lasso e rilasso, Eraclio che fu monothelita o monofesita,

et Foca

tiranno,

e ch’era

bene chiamare una congregatione d’homini dotti dell’antiquita, com’il padre Bellarmino, Fulvio Orsino, Silvio Antoniano, M. Cesare di Sora, il Gallesino

et altri; ripose che non li havea da canonizare con questa bolla per santi, ma lodare per lattioni bone ch’haveano fatte e dicendoli che nissuno imperatore dopo il Magno Constantino havea fabricato in S. Giovanni Laterano, eccetto Valentiniano terzo, che fe’ sopra

Paltare il ciborio d’argento, egli mostro non crederlo e parergli cosa molto strana.” G. Cugoni, “Autobiografia di monsignor G. Antonio Santori, cardinale di S. Severina,” Archivio della Societa Romana di Storia Patria 13 (1890): 179. For Sixtus’s donation of the coins, see Orbaan, “Avvisi,” 298; and Francesco Maria Torriggio, Le sacre grotte vaticanae... (Rome, 1639), 246. Ex-

Notes to pp. 27-30 tant coins are noted in Marcello Fagiolo and Maria Luisa Madonna, eds., Ro-

ma 1300-1875: L’arte degli anni santi, exhib. cat. (Milan, 1984), 143-4, no. II.3.4; and Mario Fanti, ed., I] museo di San Petronio in Bologna (Bologna, 1970), 67-8, no. 77. Another coin was

venerated sandro,

in the church

Milan;

La sacra

of Sant’Alesmedaglia

mo-

neta d’oro del pio imperatore Tiberio Anicio Constantino privilegiata dal sommo pontefice Sisto V. con indul-

95:

g6.

97-

genza perpetua plenaria, & remissione di tutti li peccati... (Milan, 1664) [BAV, Cicognara III.M.73(2)]. The emperors are Constantine the Great, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Honorius, Theodosius IJ, Valentinian HI, Marcian, Leo I, Justin I, Justinian I, Tiberius II, Mauritius, Phocas, and Heraclius. See the bull promulgated by Sixtus on

101.

1 December 1587; Bullarium romanum, 8:966—72, no. 114. (“Qua in re divinam providentiam agnoscimus, suspicimus atque admiramur, quod calamitoso hoc tempore, cum tam multi crucis Christi Domini hostes catholicae fidei veritatem implissime oppugnant, .. .”) The institution of the monarchy represents a turning point in the political and religious history of Israel; 1 Samuel 8:1-9; Saint Augustine, City of God,

tiones christianae urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores, 2 vols. (Rome,

OAC 98.

99-

For the disciples of Christ as successors to the Old Testament prophets, see Matthew 5212, 10:41, 19309, 29°84: For the staircase, see Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 103-5 (Rita Torchetti); Alessandro

Ippoliti, “Nuove

acqui-

sizioni sul Palazzo Laterano: La ‘Scala Pontificale,’” Quaderni dell’Istituto di

100.

Storia dell’Architettura n.s., 11 (1988): 51-60. Located between the Constantine scenes are four additional frescoes not record-

ed by Fontana, but identified as “paesi”

in ASV,

Archivium

Arci

I-XVIII,

Armadio B, vol. 18, fol. 22or. Three of these represent mundane activities set in rustic landscape settings, each of which

includes a simple building surmounted by a cross. They may refer to the universal spread of Christianity under Con-

stantine as characterized by Eusebius, Tricennial Oration, 17.4. The fourth fresco depicts a naval battle that should be identified as an idealized image of the great victory of Catholic forces over the Turks at Lepanto in 1571. One of the ships bears Turkish banners, and on the shore bound prisoners who wear turbans are led away. For the significance of this scene and the background view of Constantinople, see Jack Freiberg, “In the Sign of the Cross: The Image of Constantine in the Art of Counter-Reformation Rome,” in Monarca della Pittura: Piero della Francesca and His Legacy, Studies in the History of Art, ed. Marilyn Aronberg Lavin (forthcoming). A versified invective against the Lateran composed by a partisan of Saint Peter’s at the beginning of the thirteenth century states: “Glorior in Petro Paulo sed tu synagoga /In signis tantum gaudes veterisque lituris. / Hos ego iudeos reputo simul et moysistas / Qui caput ecclesie veterem credunt synagogam” (I glory in Peter and Paul, but you O Synagogue, rejoice only in signs and ancient anointings. I consider those men at once Jews and followers of Moses who believe that the old Synagogue is the head church). Giovanni Battista de Rossi, ed., Inscrip-

102.

1857-88), 2:196; Lauer, 234-5; Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:379—-80. Concerning the Scala Santa, see Fontana, 1:60r; 2:2r—6v; Christopher L. C. Ewart Witcombe, “Sixtus V and the

Scala Santa,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 44 (1985): 368-79; and Alessandro Ippoliti, “La sistemazione sistina della Scala Santa,” in Il palazzo apostolico lateranense, ed. Carlo Pietrangeli (Florence, 1991), 121-3. 103. The manner of transfer is recorded by Sixtus V in Bullarum romanorum pontificum, 5.1:125.See also Fontana, 2:21; and D’Onofrio, Scalinate, 114, 119. 104. Ina bull dated 2 June 1590, with which he set up chaplaincies to serve at the Scala Santa, Sixtus asserted that the cha-

205

Notes to pp. 30-2 pel had been called “Holy of Holies” from early Christian times; Bullarum romanorum pontificum, 5.1:124-30, no. 173. The various meanings of the name are discussed by Otto Nussbaum, “Sancta Sanctorum,” ROmische Quartalschrift 54 (1959): 234-46. 105. Regarding the arrangement of the altar, see John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:356—-8; and Panvinio—Lauer, 488, 490. On the icon of Christ, see Gerhard Wolf, Salus Populi Romani: Die geschichte romischer Kultbilder im Mittelalter (Weinheim, 1990), 60-5,

spiritualibus CUS 110.

271-2

Roma

109.

sancta, 35.

Bullarum

romanorum

pontificum,

5.1:

126: “Quoniam vero maxime convenit, ut in sacro hujusmodi loco, Dominicae Crucis, & Passionis memoria non so-

lum in marmore, ac lapidibus, picturisque, & Imaginibus, sed multo etiam magis in tremendo illo Missae sacrificio,

veraque,

&

actuali

Corporis,

&

Sanguinis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi oblatione perpetuo recolatur, Divinusque cultus non temporalibus modo, sed 206

Stationi, 43r;

Ugonio—Lauer,

trasformatione

d’oscuro,

e

deforme luogo al presente é fatto il pit bello, e adorno, che sia nella Citta di Roma.” See also Lorenza Di Nuzzo,

“La progettazione

Sistina della piazza

di S. Giovanni in Laterano,” Storia del111.

la citta 40 (1987): 5-44. Demolition of Boniface’s loggia began in May 1587; avviso dated 12 May, published by Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma g (1931): 331: “Fu cominciato a rovinare a san Giouanni Laterano il pulpito della benedittione di

(Liliana Barroero), 132-5 (Rita Torchet-

The fresco of Christ crucified located at the top of the stairs reproduced the preexisting situation described by Martin,

n. 13 278 N. 33 431, app. 13;

miracolosa

Santa, see Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 35-6 (Mario Bevilacqua), 127-32

108.

augea-

577; and Baglione, Vite, 35. Fontana, 1:64v, provided the following account: “La sopradetta piazza di San Giovanni Laterano é stata abbellita da Nostro Signore non solamente con le sopradette fabriche, ma ancora col gettare a terra le fabriche antiche, e rovinose come sopra s’é detto, e col far portar via grandissima quantita di terra per spianarla, ch’in molti luoghi era dove alta, e dove bassa, e soperchiava il piano della Chiesa, e hoggi a volervi entrare si salisce cinque scalini, e vi ha ancora indrizzato molte strade principali, come si dira poco appresso, a tale, che con quasi

106.

ti); and Alessandro Zuccari, I pittori di Sisto V (Rome, 1992), 103-40.

aedificiis

See the notices collected in Pastor, 22: Ugonio,

74-8.

Perleone Casella, “Historia della Capella, e Compagnia del S.mo Salvatore in Laterano,” BAV, Barb. lat. 4537, fol. 23v: “Ma questa Cappella S.ta é fatta a misura, et proportione di quella di Gierusalemme.” The treatise can be dated on the basis of the following passage which records a miracle of the icon (fol. 3gv): “Et io testifico, che essendo andato per l’ufficio mio la Vigilia di Natale a far accendere i lumi |’anno 1598. chil Tevere con tanta rovina ando per Roma nell’entrare a vista della Sacrosanta Imagine pareva che gli occhi fussero due ampolline d’acqua, et altre volte in diverse maniere si manifesta.” 107. On the fresco decoration of the Scala

quoque

eee

112.

papa Bonifatio Ottavo il corridoio che andava a sancta sanctorum la sala del concilio.” Construction of the Vatican loggia was initiated by Pius II in 1461, with work continuing

into the next decade;

Chris-

toph Luitpold Frommel, “Francesco del Borgo, Architekt Pius’ Il. und Pauls Il., I: Der Petersplatz und weitere rémische Bauten

Pius’ II. Piccolomini,”

R6-

misches Jahrbuch fur Kunstgeschichte 20 (1983): 118-24, 127-39, 144-52. The loggia of San Marco is approximately contemporary and follows the same form of superposed arcades; idem, “Francesco del Borgo, II,” 89-92. 113. Fontana’s engraving of the loggia depicts only one portal, but the accompanying legend reads “al presente se ne sono fatte due altre dalle bande.” Fon-

Notes to p. 32 tana, 1:47v. See also Giovanni Baglione, Le nove chiese di Roma

di Cavalier

Baglione nelle quali si contengono le historie, pitture, scolture e architetture di esse...

(Rome,

1639),

103, and a

document dated 6 May 1590: “Misura et stima di tutti li lavori di legname fatti fare da N.S. Papa Sisto Quinto da M.ro Santi Borgianni et Compagni falegnami nel Palazzo nuovo App.co di S. Gio. Laterano fatti a tutta sua roba insieme con li 3. porte sotto la loggia della Beneditione ch’entrano in S. Gio.” ASV, Archivium Arci I-XVIII, Armadio B, vol. 18, fol. 178r (excerpts in Lauer,

rig:

616); cf. fols. 45r, 161v, 189Vv. It was perhaps at this time that the bulls of Gregory XI and Pius V concerning the Lateran’s primacy were cut in marble and installed to either side of the

115.

lateral portals. Fontana, 1:46r. See Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 122-5 (Rita Torchetti), citing the relevant documents, to

which should be added the final evaluations of the frescoes in both ranges of the loggia, which were approved by Sixtus V in February and May 1590; see ASV, Archivium Arci I-XVIII, Armadio B, vol. 18, fols. 205 v—206v, 2141,

excerpts in Bertolotti, Artisti modenesi, 32-4. The

reversal

of the narrative

order,

with Constantine’s donation preceding his baptism, may have been adapted from the medieval mosaics on the east portico of the basilica, where the same sequence was employed; see Stefan Waetzoldt, Die Kopien des 17. Jahrhunderts nach Mosaiken und Wana-

E), 47r. Documents for the window are in ASV, Archivium Arci I-XVII, Armadio B, vol. 18, esp. fol. 253r (Lauer, 615); and ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche,

Busta 1527, reg. 48, fol. 6ov; ibid., reg. 49, fol. 19. For the fresco, see Catalogue, §III.K.3. 116. Concerning the Lateran obelisk, see Michele Mercati, Gli obelischi di Roma (Roma, 1589), ed. Gianfranco Cantelli (Bologna, 1981), 317-23; Fontana, 1:4r, 60v—64r; Pastor, 22:265—-6; Cesa-

re D’Onofrio, Gli obelischi di Roma, 2d ed. (Rome, 1967), 160-72, 194-7; Erik Iversen, Obelisks in Exile, 2 vols. (Copenhagen, 1968), 1:55-64. The foundations for the obelisk were being prepared in November 1587, and the dedication took place on 10 August 1588; Orbaan, “Avvisi,” 301, 304-5;

Schiffmann, Roma felix, 35. Payments concerning this project are in ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 1527, regg. 43,49; ASV, Archivium Arci I-XVIII, Armadio B, vol. 10; excerpts published in Lauer, 617; and D’Onofrio, Obelischi, 194-7. See Angela Marino and Angela Lanconelli, “I ‘Libri dei conti’ di Domenico Fontana: L’obelisco del Laterano. Libro XVI,” Storia della citta no. 48 (1988): g8-104; and Lorenza Di Nuzzo, “‘Misura e stima’ e rilievo: Uno

studio sul basamento dell’obelisco lateranense,” ibid., 48 (1988): 105-14. The original location of the obelisk is discussed by Jospeh Polzer, “The Location of the Obelisks in the Circus Maximus in Rome,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 24 (1965): 165-9.

Forsch-

117. According to the hieroglyphic inscrip-

ungen der Bibliotheca Hertziana, 18 (Vienna, 1964), 36, cat. nos. 139-44; and Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 4853. A link between the two cycles was suggested by Jorg Traeger, Der reitende Papst: Ein Beitrag zur Ikonographie des Papsttums (Munich, 1970), 58. The central fresco of a pope, enthroned and blessing, possibly representing Pope Sylvester, occupies the place of a window that had been enlarged by Sixtus V; Fontana, 1:46v (no.

tions, the shaft was quarried by Thutmoses III (ca. 1504-1450 B.c.) but was left incomplete at his death. His grand-

malereien

in Rom,

Romische

son, Thutmoses IV, had the carvings finished and the monument raised in the great sanctuary of Ammon at Thebes. Ramses II restored the obelisk and recorded this fact in another inscription on the shaft. The suitability of the obelisk to its new site (“la prima Chiesa del Mondo”) because it was the largest and most

207

Notes to pp. 32-6 ancient of the obelisks was suggested in 1587 by Catervo Foglietta, “Lettera ad un amico di ragguaglio delle Chiese di Roma, et opere fatte da Sisto V. Som.o Pontefice con riflessioni morali,” in BAV, Ottob. lat. 568, fol. 8v—gr (dated 10 May 1587, on fol. 61v). The other three obelisks Sixtus raised at Saint Peter’s, Santa Maria

and Patrizia Castelli, I geroglifici e il mito dell’Egitto nel Rinascimento (Flo122.

119.

120.

Ammianus

Maggiore, and Santa

Marcellinus,

Res

Fontana, 1:63r; and Corpus inscriptionum latinarum (Berlin, 1863-) [here-

after CIL], 6.1163. The inscriptions that were incised on the Sistine base identify the obelisk and its prior history with the triumph of Christianity under Constantine; Mercati, op. cit., 321-3; Fontana, 1:63v—64r; Iversen, Obelisks in 121.

Exile, 1:63-4. See Karl H. Dannenfeldt, Egyptian Antiquities sance,” Studies in the

“Egypt and in the RenaisRenaissance6

(1959): 7-27; Rudolf Wittkower, “Hieroglyphics in the Early Renaissance,” in Developments in the Early Renaissance, Papers of the Second Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, ed. Bernard S. Levy (Albany, 1972), 58-97; 208

gestae,

debate, since another obelisk in the Circus had been set up by Augustus; it

gestae,

17.4.12-23, Ammianus Marcellinus, 3 vols., trans. John C. Rolfe, Loeb Classical Library (London, 1935-9), 1:3235. Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 36.14.66—-7, recorded that when Thebes was conquered by the Persians, Cambyses extinguished the fires when they reached the base of the obelisk, “Thus showing his respect for the mighty block when he had felt none for the city itself.” H. Rackham, trans., Loeb Classical Library (London, 1947), 3:51. Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae, 17.4.1, trans. Rolfe, 1:323-5. Ammianus was incorrect in citing the destination as Rome; the inscription of Constantius II records that Constantine planned to bring the obelisk to Constantinople; see n. 120. The text was reconstructed by Mercati, Obelischi, 255, cf. 257-68. See also

Res

17.4.18—23 A Latin version of the text was provided by Mercati, Obelischi, 186-7. Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 36.14.65, also mentioned Ramses. Ammianus’ identification of the hieroglyphs with the “old obelisk” in the Circus Maximus initiated a scholarly

Maria del Popolo all possess associations with their new locations; Iversen, Obelisks in Exile, 1:72-3. Tike).

Fence, 1.070) Ammianus Marcellinus,

too was excavated by Sixtus and transferred to the Piazza del Popolo. In the sense that it had been brought to Rome first, this monument was the older of the two,

but in terms

of the relative

dates of manufacture the Lateran obelisk possessed the precedence of age. Mercati, op. cit., 190-8, considered this issue and concluded that Ammianus was referring to the obelisk now in the Piazza del Popolo, but he acknowledged that others linked the inscription with the Lateran obelisk. One of these was Angelo Rocca, Bibliotheca apostolica

vaticana

a Sixto

in splendidiorem cum 25,

123 124.

translata...

V Pont.

Max.

commodioremque (Rome,

lo-

1591), 17-

273-8.

Genesis 4.7311s, Exodus 1:1 131279475 Numbers 33:3, 5. Jean Riviére, “Sur l’expression ‘PapaDeus’ au moyen-age,” Studi e testi 38

(1924): 278; Helene

Tillmann,

Innocent III, trans. Walter Sax sterdam, 1980), 21, 40 nn. 4, 5.

Pope (Am-

. On the Stational liturgy, see Herklotz, “Campus Lateranensis,” 8 n. 23. Sixtus’s personal interest in traditional ceremonial practices is revealed in an avviso dated 22 March

1586; BAV,

Urb.

lat. 1064, fol. 114v: “Il Papa ha fatto portare dalla libraria del Vaticano molti libri in Camera sua, che contengono la nota di tutti i riti antichi Ecc.ci per cavarne una nuova Osservanza da essi.” The same is reported in ibid., fol. 110r. 126. Bullarium romanum, 8:663-6, no. 33 (“dominica Paschae, ad S. Joannem in Laterano, ubi populo solemniter benedicemus”).

See also Ugonio,

Stationi,

Notes to pp. 36—7 by Gregory XIII at Saint Peter’s in the years 1576-80, see the diary of the

42v, 38v, 307r, and for other Stations at the Lateran, 34v, 296v—2971, 306r-

v, 316v. For the Easter benediction at the Lateran in 1586 and 1587, see n. 127.

129.

Francesco

Mu-

877.

3550, 391r, 4271-4281, 467r-v, 490r-

4gir. It is relevant here that Gregory restored the Vatican benediction loggia; payments dated from 8 August 1573 to 31 May 1574 are recorded in ASR, Ca-

similar modifications

at

Santa Sabina and San Paolo f.l.m. Chacon, Vitae, 4:127. The early eighth-century Ordo Romanus I provides the first record of the Easter Station at Santa Maria Maggiore; see Michel Andrieu, Les ordines romani du haut moyen-age, 4 vols. (Louvain, 1931-61), 2:67—-108; and John F. Baldovin, The Urban Character of Christian Worship: The Origins, Development, and Meaning of Stational Liturgy, Orientalia Christiana Analecta, 228 (Rome, 1987), 131-2. See also Le

cose

maravigliose

Roma...

(Rome,

dell’alma 1575), 201:

citta La

di Do-

menica di Pascha della Resurrettione di nostro Signor Giesu Christo, e statione a santa

Maria

Maggiore,

&

a santa

Maria degli Angeli.” For the Easter benediction performed

2.

of ceremonies,

cantio; BAV, Barb. lat. 2802, fols. 354r,

Ugonio, Stationi, 42r. The problem resulted from the fact that the pontifical throne was located at the base of the apse, and it was there that the pope would sit surrounded by the clergy when he came to celebrate Mass at the high altar. Ugonio, op. cit., 10v-11Fr, 237r, recorded

128.

master

CLEMENT

merale I, Tesoreria

segreta, reg. 1301,

fOlsne1 4b; 910.D,046Dsar aye ODO oa. 67b, 68a, 72a, 73a, 78b. 130. The Lateran’s chief relics were traditionally exhibited on Easter, and at that time a plenary indulgence was granted; del Sodo, “Compendio delle chiese,” BAVasVatelatariig tte tole oie lve sante Reliquie si mostrano il giorno di Pasqua di Resurrectione nel qual giorNomve incase plenatiaws, a wlnismsealso, reported in Le cose maravigliose

(1575), 2r. 131.

Sixtus’s Franciscan identity is especially relevant to the Constantine theme, for Saint Bonaventure had paired the emperor with Saint Francis as dual agents of God’s will whose mission it was to reform the world, the one bringing temporal peace through the Cross, the other bearing the imprint of the Cross on his body as a sign of spiritual renewal. See Lavin, Narrative, 193-4, 349 n. 147; and Freiberg, “Sign of the Cross.”

VII’S TRANSEPT

The bull announcing the Visitation is published in Bullarium romanum, 9:562-5, no. 20. See Diego Beggiao, La visita pastorale di Clemente VIII (1592-1605): Aspetti di riforma post-

cial record of the Visitation; Beggiao, 112. For the full text, see ASV, Cod. Borghese, I], vol. 51A—52, fols. 4-6 (“Clemente VIII, ragionamenti fatti dal Papa in occasione della visita, di mano

tridentina

di

a Roma

(Rome,

1978), esp.

47-67 [hereafter cited as Beggiao]. Beggiao, 24-32; Luigi Fiorani, “Le visite apostoliche del Cinque-Seicento e la societa religiosa romana,” Ricerche per la storia religiosa di Roma 4 (1980): 53-148. Bullarium romanum, 9:564-5; cf. Beggiao, 49-50 N. 11. The sermon is summarized in the offi-

Sua

Santita”);

and

BAV,

Chigi

G.III.70, fols. 1r—2v. ASV, Miscellanea, Armadio VII, vol. 3,

fols. 6r—14Vv, in Beggiao, 111-19. The Visitation of the Scala Santa, the Sancta Sanctorum, and the Lateran hospital was conducted by the pope on 17 June 1592, and is recorded in ASV, Miscellanea, Armadio VII, vol. 3, fols. 14v15v (not in Beggiao).

209

Notes to pp. 38-9 Catalogue, §§II.A.2,3. Catalogue, §§1I.C.3, II.F.1. Clement also carefully inspected the basilica’s most important relics, including the Old Tes-

to transfer the choir to another part of 11. 12.

been effected by a papal bull of 17 September 1595. Cardinal de’ Medici, who belonged to a collateral branch of the Florentine family, was appointed legate a latere to France on 3 April 1596; he left Rome on 11 May, and returned in the autumn of 1598; Pastor, 23:139—-44; 25:21. Medici’s art patronage is treated by Alessandro Zuccari, Arte e committenza nella Roma di Caravaggio (Turin,

tament trophies housed in the chapel of Saint Thomas; reported by Giovanni Paolo Mucantio,

master

of ceremonies,

in BAV, Vat. lat. 12317, fols. 2474r-v: “et in quadam parva Cappella prope portam maiorem dicta Ecclesia alias quasdam Reliquias qua. ibi conservantur,

imspicere

voluit

nempe

mensam

Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Virgam Aron Arcam foederis et alias sanctorum reliquias inde discedens ad portam exivit Ecclesiam omniaque diligentisime inspexit et ad altare maius riversus illud visitavit, quod ligneum est et in lapideum ob specialim prerogativam, quia in eo Beatus Petrus Apostolus celebraverat, sie olim conservatum Silvestro Papa.”

1984), 31-6, 109-26.

13.

14.

For the state of the transept before Clement VIII, see Panvinio—Lauer, 435, 438. Fragments of thirteenth-century decorative frescoes survive in the inter-

reliquaries

of Peter

and

Paul.

210

15.

16.

These

drawings have been identified as the record of frescoes that once decorated the transept wall; Da Pisanello alla nascita dei Musei Capitolini: L’antico a Roma alla vigilia del rinascimento, exhib. cat. (Milan, 1988), 225-6, no. 71 (Rossella Magri). A mid-fifteenthcentury account of the incident concludes with the statement: “e de questo ne fu fatta memoria in quello muro, quando entri nella porta di Santo Joanni a mano dritta.” Ibid., 228, no. 73. See Figure 26, present volume, where there are indications of figural images on the northeast transept wall. Catalogue, §II.E.1. Catalogue, §II.E.3. Pius IV had planned

See Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 1, for the relevant passage from Cardinal de’ Medici’s biography. His involvement in the project is confirmed by a document of January 1595; Catalogue, §IIE.1.

a Beato

space of the transept ceiling; Giovanni Battista Giovenale, La basilica di S. Maria in Cosmedin (Rome, 1927), 162-3, fig. 44 (photograph in the Bibliotheca Hertziana). A series of drawings in the Lateran archive, apparently dating from the late sixteenth century, represents the execution in 1438 of two thieves who stole jewels from the

the church; see Chapter 1, n. 28. Catalogue, §II.E.4. The official absolution of Henry IV had

yf

18.

All evidence for Clement’s interventions at the Lateran, including extensive changes in the baptistery, are considered in the Catalogue. The text discussion is limited to the basilica. Catalogue, §II.E.1. On the iconographic program, see Zahlten, “MittelalterRezeption,” 88-92; Filippo Gerardi, La patriarcale basilica lateranense iIlustrata per cura di Agostino Valentini..., 2 vols. in 1 (Rome, 1832-4), 1: 81-2,pl. 56 [hereafter cited as Gerardi]; and Lauer, 314-16. Baglione, Vite, 63, reported that Landini was Clement’s favored architect. See also Jack Wasserman, “The Palazzo Sisto V in the Vatican,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 21

(1962): 33-4. Donald L. Galbreath, Papal Heraldry, 2d ed., ed. Geoffrey Briggs (London, 1972), 96: “Azure, a bend battled on both sides gold between six molets of eight points gold.” Zahlten, “Mittelalter-Rezeption,” 92, recognized the association between the reliefs of Peter and Paul on the ceiling and the relics of these saints in the high altar, and he called attention to a simi-

lar program of relic commemoration in the nave ceiling. For him the central image of Christ refers to the acheropita

Notes to pp. 39-50 of the Sancta Sanctorum. The Arma Christi are also represented in the nave

ceiling; for their significance, see Chapter 5, n. 46. Relics of the two Saint

19.

20.

21. 22.

23: aA Pls 26.

Johns, Zachariah, and Christ are recorded by Panvinio—-Lauer, 436, 437, 439; Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 147-8; and Ugonio, Stationi, 48r-v. The apse mosaic is discussed in Chapeid elise ial * Catalogue, §§II-C.1, I1.D: Also to be noted here are the four Evangelists represented in the spandrels of the crossing arches. Catalogue, §II.E.3. The evidence for the dismantling of the organ rests on a single notice quoted in the Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 2. Catalogue, §II.E.2. It is not known whether the altar was shifted to this new position. Its polychrome marble components were probably reused in the transept decoration. The gilded wooden tabernacle by Francesco da Volterra was transferred to the Lancelotti chapel, according to an undated summary of work executed by the carpenter Giovanni Volpetta, and presented to the Camera Apostolica on 7 April 1601; ASR, Camerale I, Giustificazioni di Tesoreria, Busta 25, reg. 11, fol. gr. For the survival of the statues by Giovanni Battista della Porta, see Chapter 1; 0.70, Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 2: Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 3. Catalogue, §III.E. For della Porta’s responsibility, see Baglione, Nove chiese, 111; Vitaliano Tiberia, Giacomo della Porta: Un architetto tra manierismo e barocco (Rome,

1974), 48; and an avviso dated 11 August 1601, BAV, Urb. lat. 1069, fols. 466v—467r, in J. A. F. Orbaan, Documenti sul barocco in Roma (Rome, 1920), 47 n. For the structural changes to the church made Catalogue, §IIL.B.

27.

at this time, see

For the Heemskerck drawing (Fig. 26), see Huelsen and Egger, Marten van Heemskerck, 1:36, pl. 72 (bottom); and

28.

29.

30.

31.

Ronald E. Malmstrom, “A Drawing by Marten van Heemskerck of the Interior of S. Giovanni in Laterano,” ROmisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 14 (1973): 247-51. See also Catalogue, §III.B.1. Della Porta’s fundamental role in the development of this type of ecclesiastical decoration has not been sufficiently appreciated. The visual vocabulary of the transept is consistent beginning with his designs for the Cappella Gregoriana of Saint Peter’s and extending to his renovations at Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. On polychrome marble revetment, see Irving Lavin, Bernini and the Unity of the Visual Arts, 2 vols. (New York, 1980), 1:25, 50-2, 59, 88, 171-2, 202— 3; and Stephen F. Ostrow, “Marble Revetment in Late Sixteenth-Century Roman Chapels,” in ILGo: Essays Honoring Irving Lavin on His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. Marilyn Aronberg Lavin (New York, 1990), 253-76. The motif of partially furled painted tapestries visible to either side of the triumphal arch that separates the transept from the nave was originally repeated at the entrance to the apse. The present situation results from changes introduced in the late nineteenth century; for the original state, see Fig. 33. The Lateran claimed to possess the tiara Constantine had given to Sylvester as a symbol of his temporal power. Eugenius IV brought it to the Lateran from Avignon; Stefano Infessura, Diario della citta di Roma, ed. Oreste Tommasini (Rome,

1890),

reprint

ed.

1966), 441. See also Andrea

(Turin,

Palladio,

Descritione de le chiese, stationi, indul-

genze @& reliquie de corpi sancti, che sonno in la citta de Roma... (Rome, 1554), unpaginated, reprinted in Five Early Guides to Rome and Florence, intro. by Peter Murray (n.p., 1972), where we learn that the tiara was kept in the ciborium of the altar dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen and it, along with other relics preserved there, were shown to the people on Easter following vespers. See also Ugonio-Lauer, 579211

Notes to pp. 51-3

32.

For the early eighteenth-century drawing, reproduced in Figure 33, present volume, see Edmund Schilling and Anthony Blunt, The German Drawings in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, and Supplements to the Catalogues of Italian and French Drawings, with a History of the Royal Collections of Drawings (London, n.d. [1973]), 98, cat. no. 294 (unillustrated), inv. no. 10969 (41.5 X 57.4 cm.). This is one of four drawings of

oped in tandem with the plan to move the high altar; see Chapter 7; Catalogue, §§UI.1J;

41.

34:

1600

3536.

37° 38.

10981 (southeast wall). Clement’s absence from Rome in 1598 is discussed in Chapter 6. For the progress of work on the sacrament altar, see Catalogue, §III.H. Giovanni

Paolo

Mucantio,

master

Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 5. A similar plan to transfer the high altar of the Cathedral of Naples was carried out by Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdo during 1596-7; D. F. Strazzullo, “Affreschi del pittore fiorentino Giovanni Balducci nell’antica abside del Duomo di Napoli,” Arte cristiana (191): 132. Concerning the sanctity of the Lateran’s high altar, see Chapter 4, n. 105. Carlo Borromeo, Instructiones fabricae et supellectilis ecclesiasticae [1.16] (Milan, 1577), in Trattati d’arte del Cinquecento, fra manierismo e controriforma, ed. Paola Barocchi, 3 vols. (Bari, 1960-2), 3:36: “Haec [the container with relics] ... aut in gremio ecclesiae,

prout loci amplitudo fert, aut in cappella insigniori, praeterquam in ea, ubi sanctissimae Eucharistiae sacramentum asservatur, decentius collocabitur.” 39-

40.

212

The screen that separated the high altar from the choir was removed by Sixtus V for precisely this reason; see Chapter

vol-

and

1610;

see

Giovanni

Incisa

Os (Vale (Ko), UO

of

ceremonies, recorded the pope’s visit to the Lateran on 3 January 1599; BAV, Barb. lat. 2809, fol. 5. Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no.

141, present

della Rochetta, “Due quadri di lacopo Zucchi per Santa Maria Maggiore,” Strenna dei romanisti 10 (1949): 2901 n. 2;and Irving Lavin, Bernini and the Crossing of Saint Peter’s (New York, 1G68), 414 no. 6. For thes162., (ed. see Fagiolo and Madonna, eds., Roma sancta, 280-3 (Alessandro Rinaldi); and for that of 1650, see Cesare D’Onofrio, ed., Roma nel Seicento (Florence, 1969), fig. 17, and figs. 19, 28, 41, 60,

the transept; ibid., inv. nos. 10963 (sacrament altar); 10965 (entrance wall); Siei0

and Figure

ume. The first state of the series of engravings that includes the principal churches of Rome has been dated variously between

42.

43-

This designation for the sacrament altar also appears in an avviso of 1600; Catalogue, Supplementary Sources, no. 6. In the image of San Paolo f.l.m. from the same series of engravings, the altar in the apse (which was added by Sixtus V), and not the altar in the crossing, is identified as the high altar. However, the situation is different at the Lateran, where the sacrament altar is located in the transept. Reservation of the Eucharist on the high altar was adopted in the dioceses of Verona (1542) and Milan (1565) under the guidance of bishops Giovanni Matteo

Giberti

and

Carlo

Borromeo,

re-

spectively. See Aurora Scotti, “Architettura e riforma cattolica nella Milano di Carlo Borromeo,” L’Arte 18—19/ 20 (1972): 55-90; Sandro Benedetti, “Un’aggiunta a Pirro Ligorio: Il tabernacolo di Pio IV nel Duomo di Milano,” Palladio, ser. 3, 25, fasc. 1 (1978): 45-64; and Derek Moore, “Sanmichele’s Tornacoro in Verona Cathedral: A New Drawing and Problems of Interpretation,” Journal of the Society of Architectural

Historians 44 (1985): 221-

32. The Rituale sacramentorum

roma-

ils 1g AH.

num

A final piece of evidence is provided by a drawing that records a project for a baldachin, which was possibly devel-

tum (Rome, 1584), 299-300, followed the directives of Giberti and Borromeo. In the Caerimoniale episcoporum iussu

Gregorit papae XIII...

iussu edi-

Notes to pp. 53-6 Clementis VIII Pont. reformatum omnibus

44-

pue autem metropolitanis cathedralibus ec collegiatis perutile ac necessarium [1.12] (Rome, 1600), 69-70, reservation on the high altar was encouraged, but other usages were not forbidden. Milton J. Lewine, “The Roman Church Interior, 1527-80,” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia

Abe

University,

129-60;

and

Kathleen

48.

ed. John Shearman and Marcia (Princeton, 1990), 93-8.

Unity, 52, concerning Bernini’s designs

III. bis Paul V. (1547-1606),”

ble; Instructiones [1.13, 16], in Tratta-

ti, ed. Barocchi, 3:22, 40. 49-

50.

51.

52.

in Fest-

Porta, 31-2,

115-18,

no.

10. 47-

See Klaus Schwager, “Zur Bautatigkeit Sixtus’ V. an S. Maria Maggiore in Rom,” Miscellanea Bibliothecae Hertz-

53:

ianae zu Ehren

54:

von

Leo Brubns,

Franz

Graf Wolf Metternich, Ludwig Schudt, Romische Forschungen der Bibliotheca Hertziana, 16 (Munich, 1961), 324-54; Hans Ost, “Die Cappella Sistina in Santa Maria Maggiore,” in Kunst als Bedeutungstrager: Gedenkschrift fur Guiinter Bandmann, ed. Werner Busch, Reiner Hausherr, and Eduard Trier (Berlin,

decoration

in

Liber pontificalis, 1:172—-4. Eusebius’ extensive description of the decoration of the Holy Sepulcher (Life of Constantine, 3.34-40) was associated with the Lateran by Panvinio, “De ecclesiis chris-

lasciando in Roma nel suo palazzo Lateranense vna Chiesa doro, & argento, & preciose pietre guarnita in honore del Saluatore nostro Iesu Christo... .” Concerning the Lateran’s original decoration, see Richard Krautheimer, “The Constantinian

nich, 1962), 268-76; and Tiberia, Giadella

of sumptuous

ancient Roman architecture. John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:334; Panvinio—Lauer, 424.

tianorum,” in Spicilegium romanum, ed. Mai, 9:147. See also Palladio, Descritione, unpaginated: “[Constantine]

schrift fiir Hans Sedlmayr, ed. Karl Oettinger and Mohammed Rassem (Mucomo

Heinrich Drerup, Zum Ausstattungsluxus in der romischen Architektur (Minster Westfalen, 1957) surveys the

tradition

B. Hall

Giacomo della Porta also supervised the Saint Peter’s project; Herbert Siebenhiner, “Umrisse zur Geschichte der Ausstattung von St. Peter in Rom von Paul

Storia

dell’arte no. 43 (1981): 241-62; and Ostrow, “The Sistine Chapel.” This association was made by Lavin, for the apse of Santa Maria in Via Lata. Reinforcing a long tradition, Carlo Borromeo recommended that sacrament tabernacles and reliquaries be decorated with gold, silver, and precious mar-

Weil-

Garris Brandt, “Cosmological Patterns in Raphael’s Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo,” in Raffaello a Roma: II convegno del 1983 (Rome, 1986), 12758. The marble employed is analyzed by Priscilla Grazioli Medici, “Sixteenthand Seventeenth-Century Marble Incrustations in Rome: The Chigi Chapel,” in The Princeton Raphael Symposium: Science in the Service of Art History,

46.

of the Counter-Reformation,”

1960), 86-102, sees

this mode of decoration as characteristic of churches built in the period between the Sack of Rome and 1580, with Santa Maria dei Monti signaling the shift to a more embellished style. See John Shearman, “The Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 24 (1961):

1978), 279-303; Alexandra Herz, “The Sixtine and Pauline Tombs: Documents

Max. novissime ecclestis praeci-

Basilica,”

Dumbarton

Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 119-20; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:43, 45-6, 86; Ursula Nilgen, “Das Fastigium in der Basilica Constantiniana und vier Bronzesaulen des Lateran,” ROmische Quartalschrift 72 (1977): 28. For further discussion of this tradition,

see Chapter 4, nn. 147-8; Chapter 7. Waetzoldt, Kopien, 56-64, 69-71. See in general Ingo Herklotz, “‘Historia sacra’ und mittelalterliche Kunst wahrend der zweiten Halfte des 16. Jahrhunderts in Rom,” in Baronio e l’arte, Atti del convegno internazionale di studi, ed. Romeo De Maio, Agostino Borromeo, Luigi Gulia, Georg Lutz, Aldo Mazzacane (Sora, 1985), 21-74. 213

Notes to pp. 56-62 55-

56.

57:

noted in the next paragraph, see Zuc-

Hans Belting, Die Oberkirche von San Francesco in Assisi: Ihre Dekoration als Aufgabe und die Genese einer neuen Wandmalerei (Berlin, 1977); Marilyn Aronberg Lavin, The Place of Narrative: Mural Decoration in Italian Churches, 431-1600 (Chicago, 1990), 36-9. In addition to a new marble pavement and frescoes on the upper nave walls, the choir was removed from the area in front of the high altar, presumably to make way for the pope’s tomb. Following Martin’s death, the project was continued by Eugenius IV. For these issues, see Chapter 1. The relevant documents for the frescoes are available in Corbo, Artisti e artigiani, 43-53. For the drawing, see Kurt

Cassirer,

“Zu

Borrominis

cari, Arte

60.

Alexandra Herz, “Cardinal Cesare Baronio’s Restoration of SS. Nereo ed

Um-

Achilleo and S. Cesareo de’ Appia,” Art Bulletin 70 (1988): 5g0—-620; and Abromson, Painting in Rome, 115-20,

1982), 55-7, 111-13, cat. no. 19; 172—

134-5, discussed the application of this tradition at the Lateran in terms of the

3, doc. 17, pls. 72-4.

124-34. The renovation of Santa Susanna, the titular church of Clement VIII’s vicar, Girolamo Rusticucci, belongs to this group; Howard Hibbard, Carlo Maderno and Roman Architecture 1580-1630

Collection Rome,

See also Kraut-

et aly op cit,, 5:12; and Lauer,

The derivation of the Sistine chapel decorative scheme from early Christian models was first noted by Ernst Steinmann, Die sixtinische Kapelle I: Bau und Schmuck der Kapelle unter Sixtus IV (Munich, 1901), 196-7. See also Rona Goffen, “Friar Sixtus IV and the Sistine Chapel,” Renaissance Quarterly 39 (1986): 231-4.

214

On individual projects, including those

(London,

1971),

110-

VAs See Catalogue, §III.D.1. The number of angels is associated with a tradition stemming from Dionysius the PseudoAreopagite that divides the angelic population into nine orders. Sylvia Pressouyre, Nicolas Cordier: Recherches sur la sculpture a Rome autour de 1600, de

l’Ecole

73, 2 vols.

Francaise

(Rome,

1984),

de 1:

Reformation controversy concerning the existence and efficacy of angels and of the sacrament.

274-5.

59-

and Morton

bau der Lateranbasilika,” Jahrbuch der preuBischen Kunstsammlungen 42 (1921): 62-3, plate between 60-1, and fig. 8; Bernhard Degenhart, Pisanello (Vienna, 1941), 28-9, fig. 17; and Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:54-6, fig. 63. Most of the drawings connected with the cycle are associated with Saint John the Baptist, but others might concern John the Evangelist; Maria Fossi Todorow, “Un taccuino di viaggi del Pisanello e della sua bottega,” Scritti di storia dell’arte in onore di Mario Salmi, 3 vols. (Rome, 1961-3), 2:147-8. Other possible reflections of the Lateran paintings in drawings from the circle of Pisanello as well as the relevant literary sources are collected by Keith Christiansen, Gentile da Fabriano (London,

heuer 58.

e committenza;

C. Abromson, Painting in Rome during the Papacy of Clement VIII (15921605): A Documented Study (New York, 1981). The Oratorian contribution has been studied by Zuccari, Arte e committenza; idem, “La politica culturale delOratorio romano nella seconda meta del Cinquecento,” Storia dell’arte no. 41 (1981): 77-112; idem, “La politica culturale dell’?Oratorio romano nelle imprese artistiche promosse da Cesare Baronio,” Storia dell’arte no. 42 (1981): 171-93; and idem, “Restauri e filologia baroniani,” in Baronio e larte, ed. De Maio et al., 489-510. See also

62.

63.

Baglione,

Nove

chiese,

111, noted that

the angels were conceived in terms of their relationship to the Eucharist “Angioli di marmo intieri del naturale, liquale stanno in atto di adorare il santissimo Sagramento... .” Regarding temporary festive arches, see Herz, “Tombs,” 243-6. For the type of decoration that was used in the Cor-

Notes to pp. 63-8 pus Domini 64.

procession, see Chapter 4,

n. 173. The Clementine project was said to have been conceived for the Holy Year by Baglione, Vite, 59, 371, 374, and others. For the resetting of the pavement in the nineteenth century, see Catalogue, §III.C.g.

65.

This was the observation of Nicolas de Bralion, Les curiositez de l’une et de l'autre Rome, 2 vols. (Paris, 1655-9), 1:68—g9: “Cette croisée est si spatieuse & si longue, qu’elle peut estre prise pour un corps d’Eglise assez grande.

En effet, ceux qui entrent par une porte,

3. ENTRANCE:

Clement

SPIRITUAL HARMONY

of Alexandria,

AT THE THRESHOLD

Protrepticos;

PG 8:57. The English translation is quoted from Johannes Quasten, Music ¢& Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity, trans. Boniface Ramsey (Washington, D.C., 1983), preface. Dietrich Schuberth, Kaiserliche Liturgie: Die Einbeziehung von Musikinstrumenten, insbesondere

der Orgel, in den

frihmittelalterlichen Gottesdienst (Gottingen, 1968). For additional information on the history of the organ in Italy, see Renato Lunelli, Der Orgelbau in Italien in seine Meisterwerken vom 14. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart, trans. C. Elis

and

P. Smets

(Mainz,

1956);

and idem, L’arte organaria del Rinascimento in Roma e gli organi di S. Pietro in Vaticano dalle origini a tutto il periodo frescobaldiano, “Historiae Musicae Cultores” Biblioteca, 10 (Florence, 1958). Karl G. Fellerer, “Church Music and

qui est a l’extremité opposée 4a celle de cet Autel du S. Sacrement, & qui est la plus frequentée, comme la premiere qui se rencontre, par ceux qui viennent de sainte Marie Maior, & des quartiers les

plus habitez de Rome, nant comme

estant mainte-

desert: ceux-la, dis-je, qui

entre pour la premiere fois par cette porte, croyent facilement que cette croisée soit la Nef principale, & que I’Autel du saint Sacrement qu’ils ont en face soit le principal Autel.” Quoted in Joseph Connors, “Borromini at the Lateran,” in Piranesi architetto, (Rome, 1992), 98-9 n. 3.

exhib.

cat.

OF THE SPACE

when bishops, cardinal archbishops, and papal legates entered the church. At San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, the organ is situated directly behind the altar; in the Cathedrals of Cremona,

Mi-

lan, and Verona paired organs are located on either side of the presbytery. Organs are mounted on the inner facade of Santa Maria Maggiore, Florence; San Giuliano, Venice; San Fantin, Venice; and Santa Maria presso San Celso, Milan. Concerning Blasi’s career, see Furio

Luccichenti,

“Luca

Blasi

(ci 1545-—

1608): Profilo di un organaro,”

L’Or-

gano 19 (1981): 113-31; and DBI, 10: 784-5, s.v. “Blasi, Luca” (Silvana Simonetti). For the Quirinal water organ, see Patrizio Barbieri, “L’organo idraulico

del Quirinale,”

L’Organo

19 (1981):

7-61. Catalogue, §III.E.1. See also Lunelli, Or-

64-9, 125-8. The revised (1600) edition of the Caerimoniale episcoporum

gelbau, 133-41, substantially the same as idem, Der Orgel von San Giovanni in Laterano und des pdapstlichen Institutes fur Kirchenmusik in Rom, trans. C. Elis (Mainz, n.d.); Francesco Saverio Colamarino and Furio Luccichenti, “L’organo di Luca Blasi della basilica

[1.28], 133-6, directed that, with certain exceptions, the organ was to be

Amici

the Council of Trent,” Musical

Quar-

terly 39 (1953): 576-94; idem, ed., Geschichte

der katholischen

Kirchen-

musik, 2 vols. (Kassel, 1972-6), 2:7-9,

used on Sundays and all feasts throughout the year, and it was to be sounded

di S. Giovanni

in Laterano

dell’organo,

a Roma,”

Bollettino ser. 1,

no. 2 (1971): 20-6; Luccichenti,

“Luca

Blasi,” 119-21; and Gianfranco Di Chi-

215

Notes to pp. 68-70 ara, “L’organo di Luca Biagi,” in San Giovanni in Laterano, ed. Carlo Pietrangeli (Florence, 1990), 267-9, 318. Panciroli,

Tesori

mnascosti, 1600

13.

ed.,

350: “un’Organo, di cui la Christianita mai vide il maggior, ne il pit ricco, e

14.

bello. ...” See also Fabio Colonna, La sambuca lincea, overo Dell’istromento

rio Formentini, L’organo di Valvasone nell’arte veneziana del Cinquecento

musico perfetto... (Naples, 1618), preface dedicated to Paul V, where the pope is encouraged to build an organ for Saint Peter’s that would “avanzar il bellissimo organo di S. Giovanni Laterano, non solo nella spesa, ma nella perfettione & artificio della musica enarmonica.” Quoted by Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,” 121-2 n. 31.

(Udine, 1980), 35-53; see also J. E. Blanton, The Organ in Church Design (Albany, 1937); and A. G. Hill) The Organ-Cases and Organs of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance...

Adriano Banchieri, Conclusioni nel suono dell’organo... (Bologna, 1609), 12-13: “Ne si deve tacere Luca Perugino, che cosi industremente fabricO un

Organo in S. Gio. Laterano per lo cui valore, da Papa Clemente. 8 ottenne oraine di Caualliero. 24° See Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,” 113-14,127 n. 46. Further acknowledgment of Blasi’s achievement came by way of inscriptions mounted on the organ, documenting his responsibility for the work;

15.

16.

Catalogue, §III.E.1. 10.

Montano’s drawings were published in engravings after his death by his student, Giovanni Battista Soria; Giuseppe

17.

(1534-1621),” OQuaderni dell’Istituto di Storia dell’Architettura no. 30 (1958): 1-21.

In 1595 Montano worked with Blasi on the organ in Santa Maria di Loreto, Rome; Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,” 116— 18. For Montano’s association with

como della Porta, and G. B. Montano,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 36°(1977): 252—5; and Anna

Bedon,

“Architettura

lupo

Gio-

van Battista Montano,” Arte lombarda n.s., 65 (1983): 111-26. 12.

216

The wooden vestibules bear the coats of arms of Benedict XIV (1740-58).

in the

attic

aedicula,

and

and

Scalza;

Alberto

Satolli,

ed.,

“Documentazione inedita sugli interventi cinquecenteschi negli duomo scomparsi con i restauri del 1877,” Bollettino dell’Istituto Storico Artistico

e archeolo-

del Cinquecento:

angels

putti sounding trumpets at the sides. The instrument was built during 157984 by Domenico Benvenuti, whereas the design of the case has been attributed to Ippolito Scalza; Luigi Fumi, I/ Duomo di Orvieto e i suoi restauri (Rome, 1891), 457-8. See also idem, Orvieto (Bergamo, n.d. [1919]), 113, for a drawing identified as Scalza’s preparatory study for the organ case. The or-

gan formed part of a comprehensive renovation of the church that was initiated in the mid-sixteenth century under the supervision of Raffaello da Monte-

Giacomo della Porta, see Josephine von Henneberg, “Emilio dei Cavalieri, Gia-

gia nella Roma

(London,

1883). I have not seen W. Kaufmann, Der Orgelprospekt in stilgeschichtlicher Entwicklung (Mainz, 1935), 2d ed. (Mainz, 1949). For a study of a later Roman organ, see George and Linda Bauer, “Bernini’s Organ-Case for S. Maria del Popolo,” Art Bulletin 62 (1980): 115-23. The Siena organ has been dated 151618; see Daniela Gallavotti Cavallero, Lo spedale di Santa Maria della Scala in Siena: Vicenda di una committenza artistica (Pisa, 1985), 274-5, figs. 254ie The sculptures include the Virgin at the top, David playing the harp flanked by two

Zander, “Le invenzioni architettoniche di Giovanni Battista Montano milanese

11.

The reference to the loggia of Boniface VIII might extend to the frescoes that flank the organ wall, since Constantine’s baptism and the building of the Lateran were depicted in the loggia. A useful discussion of the organ case can be found in Loris Stella and Vale-

Orvietano 34 (1978): 129-60. 18.

This part of the project is described by Guglielmo della Valle, Storia del

Notes to pp. 70-2 Duomo

19.

di Orvieto...,

2 vols. (Rome,

1791), text vol., 237-8, who knew a terracotta model that he attributed to Scalza. As it exists today, the lower wall reflects the divisions of the organ case. The use of the organ in antiquity is surveyed by Schuberth, Kaitserliche Liturgie, 18-55; and Jean Perrot, The Organ from Its Invention in the Hellenistic Period to the End of the Thirteenth Century, trans. N. Deane (London,

20.

ra et coronas,/auro

26.

1971).

Concerning the type, see Andreas and Elisabeth Alf6ldi, Die KontorniatMedaillons,

25.

27.

Part I, Katalog, Deutsches

Archaologisches

Institut, Antike Miun-

zen und geschnittene

22.

24.

24.

Suetonius,

Nero, 41; Scriptores

vols. (Turin, 1973), 1:76-81, 2:127-36 (Poem 20). See also Schuberth, Kaiser-

coruscas/

Catalogue, §III.F.1. It is likely that a reference to the Arch of Constantine was also intended in the organ at Santa Ma-

main relics, purchased in 1359 with a provenance from the imperial palace in Constantinople, were said to have been the personal possessions of Constantine; see Henk W. van Os, Vecchietta and the Sacristy of the Siena Hospital Church: A Study in Renaissance Religious Symbolism (’s-Gravenhage, 1974), 4-6; Paul Hetherington, “A Purchase of Byzantine Relics and Reliquaries in Fourteenth-Century Venice,” Arte veneta 37 (1983): 9-30; and Gallavotti Caval-

histori-

ae augustae, “Elagabalus,” 32.8; “Alexander Severus,” 26.9. Scriptores historiae augustae, “GallieMUSsce loys For the Byzantine court ceremonial, see Albert Vogt, ed. and trans., Constantin VII Porphyrogénéte: Le Livre des Cérémonies, 4 vols. (Paris, 1935-40). The relevant passages are discussed by Schuberth, Kaiserliche Liturgie, 56-93; Edmund A. Bowles, “The Symbolism of the Organ in the Middle Ages: A Study in the History of Ideas,” in Aspects of Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese, ed. Jan La Rue (New York, 1966), 27-39; and Perrot, Organ, 173g. For the throne room in Constantinople, see the eyewitness account of Luitprand of Cremona (931); PL 136: 895. A modern edition of the text is provided by Giovanni Polara, ed., Publilii Optatiani Porfyrii: Carmina, Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum Paravianum, 2

ferens

Victorias triumphis, / votaque iam theatris / redduntur et choreis.” The statues at the sides of the organ are identified by inscriptions as Psalmodia Sacra and Musica Rapiens. Della Valle, Orvieto, 238, recorded that in the preliminary model the ensemble was crowned by a figure of the Risen Christ.

ria della Scala, Siena, since the church’s

Steine, 6, 2 vols.

(Berlin, 1976-go). 21.

Renaissance Quarterly 30 (1977): 51137: “iam Roma, culmen orbis, / dat mune-

lero, Santa Maria

della Scala, 80-107.

It is also suggestive that the Arch of Constantine was adapted in the early 1490s by Andrea Sansovino for an altar dedicated to the sacrament in Santo Spirito, Florence; Margrit Lisner, “An-

28.

drea Sansovino und die Sakramentskapelle der Corbinelli mit Notizen zum alten Chor von Santo Spirito in Florenz,” Zeitschrift fir Kunstgeschichte 50 (1987): 207-74, with additional examples cited. See Fred S. Kleiner, The Arch of Nero in Rome: A Study of the Roman Honorary Arch Before and Under Nero, Archaeologica, 52 (Rome, 1985), 238; and Filippo Coarelli, I] foro roma-

liche Liturgie, 35-8; and in general on

no, vol. 2: Periodo

the author, see T. D. Barnes, “Publius Optatianus Porfyrius,” American Jour-

gusteo (Rome, 1985), 263-308. The archaeological evidence for the Arch of Augustus has been reevaluated by Elisabeth Nedergaard, “Nuove indagini sull’arco di Augusto nel foro romano,” Archeologia laziale g (1988): 37-43; and idem, “Zur Problematik der Au-

nal of Philology 96 (1975): 173-86. For music as a metaphor of civic concord, aprinciple set forth by Cicero, De republica, 2.42.69, see Ellen Rosand, “Music in the Myth of Venice,”

repubblicano

e au-

217

Notes to pp. 73-7 the vicinity of the Lateran (Scriptores historiae augustae, “Marcus Antoninus,” 1), and whose equestrian statue was traditionally identified as Constantine. His just rule and eminent piety afforded him a place in the pantheon of proto-Christian kingship; Michael Mezzatesta, “Marcus Aurelius, Fray Anto-

gustusbo6gen auf dem Forum Romanum,” in Kaiser Augustus und die verlorene Republik, exhib. cat. (Berlin, 1988), 224-39. The coin is discussed by Harold Mattingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. 1: Augustus to Vitellius (London, 1923), 14, no. 77; and Kleiner, op. cit., 26 n. 46. It was reproduced in Hubert Goltzius, Caesar Augustus sive Historiae imperatorum ... liber secundus ac-

nio de Guevara,

cessit Caesaris Augusti vita et res gestae... (Bruges, 1574), 46.

29.

Augustus and Constantine both associated themselves with Apollo; see Maria R. Alfoldi, “Die Sol vom Jahre 325: Neues

Comes-Miinze zur Bekehrung

Constantins,” Mullus: Festschrift Theodor Klauser, Jahrbuch fiir Antike und Christentum, supp. vol. 1, ed. Alfred Stuiber and Alfred Herman (Minster Westfalen, 1964), 10-16; Lieselotte Kotzsche-Breitenbruch, “Zur Darstellung der Himmelfahrt Constantins des Grossen,” Jenseitsvorstellungen in Antike und Christentum: Gedenkschrift fiir Alfred Stuiber, Jahrbuch fir Antike und Christentum, supp. vol. 9, ed. Theodor Klauser, Ernst Dassmann, and Klaus Thraede (Minster Westfalen, 1982), 215-24; and Richard Krautheimer, Three Christian Capitals: Topography and Politics (Berkeley, 1983), 55-6, 61-7. See also Ernst H. Kantorowicz, “Oriens Augusti-Lever du Roi,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 17 (1963): 117-77; and idem, “On Transformations of Apolline Ethics,” in Selected Studies (Locust Valley, N.J., 1965),

399-408.

30.

31.

218

Catalogue, §HI.F.3. The role of David and Solomon in the development of sacred music is addressed by, among others, Honorius Augustodunensis (early twelfth century), “Gemma animae,” PL 172:556. The command, “Laudate Deo in chordis et organo” (Psalm 150) is inscribed on the central arch of the organ case. Further meaning is suggested through physiognomical associations. The features of David echo portraits of Marcus Aurelius, who was born and raised in

and the Ideal of the

Perfect Prince in the Sixteenth Century,” Art Bulletin 66 (1984): 620-33. Not incidentally, his family traced their lineage to Rome’s second king, Numa Pompilius, who was credited with insti-

a2.

tuting Roman religious practices, including the use of trumpets in the pagan liturgy; Calpurnius Siculus, Ecologue, 1.65. Solomon’s features recall those of Michelangelo’s Moses; Ugo Donati, “Sculture di Francesco Landini in S. Giovanni Laterano,” Capitolium 18 (1943): 160. As builder of the Temple, Solomon’s deeds were foreshadowed by those of Moses, whom God had first directed to build the Tabernacle and to use trumpets in the liturgy (Numbers 10:10); Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 3.291, 8.94. It was sometimes said that the Temple possessed monumental organs; Pseudo-Jerome, “Epistola 23, ad Dardanum,” PL 30:219. It is relevant here that, according to tradition, the conception of Christ was achieved per aurem when the Virgin heard the angelic salutation; Leo Stein-

berg, “‘How Shall This Be?’ Reflections on Filippo Lippi’s Annunciation in London, Part I,” Artibus et historiae 16

(1987): 25-44. 33-

The spiral columns of Saint Peter’s were said to come from the Temple of Solomon and to have been donated by Constantine; see Chapter 7, n. 38. Of the original set of twelve, two have the

fluted

portions

limited

to

the lower

shafts, and these were used for the sac-

34-

rament altar constructed by Paul III in Saint Peter’s; Lavin, Crossing, 15. Gerhard B. Ladner, “Vegetation Symbolism and the Concept of Renaissance,” in De Artibus Opuscula XL: Essays in Honor of Erwin Panofsky, ed. Millard Meiss, 2 vols. (New York,

Notes to pp. 78-80 libri,” PL 76:185, associated organ music with the voices of preachers heard through the pipes; and similarly Richard of Saint Victor (d. 1173), “Adnota-

1961), 1:303-22. To be noted here is the presence of the phoenix on the organ, most prominently on the impost blocks of the Solomonic columns. According to Lactantius, De ave phoenice, 43-50, the mythical bird welcomed the rising sun with musical tones of indescribable

35°

36.

beauty.

Minor

Latin

tiones

Poets,

trans. J. Wight Duff and Arnold M. Duff (London, 1934), 650-65. Further to the meaning of the phoenix for Clement and the Lateran, see Chapter 6. S. K. Heninger, Jr., Touches of Sweet Harmony: Pythagorean Cosmology and

42.

Renaissance Poetics (San Marino, Calif., 1974). Rudolf Wittkower, Architectural Prin-

43-

ciples in the Age of Humanism, 3d ed. (London,

37°

1962), 121-2.

On ideal proportions in music and architecture, see Vitruvius, De architec-

38.

Clement of head of this Music of the Death: Stud(Princeton,

Saxl, “Macrocosm and Microcosm in Medieval Pictures,” in idem, Lectures, gvols, (Londen; 19657); 1261, 2spl.

34.C. 39-

40.

Origen (d. ca. 254), “Selecta in psalmos,

psalmum 150,” PG 12:1683: “Organum est Ecclesia Dei, quae contemplativis et activis animabus constat.” For the symbolic value of the organ in the writings of the Church Fathers, see Bowles, “Symbolism of the Organ,” esp. 34-5. Giuseppe Zarlino, De tutte l’opere..., 3 vols. (Venice, 1588-9), 3:288. Gregory the Great (d. 604), “Moralium

psalmum

magna

consoni

universalis

et dissoni

sive

in X.

libros digesta..., 2 vols. in 1 (Rome, 1650), plate between pp. 366 and 367 44.

of pt. 2. Joseph A. Jungmann, The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development (Missarium Solemnia), trans. F. A. Brunner, 2 vols., reprint ed. (Westminster, Md., 1986), 2:128-35.

1970), 289; and Anthony Cutler, Trans-

figurations: Studies in the Dynamics of Byzantine Iconography (University Park, Pas, 1975), 45-52. In the Uta Evangeliary (ca. 1020) the Crucified Christ is represented in association with the harmonic intervals; Georg Swarzenski, Die regensburger Buchmalerei des X. und XI. Jahrhunderts (Leipzig, 1901), 93-7, pl. 13, fig. 30; Fritz

in psalmos,

sius Kircher, Musurgia

ars

tura, 1.1.8; reiterated by Alberti, De re

aedificatoria, 9.5. See the quotation from Alexandria quoted at the chapter; Kathi Meyer-Baer, Spheres and the Dance of ies in Musical Iconology

mysticae

136,” PL 196:372. In his discussion of the organs in Jerusalem, Rhabanus Maurus (d. 856), “De universo,” PL 111:496—7, interpreted each part of the instrument in an allegorical sense and asserted that its music is the gospel of Christ. Other relevant texts are quoted by Perrot, Organ, 181, 220-1. Tertullian (d. ca. 225), “De baptismo” [8],PL 1:1316. See also Tertullian, “De anima” [14], PE 2:710. The engraving illustrates the section entitled “Deus Opt. Max. organaedo, mundus organo comparatur”; Athana-

45-

Andrea Vittorelli, Historia de’ giubilei pontefici... (Rome, 1625), 427.

46.

Fabrini, Giubileo, 16-17:

“anno

Santo

del Giubileo; essendo che questo sia veramente l’anno grande di Dio, nel quale si dona, & si publica al mondo la pienissima remissione, con il suono del Corno, cioé di Christo Signor nostro, il quale é quel corno della nostra salute, suscitato dalla progenie del suo servo David, il quale con l’organo, & instrumento musicale della sua santissima humanita suonando dolcemente, dona 4a tutti noi la pienissima remissione, per la quale ci dona il vero Giubilo, & la vera pace con Dio: dalle quai cose tutte ci si prepara il vero settimo giorno della quiete, & del riposo nella patria celeste eternamente.” See also ibid., 12-14, where it is suggested that Jubilee derives from the word for jubilation, which is most clearly expressed in liturgical song, or, alternatively, from the Hebrew word 219

Notes to pp. 80-2 for horn or trumpet (/obel). Jubilee was also sometimes associated with Jubal, the Old Testament inventor of the harp 47:

and the organ (Genesis 4:21). For the medal of Clement VIII, see Buonanni, Numismata pontificum roma-

norum, 2:477—8, no. 21, where the Old Testament allusion is acknowledged. See also Giulio Berni, Le medaglie degli anni santi (Rome, 1950), 54, no. 104; and Fagiolo and Madonna, eds., L’arte

4. CELEBRATION:

CONSTANTINE

AND THE CHRISTIAN

The frescoes have been discussed as an interrelated group by Herwarth Rottgen, “Reprasentationsstil und Historienbild in der r6mischen Malerei um 1600,” Beitrage fiir Gerhard Evers anlaflich der Emeritierung im Jahre 1968, Darmstadter

Schriften,

22

(Darmstadt,

1968), 71-82; W. Chandler

Miles L. Chappell and Kirwin, “A Petrine Triumph: The Decoration of the Navi Piccole in San Pietro under Clement VIII,” Storia dell’arte no. 21 (1974): 121-5;

Abromson,

Painting in Rome,

55-62; Claudio Strinati, “Roma nell’anno 1600: Studio di pittura,” Ricerche di storia dell’arte 10 (1980): 29-32; and Marcello

Beltramme,

“La

teoriche

del

Paleotti e il riformismo dell’Accademia di San Luca nella politica artistica di Clemente VIII (1592-1605),” Storia dell’arte no. 69 (1990): 211-13. For a survey of the tradition, see Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie, 8 vols. (Rome, 1968-76) [hereafter cited as LCI], 2:546—-51, s.v. “Konstantin,” and 8:553-8, s.v. “Silvester I.” (Jorg Traeger).

Rolf Quednau, Die Sala di Costantino im vatikanischen Palast: Zur Dekoration der beiden Medici—Papste Leo X. und Clemens VII. (Hildesheim, 1979). These cycles are discussed in the context of the later sixteenth-century development of Constantine iconography in Freiberg, “Sign of the Cross.” (1 am grateful to Gail Feigenbaum for signaling the existence of the Nonantola cy220

48.

degli anni santi, 204, no. IV.5.15, illustrated on p. 199. To my knowledge this name is first used ca. 1660 in “Relatione della parrochia laterana patriarchale della S. sede ap.lica romana, alla Santita D.N.S.re Alessandro

72° P.O:May

PACE FF XY,

fol. 349: “Il Sant.mo Sacram.to e custodito nel suo Tabernacolo sopra l’altare in capo alla nave calcidia detta di Clem 82 la Clementinas...

TRIUMPH

AT THE LATERAN

cle.) See Vera Fortunati Pietrantonio, “L’immaginario degli artisti bolognesi tra maniera e controriforma: Prospero Fontana

(1512-1597),

in Le arti a

Bologna e in Emilia dal XVI al XVII secolo, Atti del XXIV

Congresso

Inter-

nazionale di Storia dell’Arte, 4, ed. Andrea Emiliani (Bologna, 1982), 97-111; and Giuseppe Moreali, Nonantola: Cenni storici e guida storico-artistica (Rocca San Casciano, 1956), 79-82. The first of these cycles, which is no longer extant, was commissioned ca. 1691 by Cardinal Felice Peretti (latex Pope Sixtus V) for the casino of his villa near Santa Maria Maggiore; see Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 152-5 (Sigrid Epp, Rita Torchetti); and Os-

trow, “Sistine Chapel,” 101-13. The fresco decoration of the villa was described by Vittorio Massimo, Notizie istoriche della Villa Massimo alle Terme Diocleziane con un’appendice di documenti (Rome, 1836), esp. 47-8 for the Constantine scenes. Concerning the villa, see Matthias

Quast, Die

Vil-

la Montalto in Rom: Entstehung und Gestaltung im Cinquecento (Munich, 1991), 41-59, 139-62. During the same

period five scenes devoted to the life of Constantine were painted to introduce the extensive fresco series in Gregory XIIP’s Galleria delle Carte Geografiche of the Vatican palace (ca. 1581-3); see Iris Cheney, “The Galleria delle Carte Geografiche at the Vatican and the Roman Church’s View of the History

Notes to pp. 82-4 mostra quanto sia utile a ogn’uno abbracciare la Virtu, & fuggire lotio; & si dichiara il presente stato con la derivatione del Campidoglio. Opera assai curiosa. Dedicata al Molto Ill. Sig. Il Sig. Cavaliere Gioseppe Cesare d’Arpino (Rome, 1623), 32: “ma con sopportazione diro, che questa di Giuseppe essendo stata si puol dire la prima Cro-

of Christianity,” Renaissance Papers: 1989, The Southeastern Renaissance Conference, ed. Dale B. J. Randall and Joseph A. Porter (Durham, 1989), 21-

37; Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 93 (Maria

Barbara

Guerrieri

Borsoi); Mar-

garet Schutte, Die Galleria delle Carte Geografiche im Vatikan: Eine ikonologische Betrachtung des Gewdlbeprogramms, (Hildesheim, Zurich, 1993); and La Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, 3 vols. (Modena, 1994). These cycles are discussed in Jack Freiberg, “The Lateran and Clement VIII,” (Ph.D. diss.,

New

York

University,

ce a nostri tempi concessa a simili virtuosi, cosi tenga ancora il primatico nell’eccellenza dell’Arte, e non diro che

alcune volte siano inganati li Principi in dispensarle; ma che hora siano venute

1988),

595-624; and idem, “Sign of the Cross.” See also Sigrid Epp, Konstantinzyklen in Rom: Die papstliche Interpretation der Geschichte Konstantins der Grofsen bis zur Gegenreformation, Schriften aus dem Institut fir Kunstgeschichte der Universitat Munchen, 36 (M.A. thesis, Universitat Miinchen, Munich, 1988).

For the association between the Lateran fresco cycle and early Christian models, see Chapter 2. Catalogue, §III.G. Arpino’s career before the Lateran commission and his association with the Aldobrandini are discussed by Herwarth Rottgen, I] Cavalier

d’Arpino,

exhib. cat. (Rome,

1973), 20-31. In 1597-8 he was engaged on works in the Lateran baptis-

12.

tery; Catalogue, §I.B.2. Catalogue, §III.G.2.

10.

Rottgen, “Reprdsentationsstil,” 75-6, discussed this aspect of the cycle in purely stylistic terms. Stylistic affinities among the frescoes have been noted by Abromson, Painting in Rome, 59; and Strinati, “Anno

(Turin, 1976), 85.

13.

1600,” 26-32. 11.

On

Arpino’s

logue,

knighthood,

§III.G.1,4.

see

Cata-

An interesting com-

ment on the practice of elevating artists to knighthood during this period and on how Arpino’s honor differed from the others is provided by a member of Arpino’s Accademia degli Uniti, Matteo Pagani, Dialogo della Vigilanza di Matteo Pagani Romano, Accademico Unito, detto il Vigilante. Nel quale si

assai in uso.” Pagani goes on to state that it was Clement who granted the title “in quel tempo appunto che li diede il carico di tutta l’opera della Basilica di San Giovanni Laterano; nella quale fece de sua mano quella bellissima Istoria dell’Assunta di Christo.” This text is quoted and discussed along with important information about its author and Arpino’s intellectual self-image by Zygmunt Wazbinski, “Il cavaliere d’Arpino ed il mito accademico: Il problema dell’autoidentificazione con |’ideale,” in Der Kunstler iiber sich in seinem Werk, Internationales Symposium der Bibliotheca Hertziana Rom 19809, ed. Matthias Winner (Weinheim, 1992), 317-63. “Riguardando pero in Laterano il trionfo di Costantino con molta disgrazia dipinto, additollo a’ suoi, e disse: ‘chi crederebbe mai che trionfasse un disgraziato.’” Giovanni Pietro Bellori, Le vite de’ pittori, scultori ed architetti moderni (Rome, 1672), ed. Evelina Borea

14.

The idea that Arpino was asked to complete Annibale’s cycle is recorded in a postilla of 1676 to Giulio Mancini, Considerazioni sulla pittura, 2 vols. (Rome, 1956-7), 1:342. See the literature cited in n. 1, and the evaluation by Hermann Voss, Die Malerei der Spatrenaissance in Rom und Florenz, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1920), 2:

586: “Arm an seelischem Ausdruck und dramatischer Wirkung, entschadigt sie fur diesen Mangel in gewisser Weise durch die Vornehmheit und Ruhe der 221

Notes to pp. 84-5

15.

16.

breit aufgehenden Komposition, durch die edle Haltung der Gestalten und den klaren, wohlerwogenen Gewandwurf. Indessen wird eine gewisse Verausserlichung doch schon darin fihlbar.” Regarding Arpino’s appreciation by contemporaries and the nature of his academy, see Wazbinski, “Cavaliere d’Arpino.” See also the perceptive evaluation of artistic trends in early Seicento Rome by Mancini, Considerazioni, 1: 108-10. He reports Agostino Carracci’s comment concerning Arpino’s work: “vi é il buon perché vi é rapimento e diletto.” Baglione, Vite, 375, recorded Arpino’s wish to be buried in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, to which he had a particular devotion. He described Arpino’s interment in front of the high altar in an “honorata sepoltura.” Subsequently, the artist’s family erected a new tomb at the Lateran (illustrated in Pietrangeli, ed., San Giovanni in Laterano, 207). The bust of Arpino is by Nicolo Menghini; Giovanni Battista Mola, Breve racconto delle miglior opere d’architettura, scultura, et pittura [1663], ed. Karl Noehles (Berlin, 1966), 69-70. Benedetto Mellini, “Descrittioni delle Chiese di Roma,” BAV, Barb. lat. 4318, fol. g2v, recorded the placement of the tomb in the first bay of the north ambulatory against the north wall. It is presently located in another position within the ambulatory. For the inscription on the tomb, see Forcella, 8.160; and see also Arturo Quadrini, I/ Cavalier d’Arpino

(Isola dei Liri, 1940), 29-31,

pl. 5; and Rottgen, Cavalier

d’Arpino,

48.

17.

18.

222

Rottgen noted the stylistic relationship between the Triumphal Entry of Constantine and the work of Arpino, and compared the women at the left to the styles of Pomarancio and Ricci; Cavalier d’Arpino, 52, and 171, cat. no. 157, fig. 157, for a preparatory drawing by Cesari for the lictor who stands in front of Constantine’s carriage. See also Gerardi, 2:52, pl. 43. Hans Peter L’Orange and Armin von Gerkan, Der spdtantike Bildschmuck

des Konstantinsbogens, 2 vols. (Berlin,

19.

1939), 72-8, pls. 3.b, 12.4. The only exception is the lost cycle in the Villa Montalto, where the scene of Constantine’s triumphal entry appeared fourth in the series and where the triumphal arch and the Colosseum were also depicted; Massimo, Villa Massimo,

47.

These events were recorded by Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 1.26-—39; cf. idem, Ecclesiastical History, 9.9. A reference to Constantine’s vision is carried by the two heavenly crosses that appear at the same level as the adoring angels along the eastern transept wall; Catalogue, §III.D.2. A similar emblematic expression of Constantine’s vision is represented in the Oratory of the Santissimo Crocifisso, Rome; rative, 257, 360 n. 72. 22.

This dependence tion between the was due to the bronze equestrian

Lavin,

Nar-

extends the associatwo emperors that identification of the monument of Mar-

cus Aurelius as Constantine. For the Aurelian relief, see Wolfgang Helbig, Fithrer durch die Offentlichen Sammlungen klassicher Altertiimer in Rom,

ed. Hermine Speier, 4 vols. (Tubingen, 1963-72), 2:258, no. 1444; and Eugenio La Rocca, ed., Rilievi storici capitolini, exhib. cat. (Rome, 1986), 38-52. Constantine was associated with clemency by Eusebius, Life of Constantine,

23.

4.31. The dating of the text ranges from the late fourth to the late fifth century; see Wilhelm

Levison,

“Konstantinische

Schenkung und Silvester-legende,” Studi e testi 38 (1924): 159-247; Wilhelm Pohlkamp, “Tradition und Topographie: Papst Silvester I. (314-335) und der

Drache

Roémische

vom

Forum

Romanum,”

Quartalschrift 78 (1983): 1-

100; idem, “Kaiser Konstantin: Der heidinische und der christliche Kult in den Actus

Silvestri,”

Friihmittelalter-

liche Studien 18 (1984): 357-400; and Vincenzo Aiello, “Costantino, la lebbra e il battesimo di Silvestro,” in Costantino il Grande dall’antichita all’umanesimo,

Colloquio

sul cristianesimo

Notes to pp. 86—7 nel mondo

antico, ed. Giorgio

Bona-

Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome; and Santa Croce, Florence. For references, see n. 2, plus Clara Baracchini, ed., I mar-

mente and Franca Fusco, 2 vols. (Macerata, 1992-3), 1:17—58. Summaries

24.

25.

of the legend are provided by Duchesne in Liber pontificalis, 1:cix-cxx; and Christopher Coleman, Constantine the Great and Christianity (New York,

mo di Lasinio: La collezione di sculture medievali e moderne nel Camposanto di Pisa (Florence, 1993), 169-72

1914), 161-4. Liber pontificalis, 1:1'70—-4. For the text of the “Donation,” see Horst Fuhrmann, ed., Das Constitutum Constantini (Konstantinische Schenkung), Text, Fontes Juris Germanici Antiqui in usum scholarum ex Monumentis Germaniae Historicis separatum editi, 10

romanischen Wandmalereien von San Silvestro in Tivoli: Ein romisches Apsis-

(Antonio Milone); Hanspeter Lanz, Die

programm der Zeit Innocenz III, Europaische Hochschulschriften, ser. 28, Kunstgeschichte, 22 (Bern, 1983); John Mitchell, “St. Silvester and Constantine at the SS. Quattro Coronati,” in Federico II e l’arte del duecento italiano, Atti della III settimana di studi di storia

(Hannover, 1968), 67-77, lines 80139. Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea

dell’arte medievale dell’Universita di Roma, ed. Angiola Maria Romanini, 2 vols. (Galatina, 1980), 2:15-32; David Wilkins, Maso di Banco: A Florentine Artist of the Early Trecento (New York,

vulgo Historia lombardica dicta, 2d ed!, ed. Th. Graesse (Leipzig, 1850),

26.

70-9; The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints, as Englished by William Caxton, 7 vols. (London, 1900), 2:198204. The two editions of the Vita are Legen-

1985), 19-59, 140-61, 169-76, figs. 1-57; and Lavin, Narrative, 68-9, figs.

47-8. The

Boninus Mombritius, Sanctuarium seu vitae sanctorum (Milan, 1480), new

ed. by “duo monachi solesmenses” (H. Quintin and A. Brunet), 2 vols. (Paris, 1910), 2:508-31, esp. 510-13 for the passages referred to in the following discussion. For Mombritius’s sources, see Gerhard Eis, Die Quellen fiir das

Sanctuarium

des Mailander Humanist-

en

Mombritius:

Boninus

suchung zur Geschichte Legendsammlungen des

27.

Eine

Unter-

ecaccepted the authenticity of the Vita, but he thought that parts of it had been corrupted; Annales ecclesiastici..., ed. Antonio Pagi, 19 vols. (Lucca, 1738-

29.

graphs 30.

and

Rome,

in Art

and

Princeton

Mono-

Archaeology,

40

(Princeton, 1969), 3-61. In the text, the vehicle that carries the

emperor to the Capitol is called a “trionfal carruca,” and Constantine’s return

to the palace is described as a “gran trionfo.” Alessandro d’Ancona, Sacre rappresentazioni dei secoli XIV, XV e XVI, 3 vols. (Florence, 1872), 2:187234. Fourteen editions appeared during ca. 1510-1618; Alfredo Cioni, Bibliografia delle sacre rappresentazi-

is, 17),,and esp. 4:40 (year 924, no.

Bil)

Constantine’s meeting with the mothers appears in all late medieval cycles: the sculpted lintel from San Silvestro, Pisa (now Museo Nazionale di San Matteo); fresco cycles in San Silvestro, Tivoli;

Constantine’s

idem, “Aspects of Raphael’s ‘Ultima Maniera’ in the Light of the Sala di Costantino,” in Raffaello a Roma, 247 Dee For pietas as the quintessential Roman virtue, see G. Karl Galinsky, Aeneas, Sicily,

46), 3:594—-5 (year 315, nos. 10, 14, 28.

for

20, 327-9; 372-5, 394-75 457-8, 8453

des grofen Mittelalters

(Berlin, 1933), 101-2. In the third volume of the Annales clesiastici (Rome, 1592), Baronius

preparation

bath in the blood of infants was to have been included in the Sala di Costantino of the Vatican palace according to a letter from Sebastiano del Piombo to Michelangelo; Quednau, Sala di Costanti-

da sancti Silvestri (Brussels, 1478); and

31.

oni (Florence, 1961), 112. Sabine G. MacCormack, Art and Cer-

emony

in Late

Antiquity

(Berkeley,

223

Notes to pp. 88—go 1981), 22-4; idem, “Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Adventus,” Historia 21 (1972): 721-52. Constantine’s triumphal entry was interpreted in a moral sense by Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 9.9 (cf. Life of Constantine, 1.39), and by the pagan orator, Nazarius, in

3D:

R. A. B. Mynors, ed., XII panegyrici latini (Oxford, 1964), 166—7, panegyric IV (X) 31.3-4. Both texts were quoted

a2.

by Baronius, Annales, 3:516, 518-19 (year 312, nos. 54, 55, 69). For the Emilian cycles, see n. 4. A third depiction of the episode by Paolo Farinati

(Verona,

Santa

Maria

36.

in Organo;

1556-8) makes explicit the underlying significance of the episode as a testament to Constantine’s proto-Christian virtue by pairing the scene with the Massacre of the Innocents; see Giorgio Vasari, Le vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori,

Trionfi

(Berlin,

1903-78)

6:374-5; Giuseppe Gerola, Le antiche pale di S. Maria in Organo di Verona 1913), 20 n. 11; and Paolo

Carpeggiani, “Paolo Farinati,” in Maes-

tri della pittura veronese, ed. Pierpaolo Brugnoli (Berona, 1974), 233, figs. 162—

[hereafter

di un’opera

attraverso

hib. cat. (Rome, 33°

The triumphal carriage was traditionally drawn by four white horses; e.g., Livy,Ab Urbe condita, 5.23.5—6. In the visual tradition two horses are sometimes substituted;

see, e.g., Hans

Laubscher, Der Reliefschmuck Archaologisches

34-

Institut,

Peter

des Ga-

coin

is discussed

Breitenbruch,

Archaologi-

38.

by Kotzsche-

“Himmelfahrt

Constan-

tins,” 215-24 (illustrated in Krautheimer, Three Christian Capitals, fig. 60). An example was in the collection of the learned antiquarian Fulvio Orsini, who was a canon of the Lateran; Pierre de Nolhac, “Les collections d’antiqui-

224

cited as Pauly-

il restauro,

1980), 9-19

ex-

(Maria

The extraordinary sanctity of the Temple of Vesta was noted by Saint Augustine in City of God, 3.28: “nihil apud Romanos templo Vestae sanctius habebatur.”

For the Republican coin, see Michael H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coin-

ian

Giovanni

See

Ernest

Nash,

A

Pictorial

Dictionary of Ancient Rome, 2 vols. (London, 1961), 2:505—10; and for the

1 (Berlin, 1975), pls.

age, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1974), 2:870, s.v. “Victory in biga.” The Constantin-

and

Elisa Tittoni Monti).

37:

leriusbogens in Thessalonike, Deutsches

sche Forschungen, A OnrAreailis

1919);

Carandente, I trionfi nel primo rinascimento (Naples, 1963). For an especially close comparison, see Federico Zeri with the assistance of Elizabeth E. Gardner, Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sienese and Central Italian Schools (Vicenza, 1980), 67-9. In general on the cult, see Pauly’s Real-Encyclopddie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, new ed., ed. Georg Wissowa et al., 43 vols. (Stuttgart, 1894-1972; 15 suppl. vols., Stuttgart, Wissowa], 16:1717—8, s.v. “Vestales,” (W. Reidinger). The institution of the Vestals was represented by Arpino in a fresco in the Sala Maggiore of the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Although executed in the 1630s, the scene was stipulated in the program drawn up in 1595; see Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 87-91, cat. no. 17; and Gli affreschi del Cavalier d’Arpino in Campidoglio: Analisi

scultori, e architettori ..., ed. Gaetano Milanesi, g vols. (Florence, 1878-85),

(Bergamo,

tés de Fulvio Orsini,” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de Ecole Francaise de Rome 4 (1884): 227, no. 447. See in general Werner Wiesbach,

SU:

40.

coin reproduced in the present volume’s Figure 69, see Harold Mattingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. 5: Pertinax to Elagabalus (London, 1950), 160, no. 97. See Pauly—Wissowa, 16:1769—70; and for the induction ceremony where the Vestals’ duties are identified as “pro popolo romano,” see ibid., 16:1744. Dio Cassius, Roman History, 51.19.1—

2. Constantine’s outstanding piety is a common topos in both pagan and Christian writings; MacCormack, Art

Notes to pp. go—2 and

Ceremony,

27, 30, 287 n. 61; Eu-

46.

sebius, Life of Constantine, 4.32. Baronius, Annales, 4:46 (year 324, no. 48), stated, “Praetermittimus hic recensere innumera diversorum Patrum de sincera pietate Constantini testimonia.”

Als

For the various states of the sixteenthcentury engraving reproduced in Fig. 70, some of which bear an inscription identifying the locale as the Capitol, see Catherine Beth Lippert, “A SixteenthCentury Italian Engraving: Street Scene for a Theatrical Set,” The University of Michigan Museum of Art Bulletin 6 (1971-2): 1-10. It should be noted that triumphal processions were often associated with the theater; Horace, Epistles, 2.1.189-

94;

Ronald

Lightbown,

47-

48.

Earl E. Rosenthal,

43-

See esp. the Oratory of Saint Sylvester at Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome. The Villa Montalto cycle anticipated this development. The composition of the transept fresco refers to the most authoritative depiction of Constantine’s Dream in the portico of Old Saint Peter’s; Waetzoldt, Kopien, 66-7, cat. no. 868, fig. 471. The cycle at San Piero a Grado (Pisa) repeats the scene; Jens T.

45-

en in Wien 66, n.s. 30 (1970): 7-48;

Reinhart Staats, Theologie der Reichskrone: Ottonische “Renovatio imperii” in Spiegel einer Insignie (Stuttgart,

the Liberation of Peter, see Jorg Traeger, “Raffaels Stanza d’Eliodoro und ihr Bildprogramm,” Ro6misches Jahrbuch ftir Kunstgeschichte 13 (1971):

1976); and idem, “Nachfolge Christi in der Reichskrone,” Symbolon, n.s., 7 (1985): 9-26. In the Escorial version, painted by Pellegrino Tibaldi, a soldier points to a sundial. Tibaldi worked at the Escorial beginning in 1586 and returned to Milan in 1596, the year of his death. For the library frescoes see René Taylor, “Architecture and Magic: Contributions on the Idea of the Escorial,” in Essays in the History of Architecture Presented to Rudolf Wittkower, ed. Douglas Fraser, Howard Hibbard, and

60-2.

Milton

The symbolic value of the hasta is discussed by Andreas Alfoldi, “HastaSumma Imperii: The Spear as Embodiment of Sovereignty in Rome,” American Journal of Archaeology 63 (1959): 1-27. Roman soldiers who stood guard at night were provided with water clocks; Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines d’aprés les textes et les monuments..., 5 vols. in 10 plus index (Paris, 1877-1919), 3.1:261 andi, 4%, sv. tiorologium” (E> Cail-

109.

Wolliesen, Die Fresken von San Piero a Grado bei Pisa (Bad Oeynhausen,

44.

“Die ‘Reichskrone,’

die ‘Wiener Krone’ und die ‘Krone Karls des Grossen’ um 1520,” Jabrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlung-

Mantegna

(Berkeley, 1986), 426, doc. 9; cf. 464, cat. no. 88.

42.

The hourglass as a symbol of mortal time is discussed by Erwin Panofsky, Problems in Titian, Mostly Iconographic (London, 1969), go. For other meanings, see Eleanor P. Spencer, “L’Horloge de sapience: Bruxelles, Bibliothéque royale, MS. IV. 111,” Scriptorium 17 (1963): 277-99. For Hezekiah’s piety, see 2 Kings 18:1— 7; the healing is recounted in 2 Kings 20:1-11, and Isaiah 98:1-8. See Percy E. Schramm, Herrschaftszeichen und Staatssymbolik: Beitrage zu ihrer Geschichte vom dritten bis zum sechzehnten Jahrhundert, Monumenta Germanica Historia Scriptores, 13, 3 vols. (Stuttgart, 1954-6), 2:560-637;

1977), 89, no. 26, fig. 44. For the eschatalogical significance of

lemer).

49-

Lewine

(London,

1967), 81-

The set of vestments was commissioned in 1592, was nearing completion in 1595, and was delivered to the pope in 1602. See Angelica Frezza, “Documenti fiorentini per il parato di Clemente VII,” Paragone 33, no. 391 (1982): 58-75; The Vatican Collections: The Papacy and Art, exhib. cat. (New York, 1982), 72-g, cat. no. 25 (Fabrizio Mancinelli); and Fabrizio Mancinelli, “Mostra dei restauri in Vaticano (Parato di Clemente VIII),” Monu-

225

Notes to pp. g2—6

50.

Charlemagne’s

menti musei e gallerie pontificie, Bollettino 4 (1983): 257-75. Rosita Levi Pisetzky, Storia del costume

in Italia, 5 vols. (Milan, Leh, 1es.cs, oS. Vitruvius,

De

1964-9), 3: 54:

architectura, 5.6.8. The

influence of Vitruvius on the Renaissance theater, with reference to this and other drawings, is discussed by Christoph Luitpold Frommel, “Raffaello e il teatro alla corte di Leone X,” Bollettino del Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio 16 (1974): 173-87; and Robert Klein and

55-

Henri Zerner, “Vitruve et le théatre de la Renaissance italienne,” in Le lieu

théatral a la Renaissance, ed. Jean Jacquot (Paris, 1964), 49-60.

52.

53:

Concerning the inner stage, see George R. Kernodle, From Art to Theatre: Form and Convention in the Renaissance (Chicago, 1944), 249, s.v. “inner stage.” Relevant literary sources are collected in Barnard Hewitt, ed., The Renaissance Stage: Documents of Serlio, Sabbattini and Furttenbach (Coral Gables, Fla. 1958), 12-13, 31, 35, 113-

The natural beauty of the site was celebrated by Horace, Odes, 1.9. The eruption of water in the lower right corner of the fresco recalls a tradition concerning Soratte recorded by Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 31.27. Benedict of Soratte claimed that the church of San Silvestro located at the top of the mountain was constructed by Constantine, destroyed by Julian the Apostate, and rebuilt by Pope Damasus; Giuseppe Zucchetti, ed., I! Chronicon di Benedetto Monaco di S. Andrea del Soratte e il Libellus de imperatoria potestate in urbe Roma

(Rome,

1920),

6,9. Baronius, Annales, 12:541—2 (year 747, nos. 8-g), suggested that the church was built by Charlemagne, but its true patron seems to have been

Carloman,

who

Louis B. Pascoe,

“Gerson

and

the Donation of Constantine: Growth and Development Within the Church,” Viator 5 (1974): 469-85; idem, “Jean Gerson: The Ecclesia Primitiva and Reform,” Traditio 30 (1974): 379-409. On Celestine’s identification as angelpope, see Marjorie Reeves, The Influence of Prophecy in the Later Middle Ages: A Study in Joachimism (Oxford, 1969), 401-10; lestin V. (1294)

19. The name of the mountain is given as Syraptus in the Vita; for its association with Mount Soratte, see Duchesne’s comments in Liber pontificalis, 1:cxix; and Vacher Burch, Myth and Constantine the Great (London, 1927), 30-71.

226

61-86;

56.

uncle,

retired to monastic life on Soratte after abdicating in 747; Pauly—Wissowa, 5: Ges. Nogari had worked in the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche as a youth and may well have been responsible for the earlier fresco; Baglione, Vite, 87. According to a contemporary source, Girolamo Muziano held the commission for the frescoes in the vault, but Cesare Nebbia was responsible for their design; Pastor, 20:651. Glenn Olsen, “The Idea of the Ecclesia Primitiva in the Writings of the TwelfthCentury Canonists,” Traditio 25 (1969):

and Peter Herde, C6(Peter vom Morrone):

Der Engelpapst (Stuttgart, 1981), 191— 206. A significant revival of prophecies concerning the advent of the angelpope occurred in the 1590s. 57:

See Pontian

Polman,

L’élément

rique dans la controverse

histo-

religieuse du

XVle siécle, Universitas Catholica Lovaniensis, Dissertationes Theologicae, ser.

2, vol. 23 (Gembloux, 1932), 53945; John W. O’Malley, Giles of Viterbo on Church and Reform: A Study in Renaissance Thought (Leiden, 1968), 100-78; and Johannes Irmscher, “L’imperatore Costantino nel giudizio dei riformatori tedeschi,” in Bonamente and Fusco, eds., Costantino

il Grande,

1:487-93. 5a.

This area of the fresco is now severely damaged, but see Gerardi, 2:54, pl. 46 (Fig. 76, present volume): “Infatti sopra la sommita scorgesi entro una specie di grotta il Santo Padre Silvestro inginocchiato in atto di ferventissima preghiera, mentre un angeletto gli sta da un lato quasi per custodirlo.”

Notes to pp. 97-8 Concerning late sixteenth-century adaptations of the angel pieta, see Pamela Askew, “The Angelic Consolation of St. Francis of Assisi in post-Tridentine Italian Painting,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 32 (1969): 280-306; Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodino and Claudio Strinati, eds., L’immagine di San Francesco nella controriforma, exhib. cat. (Rome, GIN,

HES Wie SHO) Wi7/Als Cake, vO,

62.

der Sixtus V. For other notions

59-

densieg,

i Wil.

60.

For the literary background to nonbiblical typology in Christian thought, see Friedrich Ohly, Schriften zur mittelalterlichen Bedeutungsforschung (Darmstadt, 1977), 338-60, 361-400. Only Castor was divine, but because of his great fraternal devotion he shared his immortality with Pollux; thus, each day one ascended to Olympus as the other descended to Hades. The depiction of the twins as balanced opposites evokes this proto-Christian exemplum of self-abnegation. For the monumental sculptures on the Quirinal and the Capitol and for the cult of the Dioscuri, see Helbig, Fuhrer, 2:8-10, no. 1164; and Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900 (New Haven,

61.

63. 64.

base of one of the Dioscuri; Roma instaurata [2.18], in Valentini-Zucchetti,

4:293. Sixtus V transferred the statues to a position in front of the Quirinal palace; a medal struck at that time recorded their association with Constantine; Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 449, 458 nos. 23-4 (Giancarlo Alteri). For the statues of Constantine and his son, now on the balustrade in front of

“Zum

Statuenprogramm

im

Kapitolsplan Pauls III.,” Zeitschrift fiir Kunstgeschichte 32 (1969): 192-6. Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:30-1, cf. 93-4, 130-1, 193-4. The allusion to the Church’s triumph is also indicated

in the same

text, where

another sculpture that stood close to the horsetamers was interpreted as an image of Ecclesia; The Marvels of Rome: Mirabilia urbis Romae, ed. and trans. Francis Morgan Nichols, 2d ed. (New York, 1986), 18-19. For a possi-

65.

1981), 136-41, cat. no. 3. The

Dioscuri appear together mounted on horses on a widely disseminated Roman Republican coin type; Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, 2:861, S.V WIOScuris> Nash, Pictorial Dictionary, 2:442-7. In 1446 Flavio Biondo recorded that the emperor’s name was inscribed on the

as to

the figures’ identity, see Tilmann Bud-

13, 70, 104, 105. Arpino used the motif on several occasions; Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 99-101, 149, cat. nos. DATO.

the Piazza del Campidoglio, see Helbig, Fiihrer, 2:13-16, nos. 1166-7. Rocca, Bibliotheca apostolica vaticana, 254-63, rejected the identification of the statues as the Dioscuri in favor of Alexander the Great taming Bucephalus. Inscriptions to this effect originally adorned the pedestals constructed un-

66.

ble identification of this statue, see Da Pisanello alla nascita dei Musei Capitolini: L’antico a Roma alla vigilia del rinascimento, exhib. cat. (Milan, 1988), 210, cat. no. 5 (Arnold Nesselrath). In general on outdoor scenes, see Kernodle, From Art to Theatre, 251, s.v. “Mountain.” Vitruvius discussed this kind of stage set in De architectura, 5.6.9. Sebastiano Serlio’s engraving that gave visual form to Vitruvius’ description was first published in 1545. The literature on the fresco of Constantine’s baptism is reviewed by Ileana Chiappini di Sorio, Cristoforo Roncalli detto il Pomarancio (Bergamo, 1983), 111, cat. no. 35. Preparatory drawings are discussed by W. Chandler Kirwin, “Cristofano Roncalli (1551/2-1626), an Exponent of the Proto-Baroque: His Activity Through 1605” (Ph.D. diss.,

Stanford University, 1972), 153-4, 402— 7, cat. no. XXB;

idem, “The Life and

Drawing Style of Cristofano Roncalli,” Paragone

29, no. 335 (1978): 42, 56

n. 93, 58 n. 119; idem, in Disegni dei toscani a Roma (1580-1620), Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, 53, exhib. cat. (Florence, 1979), 36—8, cat. no. 15; and Ileana Chiappini di Sorio,

227

Notes to pp. 100-2

67.

“Due disegni del Roncalli,” Notizie da Palazzo Albani 10, no. 1 (1981): 3540. After considering the issue of Constantine’s baptism at length, Baronius accepted the notion that the emperor was baptized by Sylvester at the Lateran; Annales, 4:35-50 (year 324, nos. 1760). For the literary sources, see John J. Ign. von Dollinger, Fables Respecting the Popes of the Middle Ages, trans. Alfred Plummer (London, 1871), 89-103; Franz Jos. Délger, “Die Taufe Konstan-

71.

26-28.

68.

69.

(Cambridge, 1981), 85-102. Compare Vincenzo Scamozzi’s Teatro Olimpico at Sabbioneta; Ludwig Heydenreich and Wolfgang Lotz, Architec-

ture in Italy 1400-1600, trans. Mary Hottinger (Harmondsworth, 1974), fig. 345The facial features of the page resemble an Apollonian type according to Kirwin, in Disegni

dei toscani

34-5, cat. no. 13; Style,” 41-2,pl. 42. the papal mazziere to the lictors who before

the emperor;

Dizionario

70.

di

Gaetano

see

Cattaneo,

“Il battistero

in

15-16, 2 vols. (Padua, 1970), 1:171The neophyte is said to participate mystically in Christ’s Death and Resurrection; Romans 6:3—4; Colossians 2: 12; 1 Peter 3:21. See also Tertullian, “De baptismo” [19], PL 1:1931. The significance of these ideas for the architectural form of baptisteries has been defined by Richard Krautheimer, “Introduction to an ‘Iconography of Mediaeval Architecture,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes5

72.

73:

(1942): 1-33. Konrad Hoffmann, Taufsymbolik im mittelalterlichen Herrscherbild (Disseldorf, 1968). The following discussion is indebted to Deshman,

74-

“Warmund

Sacramentary,”

1-20. Ibid., 4-5, 8. The name Christ is an etymological derivative of “chrism” and means anointed. It answers to the Hebrew word Messiah, which refers to the expected prince of the Chosen People,

who was to complete God’s purpose by redeeming them. See Augustine, City of God, 16:38, referring to Jacob anointing the stone at Bethel (Genesis 28:10—

Moroni, 75°

19). The anointings at baptism and corona-

ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, 103 vols. (Rome, 1840-61), 44:

tion

37-48.

8-11, with reference to the baptism of

were

Deshman,

sometimes

“Warmund

combined;

see

Sacramentary,”

The dependence of the composition of

Clovis and of Charlemagne’s

Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine on Raphael’s Mass at Bolsena was also

and Pepin. In the benediction loggia of Sixtus V, Constantine’s baptism is visually associated with Saul receiving the unction;

observed by Chiappini di Sorio, “Due disegni,” 37. Abromson, Painting in Rome, 59-60, noted the “Michelangelesque” quality of the figure of Constantine. Chiappini di Sorio, Roncalli, 111, suggested a further dependence on Jacopino del Conte’s fresco of Christ’s baptism in the Oratory of San Giovanni 228

Enrico

Gilles Gerard Meersseman, Italia sacra,

a Roma,

storico-

of

Italia dopo il Mille,” in Miscellanea

cf. idem, “Drawing The associations of ultimately go back carried the fasces

erudizione

For the civic connotations

the baptistery in the later Middle Ages,

tins und ihre Probleme,” in Konstantin der Grosse und seine Zeit, ROmische

QOuartalschrift, supp. vol. 19, ed. Franz Jos. Dolger (Freiburg i. Br., 1913), 394-416; and Diana M. Webb, “The Truth About Constantine: History, Hagiography and Confusion,” in Religion and Humanism, Papers of the Ecclesiastical History Society, Studies in Church History, 17, ed. K. Robbins

Decollato, which also depends on Michelangelo’s Risen Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:

76.

Madonna,

77:

ed., Roma

Further to the chrism see Chapter 1,1. 61; Deshman, “Warmund

sons, Louis

di Sisto

V, 123.

at the Lateran, Sacramentary.”

Constantine is baptized while wearing the crown in the image on the frontis-

Notes to pp. 102—4

78.

piece to Giuliano Dati’s Lateran treatise, Comincia el tractato (see Fig. 84, present volume). In addition to the scene in the Sala di Costantino of the Vatican palace, see the altarpiece by Francesco Vanni in Sant’Agostino, Siena, 1587; Adolfo Venturi, Storia dell’arte italiana, 11 vols. in 25 (Milan, 1901-40), 9.7:1036, 1042-4, and fig. 581; Fiorella Sricchia

PL 217:484: “Sed per beatum Silvestrum reconciliati sunt Christiani paganis; quia baptizato plissimo principe

1:103-5, nos. 240-6; and Pontificale romanum Clementis VIII Pont. Max.

Constantino, t[{rJanquillitas et libertas est Ecclesiae Dei data.” John D. Lyons, Exemplum: The Rhetoric of Example in Early Modern France and Italy (Princeton, 1989). Acistotles Poetics, esp. 77, 14 1Os16. For the sixteenth-century discussion, see Bernard Weinberg, A History of Literary Criticism in the Italian Renaissance, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1961), 1:349634. The Lateran palace is discussed by Panvinio—Lauer, 418-20. For a drawing by Marten van Heemskerck showing the obelisk and the mausoleum at the Vatican, see Huelsen and Egger, Marten van Heemskerck, 2:18, pl. 28. The bronze globe that surmounted the obelisk was said to contain the ashes of the deified Julius Caesar; Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:164, 4:409. Next to it stood two circular mausolea of Roman imperial date, believed in the Renaissance to have been dedicated to pa-

iussu

gan

83.

Santoro, ed., L’arte a Siena sotto i Me-

dici, 1555-1609, 1980), 120-1

exhib. cat. (Rome,

(Bruno Santi); Mostra

opere d’arte restaurate

di

nelle provincie

di Siena e Grosseto, II-1981, exhib. cat. (Genoa, 1981), 180-2, cat. no. 64

(Bruno

Santi). The crown

and unction

86.

are included in the Lateran palace fresco, but only the unction is represented in the Sistine benediction loggia. 79:

For the coronation ritual, see Marc Dykmans, ed., L’oeuvre de Patrizi

Piccolomini ou le cérémonial papal de la premiere Renaissance, Studi e testi 293-4, 2 vols. (Vatican City, 1980-2),

restitutum

atque

editum

(Rome,

1595), 224-42.

80.

In this connection is it significant that Sylvester wears the miter preciosa, decorated with gems and plates of gold, which is called the “corona potestatis” by Cristoforo Marcello, Rituum ecclesiasticorum sive sacrarum cerimoniarum SS. romanae ecclesiae libri tres non ante impressi (Venice, 1516), 145. “Subito quasi fulgur lux intolerabilis per mediam fere horam emicuit: quae

“I due

onale del vecchio S. Pietro,” Rivista

qua mundus surgens Constantinus imperator Christum se uidisse confesSanctuarium,

2:

513. For the i//uminatio of the neophyte in baptism, see Ephesians 5:14; Hebrews O24; Loren Cf. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), “In festo D. Silvestri Ponteficis Maximi,”

di

own tomb; Ernst H. Kantorowicz, “Constantinus Strator: Marginalien zum Constitutum Constantini,” in Mullus: Festschrift Theodor Klauser, Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum, supp. vol. 1, ed. Alfred Stuiber and Alfred Hermann (Minster Westfalen, 1964), 188—

sartaginis stridentis exortus ueluti piscium ingentium Christus totam illam piscinam fontis repletam ostendit. Ex

82.

Tolotti,

archeologica cristiana 64 (1988): 287315. Beginning in the fifth century, the mausoleum that was Christiantized as Santa Petronilla served for royal burials, coming under the tutelage of the French kings during the eighth century. A mid-fifteenth-century source recorded that it was decorated with “ancient” paintings of Constantine’s life and suggested that it served as the emperor’s

omnium et mentes exterruit: et aspectus obtexit: et ecce sonus in aqua quasi

sus est.” Mombritius,

deities; Francesco

mausolei rotondi esistiti sul lato meridi-

gn. 47. 87.

A similar story concerning Vespasian assisting at the rebuilding of the Capitol is told by Suetonius, Vespasian, 8.5; cited by Baronius, Annales, 4:50 (year S24, nO. 62):

229

Notes to pp. 104-8 88.

The scene of the building of

particular affiliation with the Lateran; Wolf, Salus Populi Romani, 37-59. Regarding the relief, see Francesco Caglioti, “Mino da Fiesole, Mino del Reame, Mino da Montemignaio: Un caso chiarito di sdoppiamento di identita artistica,” Bollettino d’arte 67 (1991): 37-8, fig. 43; Shelley Zuraw, “Mino da Fie-

Saint Peter’s at San Piero a Grado (Pisa),

sole’s First Roman Sojourn,” in Verroc-

may reflect a fresco of the same subject in the portico of Old Saint Peter’s; Wollesen, S. Piero a Grado, 96. The foundation of the first basilicas of Christian Rome formed part of the lost Constantine cycle at the Villa Montalto; Massimo, Villa Massimo, 47 (“la fondazione delle prime Basiliche di Roma

chio and Late Quattrocento Italian Sculpture, ed. Steven Bule, Alan Phipps Darr, and Fiorella Superbi Giofredi (Florence, 1992), 303-19; and idem, “The Sculpture of Mino da Fiesole

Constantine

is represented in this way

in the Lyber

for which Pacht,

historianum

romanorum,

see Tilo Brandis

eds.,

Historia

and Otto

Romanorum:

Codex 151 in scrin. der Staats- und Universitats- bibliothek Hamburg, 2 vols.

(Hamburg,

2:180-1.

89.

go.

gl.

1974), 1:fol.

1211,

93-

cristiana”). For the “Donation of Constantine,” see Fuhrmann, ed., Constitutum Constanti-

ni, 84; quoted by John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:332, and cf. 368-9. Tacitus, Histories, 4.53, recorded that a special stone formed part of the ritual when the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was rebuilt under Vespasian. The theme of the lapis primarius appears in the Old Testament with refer-

94-

95-

Lauer, 418, 422-3;

92.

230

and Panciroli,

Te-

sori nascosti, 1600 ed., 345. 96.

ceremony, see Michel Andrieu, Le Pon-

tifical romain au moyen-dge, vol. 3: Le Pontifical de Giullaume Durand, Studi e testi 88 (Vatican City, 1940), 451-53 Gerhard B. Ladner, “The Symbolism of the Biblical Corner Stone in the Medieval West,” Medieval Studies 4 (1942): 43-60; and Karl Josef Benz, “Ecclesiae pura simplicitas: Zu Geschichte und Deutung des Ritus der Grundsteinlegung im Hohen Mittelalter,” Archiv fur mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte 32 (1980): 9-25. The composition of the Foundation of the Lateran was adapted from a relief by Mino da Fiesole (1461) that decorated the Quattrocento ciborium of the high altar of Santa Maria Maggiore. It represents the miraculous snowfall that signaled the foundation of the chief Marian church in Rome that shared a

benedicens, Constantini baptismus et Basilicae Lateranensis aedificatio.” The possibility that the Dati frontispiece reflects these images was suggested by Curcio, “Giuliano Dati,” 274-5 Nn. 4, 292-7. Places of Christian worship existed before the Lateran, but tradition held that they had not been established in accordance with divine law. See Panvinio-—

ence to a prophecy concerning the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem; Zechariah 4:9g-10. On the Christian

(1429-1484)” (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1993), 150-93, 588-620. Panvinio—Lauer, 483: “in his pictus est Bonifacius VIII populo ex eo moeniano

For the rich associations of the cornerstone, see Ladner, “Corner Stone,” 4360; and Ursula Maiburg, “Christus der Eckstein. Ps. 118,22

und Jes. 28,16 im

Neuen Testament und bei den lateinischen Vatern,” in Vivarium: Festschrift Theodor Klauser zum go. Geburtstag, Jahrbuch fir Antike und Christentum, supp. vol. 11, ed. Ernst Dassmann and Klaus Thraede (Miinster Westfalen,

1984), 247-56.

98.

Pontificale romanum, 1595 ed., 287; Ladner, “Corner Stone,” 53. Gerardi, 2:56-7, pl. 48. For its restora-

99-

tion, see Catalogue, §III.G.5. Collection of D. C. Miller, Palo Alto,

97:

Calif. (130 X 195 mm; pen, brown and gray washes); unpublished. The collector informs me that the attribution to Ricci was made by Sir Philip Pouncey. (lam grateful to Shelley Zuraw for alerting me to the existence of this drawing.)

Notes to pp. 109-12 100.

The seating arrangement of the bishops recalls actual Church protocol employed at pontifical Masses and episcopal synods; see the engravings in Caerimoniale episcoporum, 1600 ed., 143, 146, 193, 214. The canted perspective and the seating arrangement had previously been used in Raphael’s Coronation of Charlemagne (Sala dell’Incendio, Vatican palace), and was subsequently adopted for the frescoes representing Church Councils in the Vatican library of Sixtus V for which, see Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 77-83 (Angela Bock). Concerning portraits in the transept frescoes, see the text quoted in n. 160,

101.

which may refer to this image. The observation of Leo Bruhns, Die Kunst der Stadt Rom: Ihre Geschichte von den friithesten Anfangen bis in die Zeit der Romantik, 2 vols. (Vienna, 1951), 1:4'72, that the transept frescoes are “half in the style of the Masters of Ceremonies and half [in the style of]

newspaper reporters” (“halb im Stil von Zeremonienmeistern, halb von Zeitungsreportern”) applies most accurate102.

103.

ly to these scenes. The aspersion of the altar is depicted at San Piero a Grado (Pisa); Wollesen, S. Piero a Grado, 97, no. 29, fig. 48. The ritual for the consecration of an altar is set forth in the Pontificale romanum, 1595 ed., 400-37. The significance of each of the approximately go steps is discussed by Guilelmus Durandus (d. 1296), Rationale divinorum officiorum (Venice, 1568), 1.7. Waetzoldt, Kopien, 37-8, cat. no. 166, fig. 99. The accompanying notation records that Gaspare Moroni executed the copy in 1672, and dates the original fresco to the pontificate of Urban V (1362-70), presumably because it was he who was responsible for constructing the ciborium.

104.

One of the lessons for the feast of the Lateran’s dedication states that the altar was the first to be anointed with the holy oils; see n. 158.

105.

John the Deacon, in Valentini—Zucchet-

ti, 3:351, asserted the primacy of this

altar: “sacrosanctum altare dominicum quod omnium altarium solum habet principatum. ...” See also Flavio Biondo, Roma instaurata [3.101], in Valentini-Zucchetti, 4:320: “Primum Altare Quod Habuit Religio Christiana. quod primum christiana religio legitur habuisse.” 106. The claim that the Lateran possessed Peter’s altar can be traced to the late eleventh century; de Blaauw, “Solitary Celebration,” 128. It received official sanction in the relic list of Nicholas IV (Lauer, 437), and is repeated in the Breviary lessons for the feast of the Lateran’s dedication on g November; see n. 158. Clement inspected this relic at the Visitation of 1592; see Chapter 2, fey. the Lateran was commonly 107. That thought to have been the first place where the sacraments could be celebrated publicly is asserted in an avviso of 14 November 1598; BAV, Urb. lat. 1066, fol. 8or: “In s. Gio. Laterano

fu

tenuta lunedi capella con l’intervento del Card.! di Terranova in luoco del Card.| Ascanio [Colonna] arciprete di quella chiesa per far memorazione che in tal giorno quel tempo fu dedicato da Costantin Imperatore al culto divino che vi si professero esserci fare i santiss.1 Sacram.ti pubblicamente che prima in quella et in altre si essercibavano di nascosto.” 108. The thematic link between Peter’s wooden altar and the portable altar of the Old Testament was made in a sermon by Pope Honorius III (1216-27); James M. Powell, “Honorius III’s Sermo in Dedicatione Ecclesie Lateranensis and the Historical-Liturgical Traditions of the Lateran,” Archivum historiae pontificiae 21 (1983): 199. Jean Gerson compared the transformation of the Church wrought by Constantine to the way the Ark was ultimately transferred to the Temple; Pascoe, “Gerson,” 477-8. 109. The parallel between the Christian altar and the Ark developed from the fact that God appeared above the Ark in the Old Testament sanctuary, and with-

231

Notes to pp. 112-14

110.

in the Ark was preserved the manna, the primary antetype for the Eucharist. John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 339336: “et eiusdem ecclesiae ara principalis est arca foederis Domini, vel, ut aiunt, arca est inferius, et altare ad mensuram longitudinis, latitudinis et altitudinis arcae conditum est superius....” See also the relic list of Nicholas IV; Lauer, 437. In the mid-seventeenth century the Vatican librarian,

Pope Benedict XIV ordered that the Ark and the rods of Aaron and Moses be removed and no longer exhibited; ibid., 111.

cluded the Ark and the rods of Aaron “Discorso

di Fiorante Mar-

tinelli sopra alcune reliquie della basilica

lateranense,”

ACL,

FF.XXIII,

fols.

4r—24v. He recorded that the Ark and the Last Supper table were conserved in the chapel of Saint Thomas, located in the east portico of the church, until 1647 when the chapel was demolished and the objects were transferred to a position near the sacristy within the ambulatory that encircled the apse (see Catalogue,

112.

113.

§II.C.3). In 1658, accompa-

essere

stata

end,

232

see

Pierre

du Vatican

Jounel,

Le

culte

des

au douziéme

siécle, Collec-

tion de l’Ecole Francaise de Rome, 26 (Rome, 1977), 305-7. In 1343 Clement VI included the Lateran in the churches to be visited during the Holy Year in

in altri

of a medieval Ordo suggested to him that this ritual alluded both to Christ’s death and to the entrance of the Jewish high priest into the Sancta Sanctorum of the Temple of Jerusalem. For the significance of the Ordo, see de Blaauw, “Solitary Celebration,” 120-1. In 1745

nio—Lauer, 435; Martin, Roma sancta, 34; Rasponi, 49. See Catalogue, §III.G.5, for an account of the extensive restoration. The miracle of Christ’s appearance at

saints dans les basiliques du Latran et

part because of this miracle; Hermanus Schmidt, ed., Bullarium anni sancti,

tempi foderata d’Argento.” Martinelli also described the extraordinary veneration the Ark inspired among the people, “che mai si é staccato dal suo affetto, e sempre € concorso alla sua veneratioMes crea Martinelli suggested that the Last Supper table was a relic of the early Church, and was joined to the Ark to form a portable altar that was carried to the sacristy on Holy Thursday, remaining there until Holy Saturday. The text

Leviticus

the Lateran is recorded by John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:333: “Et imago Salvatoris infixa parietibus, primum visibilis omni populo Romano apparuit.” For the sources of the leg-

nied by his friend Borromini, he examined the Ark and described it as “longa paleqwon, O-.valta pals 4- oni. larga: pal. 2. on 8. E in forma di cassa serrata da tavole simili all abeto, et ha quattro anella di metallo nelli lati largo ciasc’uno di Vano on. 3 1/2, intutto on: 4 1/2, e€ si conosce

40:1-15;

8:10-11. The early thirteenth-century invective against the Lateran links its Old Testament affiliation to its pride in “ancient anointings”; see Chapter 1, n. 101. It is also significant that the sacred oils, which were consecrated annually by the pope on Holy Thursday at the Lateran and distributed from there to all other churches in the city, were stored in the confessio chapel; Mariano da Firenze, Itinerarium, 153; Panvi-

Fiorvante Martinelli, wrote a treatise on the Lateran’s Hebrew relics, which inand Moses;

131-2 n. 48. Exodus 30:22-33,

Pontificia

114.

Universitas

Gregoriana,

Tex-

tus et Documenta, Series Theologica, 28 (Rome, 1949), 38-9. Concerning the Lateran’s apse mosaic (also reconstructed in the late nineteenth century), see Yves Christie, “A propos du décor absidal de Saint-Jean du Latran a Rome,” Cahiers archéologiques 20 (1970): 197-206; Mark R. Petersen, “Jacopo Torriti: Critical Study and Catalogue Raisonné” (Ph.D. diss., University of Virginia, 1989), 238-78; and Alessandro Tomei, Jacobus Torriti pictor: Una vicenda figurativa del tardo

Duecento

romano

(Rome,

1990),

77-98. Giacomo Bosio, La trionfante e glorioso

croce...

(Rome,

1610), 701-

2, suggested that the mosaic of Nicho-

Notes to pp. 114-16 up for use

las IV reflected the Constantinian composition: “II qual mosaico, auuenga che non sia molto antico; per essere stato fatto in tempo di Nicolao Quarto Sommo Pontefice; si tien nondimeno per

LTH

1G.

sociated with a visual formula used in the introductory image to the Decretals where the all-embracing unity of the Church is expressed; Heinrich Pfeiffer, “Die drei Tugenden und die Ubergabe der Dekretalen in der Stanza della Segnatura,” in ibid., 47-57. The complementary aspects of Charity are noted in Matthew 22:36-40;1 John 4:7-21. For the tradition in the visual arts, see R. Freyhan, “The Evolution of the Caritas Figure in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 11 (1948): 68-86;

D7

and Debra

sancta, 188, claimed the

pilgrims

“wel

were

knowen

by their

Pientini, Giubileo,

148, recorded the pious activities of the nobility, especially “gentildonne,” in assisting poor pilgrims. The altar represented in this fresco, which takes the place of the pontifical throne in the Consecration fresco, alludes to the movable altar that was set

the

Salvatore, e de’ Santi Gio. Battista, ed

Evangelista, non ¢ consecrato, ede amovibile per cagione delle Cappelle Pontefice, nel qual tempo si leva, e vi si mette il Soglio di Sua Santita.” ACL, S.XIV, fol. gor. 119. Exodus 40:34-353; 1 Kings 8:10-193; 2 Chronicles 4:11, 6:1-2. Giovanni Severano, Memorie sacre delle sette chiese di Roma e di altri luoghi che si trovano per le strade di esse... , 2 vols. (Rome, 1630), 1:508, associated the appearance of Yahweh at the Temple of Jerusalem with Christ’s appearance at the Lateran, “come in vn’altro nuouo

“A

Martin, Roma

clokes and staves.”

118.

Pincus,

Hand by Antonio Rizzo and the Double Caritas Scheme of the Tron Tomb,” Art Bulletin 51 (1969): 254-6. The kneeling man wears the traditional garb of pilgrims, here interpreted in an elegant manner; see the engraving in Rafael Riera, Historia utilissima, et dilettevolissima delle cose memorabili passate nell’alma citta di Roma lanno del gran giubileo 1575 (Macerata, 1580), frontispiece, illustrated in Maria Teresa Russo, “1575: Organizzazione e cronaca di un giubileo,” Strenna dei romanisti 34 (1973): facing p. 376.

when

tion of this movable altar with Christ and the two Saint Johns: “L’Altare del Coro Maggiore sotto il titolo del SS.mo

certo, che da lui fosse fatto fare ad imi-

tatione, e somiglianza di quello, che v’era anticamente; forse fin dal tempo del magno Costantino Imperatore.” On Raphael’s Expulsion of Heliodorus, see John Shearman, “The Expulsion of Heliodorus,” in Raffaello a Roma, 7587. The distinctive geometric composition of Raphael’s Disputa has been as-

by the canons

pope was not present. See Panvinio— Lauer, 435; Ugonio-Lauer, 577; and Ugonio, Stationi, 42r. A description of the church in 1725, records the associa-

120.

121.

122.

Tem-

pio di Salomone.” See also the early thirteenth-century invective against the Lateran, wherein its Judaic affiliation is related to its “images” (quoted in Chapter 1,n. 101), perhaps referring to the Volto Santo in the basilica’s apse and the archeropita in the Sancta Sanctorum. See Gerardi, 2:50—-1, pl. 41. The preparatory drawings for this fresco are discussed in nn. 129, 130 below. For the ceremony, see Pontificale romanum, 1595 ed., 392-400. Liber pontificalis, 1:172—4. The list of Constantine’s gifts was repeated by Baronius, Annales, 4:53-4 (year 324, nos.

68-70); and by others. Constantine is identified as the model for later donations by Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 1313

Severano,

Sette

chiese, 510;

and Rasponi, 102. . For Charlemagne’s donation, see Liber pontificalis, 2:7—8, and for the Vatican fresco, see Fabrizio Mancinelli, “Raphael’s ‘Coronation of Charlemagne’ and Its Cleaning,” Burlington Magazine 126 (1984): 404-8; idem, “L’incoronazione di Francesco I nella Stanza dell’Incendio del Borgo,” in Raffaello a

Roma,

163-72;

and

Arnold

Nessel-

233

Notes to pp. 116-20 “Donation” was discussed Bibliotheca, 181-93.

rath, “La progettazione della ‘Incoronazione di Carlomagno,’” 81.

124.

On

the association

with Constantine, Grimme, “Novus

in ibid., 173-

127.

Constantine’s Donation was also represented at San Silvestro, Nonantola (illustrated in Freiberg, “In the Sign of the Cross”), the Casino of the Villa Montalto (lost), and in the Lateran palace and benediction loggia (see Figs. 16, 21, present volume). Massimo, Villa Massimo, 47, described the scene from the lost cycle: “sono rappresentati i ricchi donativi fatti da quel pio Imperadore a S. Silvestro ed alla chiesa cristiana.”

128.

Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 124-5, discussed this change in the traditional iconography as a reflection of Baronius’s negative views regarding the “Donation of Constantine.” The text by Baronius identified by them as a sermon denying its validity is actually a copy or draft of a letter dated 1 January 1594 that cautions prudence

of Charlemagne see Ernst Giinther Constantinus: Die

Gestalt Konstantins der Grosse in der imperialen Kunst der mittelalterliche Kaiserzeit,” Aachener Kunstblatter 22 (1961): 7-20; and in general concern-

125.

ing Constantine as a model for later rulers, see Eugen Ewig, “Das Bild Constantins des Grofen in den ersten Jahrhunderten des abendlandischen Mittelalters,” Historisches Jahrbuch 75 (1956): 1-46. For a recent survey of the literature on the “Donation of Constantine,” incorporating new material, see Giovanni

Antonazzi,

Lorenzo

Valla e la polemi-

ca sulla Donazione di Costantino, con testi inediti dei secoli XV-XVII (Rome,

1985). See also Coleman, Constantine, 175-207, and idem, ed., The Treatise of Lorenzo Valla on the Donation of Constantine

(New

Haven,

1922).

in the matter; Biblioteca Vallicelliana, Rome, Q.43, fols. 23v—24r. . Besancon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, inv. no. D.1502 recto (156 270 mm); unpublished. According to information supplied by the Museum, the attribution to Baglione was first made by Sir Philip Pouncey; D. Stephen Pepper associated it with the Lateran fresco. (I am grateful to Gail Feigenbaum for bringing this drawing to my attention.)

For

the medieval background to the Donation controversy and the polemics of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, see Domenico Maffei, La Donazione di Costantino nei giuristi medievali (Milan, 1964); and Charles Stinger, The Renaissance in Rome (Bloomington,

126.

1985), 248-54. Quednau, Sala di Costantino, 450-7, provides a survey of sources to 1522. For the polemics surrounding the “Donation of Constantine” in the second half of the sixteenth century, see Polman, L’élément historique, 171-3, 46970, 535-6; and the literature cited above in n. 57. Baronius did not mention the actual document in the Annales and maintained reserve in his private correspondence, but he accepted Constantine’s grant of powers and possessions to Sylvester; Annales, 4:6970 (year 324, nos. 118-20),

234

130.

Oxford, Mrs

Ashmolean Museum, inv. no. (Glial X OG totem) See 1, Ab,

Parker, ed., Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum, vol. 2: Italian Schools (Oxford, 1956), 414, no. 785; and D. Stephen Pepper, “Two Drawings by Baglione for the ‘Gift of Constantine,’” Master Drawings 8 (1970): 267-9, pl. 22, and

pl. 23 for a study of the soldier at the 131.

19:647-8

(year 1191, nos. 51—4); and further on his attitude, see Polman, 595-6; and Cyriac K. Pullapilly, Caesar Baronius, Counter-Reformation Historian (Notre Dame, 1975), 83, 146-7, 167-8. The

by Rocca,

132.

far right. Baronius, Annales, 4:53 (year 324, no. 68), suggested that the Lateran derived its title, Basilica Salvatoris, from this statue. The fastigium is discussed in Chapteres. The papal triregno is held to the right of Sylvester; the imperial sword and

Notes to pp. 120-3

133.

crown are held to the right of Constantine. The outdoor locale recalls the earliest known depiction of Constantine’s political donation, which

134.

135-

39 (1954): 312.

136.

137. 138. 139.

140.

adorned

the east

portico of the Lateran basilica; Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 62-5, fig. 50. Dykmans, ed., Cérémonial papal, 1: 97-9, nos. 212-2; cf. Quednau, Sala di Costantino, 437-8. The emperor would ascend the steps of the church to deliver the osculum peditis papae, a gesture of obeisance offered to the pope but in honorem Salvatoris. This act was accompanied by the gift of golden tribute, massa auri. The ceremony was represented by Federico Zuccari in the Sala del Maggior Consilio, Palazzo Ducale, Venice (1582, reworked 1603) to illustrate one of the most important victories of papal over imperial power, Frederick Barbarossa’s supplication before Pope Alexander 11s 959) 1) Freedbers, Painting in Italy, 1500-1600, rev. ed. (Hammondsworth, 1975), 645, 711 n. 19, fig. 292. Several motifs from this painting appear in the Lateran fresco. Liliana Barroero, S. Maria dell’Orto, Le chiese di Roma illustrate, 130 (Rome, 1976), 82-4, fig. 21. The dedication plaque of the chapel is inscribed 1598. Stylistic similarities between the two frescoes were noted by Carla Guglielmi, “Intorno all’opera pittorica di Giovanni Baglione,” Bollettino d’arte For Constantine’s devotion to the Virgin Mary, see Chapter 1, n. 59. Numbers 7:10-86. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19. 1 Kings 7:48-51, 8:3-4; 2 Chronicles 4:1-22, 511-5. For the sack of the Temple vessels by Nebuchadnezzar, see 2 Kings 25:1316; Jeremiah 52:18-19; Daniel 5:1-4; and for their restoration see Ezra 1:711, 5:14-15, etc.; Jeremiah 27:16—22, 28:1-6. The removal of the vessels by Antiochus Epiphanes is recorded in 1 Maccabees 1:21-25, and their restoration is related in 1 Maccabees 4: 49-

141. Josephus, Jewish

War, 7.148—-50, mentions the table of the shewbread and the menorah. The relief on the Arch of Titus also represents vessels and trumpets. 142. Further to the Temple vessels and their ultimate disposition at the Lateran, see Benedict, Canon of Saint Peter’s, Liber politicus (ca. 1140-3), in Le Liber censuum de léglise romaine, 3 vols., ed. Paul Fabre and Louis Duchesne (Paris, 1905-52), 2:166—7, 170 nn. 4-6; re-

peated by Durandus, Rationale divinorum officiorum, 2.2.6. John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:335, claimed

143.

144.

that

Constantine’s

mother,

Helena, brought many of the same objects to Rome at the request of her son. Baronius, Annales, 4:54 (year 324, no. We These elements may refer to the Ark of the Covenant and to the Lateran’s bronze

columns,

which

were

also said

to come from the Temple; further to their provenance, see Chapter 5. 145- The deeds of Constantine were compared to those of Solomon by Honorius Augustodunensis (early twelfth century), “Gemma LO.

animae,”

PL 172:709—-

146. These

scenes had been juxtaposed in the benediction loggia of Boniface VIII; see N. 93. 147On this typology, see Leopold D. Ettlinger, The Sistine Chapel Before Michelangelo: Religious Imagery and Papal Primacy (Oxford, 1965), 94-103. . Anastasius Bibliothecarius, “Interpretatio synodi VII generalis, Actio IV,” PL 129:289: “Petrus, et Petrus Deo amabi-

les presbyteri et vicarii Adriani papae senioris Romae, dixerunt: Tale quid et divae memoriae Constantinus Magnus imperator olim fecit: aedificato enim templo Salvatoris Romae, in duobus parietibus templi historias veteres et novas designavit, hinc Adam de paradiso exeuntem, et inde latronem in paradisum intrantem figurans: et reliqua.” The substance of this text was often repeated; see Gabriele Paleotti, Discorsi intorno alle immagini sacre e profane . [2.13] (Bologna, 1582), in Trattati, ed.

235

Notes to pp. 124-5 posed between 1139 and 1145 for use at the Lateran; Bernhardi cardinalis et Lateranensis ecclesiae prioris Ordo officiorum ecclesiae Lateranensis, Historische Forschungen und Quellen, 2-3, ed. Ludwig Fischer (Munich, 1916), 16: “in festiuitate sancti Siluestri pape VIIII lectiones leguntur de vita eius.”

Barocchi, 2:303; and Marsilio Honorati, Tesori

149.

150.

dell’anno

santo...

(Rome,

1649), 136.

The clockwise progression of the temporal narrative was applied in the Oratories of San Giovanni Decollato, Santa Lucia del Gonfalone, and Santissimo Crocifisso; also in the naves of Santa Susanna and Santa Maria Maggiore. An early sixteenth-century precedent

for the counterclockwise

See

wraparound

Breviarium

ature cited in n. 163). This pattern was applied for the first time in Rome in the side chapels of the Chiesa Nuova; La-

151.

where

(Rome,

Christ’s 157.

154-

155:

236

This is mentioned

in an Ordo

com-

decreto

sac-

1606), 185-6. The

Clementine

Theologie 8 (1884): 289-343. See Jounel, Le culte des saints, 305-7. The importance of the feast is recorded by John the Deacon, in Valentini— Zucchetti, 3:332-3: “et est illa usque hodie celeberrima festivitas in Urbe, in qua prima ecclesia publice consecrata est.” Bernhard, Ordo, ed. Fischer, 1579, provided a detailed description of

Breviarum romanum, 1501 ed., 371V— 372V; 1568 ed., 942-3; 1606 ed., 974-

Lavin, Narrative, 259, observed that only the counterclockwise wraparound pattern made it possible to frame the high altar and the apse with the two frescoes that pertained to them in particular, thus providing “a new level of veracity for the presence of the miraculous image and for the epic nature of the history of the church.” For the background to the practice of relating the decoration of a church or chapel to the liturgy, see Lavin, Narrative, 107-10, 137—8, 167, 169, 251. Levison, “Konstantinische Schenkung,” 177, quoting the Decretum Gelasianum: “Item actus beati Silvestri apostolicae sedis praesulis, licet eius qui conscripserit nomen ignoretur, a multis tamen in urbe Roma catholicis legi cognovimus et pro antiquo usu multae hoc imitantur ecclesiae.”

ex

the ceremonial, and noted the elaborate decorations that were employed.

s.v. “Rechts und Links” (Erika Dinklervon Schubert).

153.

romanum

romischen Breviers unter Clemens VIII.” Zeitschrift fiir katholische

to Nussbaum, “Die Bewertung von Rechts und Links in der romischen Liturgie,” Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum 5 (1962): 158-71. In general on liturgical directions, see LCI, 3:511-15,

152.

(Venice,

1568 ed., 189; and

revision of the Breviary is discussed by Anton Bergel, “Die Emendation des

vin, Narrative, 255-7, and 369 n. 70. See also the cycle at Santa Prassede, executed for Cardinal Alessandro de’ MePassion is the subject; Zuccari, Arte e€ committenza, 113-21; Abromson, Painting in Rome, 115-20. Jungmann, Roman Rite, 1:412-19; Ot-

romanum

rosancti concilij tridentini restitutum, Pii Quinti Pont. Max. iussu editum, ex Clementis VIII auctoritate recognitum.

pattern, as Lavin terms it, occurs in the nave of the Cathedral of Cremona (liter-

dici in the mid-1590s,

Breviarum

1501), 92V-93V;

6. Pope Clement VI summarized the main elements of these lessons in the bull of 1345 announcing the Holy Year of 1350; Schmidt, ed., Bullarium, 38-0. Constantine’s gifts to the Lateran were

159.

not mentioned in the 1568 or 1602 breviaries, but they had been included in the Quignones Breviary (Ist ed. 1535, 2d ed. 1536), which went through numerous printings until it was superseded in 1568. J. Wickham Legg, ed., Breviarum romanum a Francisco Cardinali Quignonio editum. .. (Cambridge, 1888), 168-—g9; idem, ed., The Second Recension of the Quignon Breviary..., Henry Bradshaw Society, 35, 42, 2 vols. (London, 1908-11), 1:350. Rottgen discussed Arpino’s use of High

Renaissance models and noted the phenomenon in other works of the period; “Reprasentationsstil,” 79-80, and idem,

Notes to p. 125 Cavalier d’Arpino, 26-7, 35, 70. Allusions to the art of Raphael also occur in the fresco of the Ascension of Christ, located above the sacrament

160.

altar, and

in the Apostles at the window level; see Chapter 5, and Catalogue, §III.G.3. On the influence of Raphael in late sixteenth-century Roman art, see Fabrizio d’Amico, “Appunti sulla fortuna di Raffaello nel tardo manierismo romano,” in Oltre Raffaello: Aspetti della cultura figurativa del Cinquecento romano, exhib. cat. (Rome, 1984), 237Al. Giacomo Grimaldi, Descrizione della basilica antica di S. Pietro in Vaticano: Codice Barberini latino 2733, ed. Reto Niggl, Codices e Vaticanis Selecti, 32 (Vatican City, 1972), 352, attested to the presence of portraits: “In basilica item Lateranensi sub Clemente VIII in transversali nave ad sinistram apsidae picti erant duo beneficiati eius ecclesiae...

Rottgen,

77, indicated

“Reprasentationsstil,~

a general association

of

the Lateran frescoes with theatrical conventions. For the mixing of realities, see Alessandro D’Ancona, Origini del teatro italiano, 2d ed., 2 vols. (Turin, 1891), 1:535—-47. The practice in the staging of tragedies was censured by Angelo Ingegneri, Discorsi della poesia rappresentativa e del modo di presentare le favole sceniche (Ferrara, 1598), 15, perhaps reflecting similar statements concerning history painting by Ludovico Dolce (1557) and Giovanni

Andrea Gilio (1564), for which see Barocchi, ed., Trattati, 1:168—g9, 2:88-9. On this issue see also Charles Dempsey,

“Mythic Inventions in Counter-Reformation Painting,” in Rome in the Renaissance: The City and the Myth, Papers of the Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 18, ed. Paul A. Ramsey (Binghamton, N.Y.,

1982), 55-75. 161.

Compare the way intermezzi were typo-

logically related to the main rappresentazione in court pageants; John Shearman, Mannerism (Harmondsworth,

1967), 104-12. For parallel themes staged in an identical way to assert an underlying shared meaning, see Kernodle, From Art to Theater, 65-6, fig. 26; idem,

“Renaissance

Artsts

in the Ser-

vice of the People: Political Tableaux and Street Theaters in France, Flanders,

and England,” Art Bulletin 25 (1943): 62, fig. 1. 162. For a popular sacra rappresentazione concerning Constantine, see n. 30. The

life of Constantine was staged for Pope Sixtus IV during the Carnival of 1484; Jacopo Gherardi da Volterra, in Rerum italicarum scriptores...,ed. L. A. Muratori, new ed., ed. Giosué Carducci and Vittorio Fiorini, 23.3 (Citta di Castello, 1906), 130. For the use of the subject at royal entries, see Bernard Guenée

and Francoise Lehoux, Les en-

trées royales francaises de 1328 a 1515 (Paris,

1968), 257-62;

Jean Jacquot,

“Panorama des fétes et cérémonies du régne: Evolution des thémes et des styles,” in Les fétes de la Renaissance, vol. 2: Fétes et cérémonies au temps de Charles Quint, ed. Jean Jacquot (Paris, 1960), 421, 452, 464; and Kernodle, From Art to Theater, 67-8, 89. For the coronation of Charles V at Bologna in 1530 the subjects of the main frescoes in the Vatican Sala di Costantino were depicted on a temporary triumphal arch; Gaetano Giordani, Della venuta e dimora in Bologna del sommo pontefice Clemente VII. per la coronazione di Carlo V. Imperatore celebrata anno 1530.... (Bologna,

1842), 15. See also the decorations that accompanied the baptism of Filippo de’ Medici in Florence in 1577; Eve Borsook, “Art and Politics at the Medi-

ci Court Il: The Baptism of Filippo de’ Medici in 1577,” Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz 13 (1967-8): 106, 113-14. 163. The fifteenth-century tradition

is discussed by Michael Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy (London, 1974), 71-6; and Sven Sandstrom, Levels of Unreality, Figura,

Uppsala Studies in the History of Art, n.s., 4 (Uppsala, 1963), 55-60, 76. For

234

Notes to pp. 125-6 Barbara Wisch and Susan Scott Munshower, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1990), 1:82-117. . See Pauly-Wissowa, 13:493-511, S.v. “Triumphus” (W. Ehlers); and H. S. Versnel, Triumphus: An Inquiry into

Raphael’ see Kurt Badt, “Raphael’s ‘Incendio del Borgo,’” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 22 (1959): 35-59. The artificiality of mannerist painting has often been compared to stage conventions; e.g., Antonio Pinelli, “La maniera: Definizione di

the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph (Leiden, 1970). For a discussion of the ancient literary sources concerning the triumph, see Elke W. Merten, Zwei Herrscherfeste in der Historia Augusta: Untersuchungen zu den pompae der Kaiser Galli-

campo e modelli di lettura,” in Storia dell’arte

italiana, 12

vols.

(Turin,

1979-83), 6.1:150—-66 (“Realta e finzione”).

For northern Italy, see T. S. R. Boase, “The Frescoes of Cremona Cathedral,”

enus

Aurelianus

(Bonn,

1968),

19-31, 101-40. See also Robert Baldwin, “A Bibliography of the Literature on Triumph,” in Wisch and Munshow-

Ward

15;

(London,

1956), 206-

er, eds., “All the world’s a stage... ,”

E. Cohen,

“Pordenone’s

1:358—85. For the use of triumphal imagery in the period, see Richard Krautheimer, “A. Christian Triumph in 1597,” in Essays in the History of Art Presented to Rudolf Wittkower, ed. Douglas Fraser, Howard Hibbard, Milton Lewine (London, 1967), 174-8. Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus, 32; Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 10.23.12-13; 26.21.78; 37.46.33 39.5.15. On the Renaissance tradition, see Andrew Martindale, The Triumphs of Caesar by Andrea Mantegna in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Hamptom Court (London, 1979). For the frescoes of 1569 by Michele Alberti and Giacomo Rocchetti representing the triumph of Aemilius Paulus painted in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, see Carlo Pietrangeli,

Perkins

Charles

Cremona

Passion

Series

and

German

Art,” Arte lombarda 42-3 (1975): 7495; John Shearman, “Correggio’s Illusionism,” in La prospettiva rinascimen-

tale: Codificazioni e trasgressioni, ed. Marisa Dalai Emiliani (Florence, 1980),

281-94;

David

Rosand,

Painting

in

166.

Cinquecento Venice: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto (New Haven, 1982), 14562, 182-99; and William Hood, “The

‘Sacro Monte’ of Varallo: Renaissance Art and Popular Religion,” in Monasticism and the Arts, ed. Timothy Verdon (Syracuse, N.Y., 1984), 291-311. 164. Examples include the Roman Oratories of San Giovanni Decollato, Santa Lucia del Gonfalone, and Santissimo Crocifisso. See Josephine von Henneberg,

L’oratorio dell’Arciconfraternita del Santissimo Crocifisso di San Marcello (Rome, 1974), 49-59; Barbara Wollesen-Wisch, “The ‘Archiconfraternita del Gonfalone’ and Its Oratory in Rome: Art and Counter-Reformation Spiritual Values” (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1985); and idem, “The Roman Church Triumphant: Pilgrimage, Penance and Processions Celebrating the Holy Year of 1575,” in “All the world’s a stage...”: Art and Pageantry in the Renaissance and Baroque, Papers in Art History from The Pennsylvania State University, 6, ed.

238

und

Studies in Italian Medieval History Presented to Miss E. M. Jamison, Papers of the British School at Rome 24, n.s., 11, ed. Philip Grierson and John

“La sala dei trionfi,” Capitolium 37 (1962): 462-70. 167.

Even though Constantine’s adventus into Rome after his victory over Maxenti-

us was not an official triumph because the battle was fought against Roman citizens, it had become

traditional for the

emperor to go to the Capitol upon entering the city. The fact that Constantine did not do this at the conclusion of his adventus in 312 was interpreted as a significant act by Baronius, Annales, 3:517 (year 312, nos. 58-9g). See Johannes Straub, “Konstantins Verzicht auf den Gang zum Kapitol,” Historia 4

Notes to pp. 126-7 (1955): 297-313;

and Francois

da Dio pace, e che infonda negli animi umilita e castita, si vedono tutte le pareti di quella addobbate de’ razzi di Fiandra, pieni di battaglie antiche, de trionfi romani o di danze e balli molto licenziOsi. Discorso (9113), ine) ratiar, ed. Barocchi, 2:304.

Pas-

choud, “Ancora sul rifiuto di Costantino di salire al Campidoglio,” in Co-

stantino il Grande, ed. Bonamente and 168.

Fusco, 2:737—48. Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 26.21.8 (“pretlosaque vestis”), 37.46.4 (“vestem magnificam”), 45.35.3 (“regiorum textilium ),745.30-5 17textilia’).) Josephus, Jewish War, 7.123-58, did not specify that the Temple veils were displayed in the triumph, but he noted that they were brought to Rome and deposited in the imperial palace (7.162). . For the tabulae pictae, see Niels Han-

nestad, Roman

Art and Imperial Poli-

cy (Hojbjerg, 1986), 36-7; and Salvatore Settis, “La colonna,” in La colonna traiana, ed. Salvatore Settis (Turin, 1988), 93-100. Among the relevant ancient sources, see especially Silius Itali-

cus, Punica, 17.635-45; Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 17.117; and idem, Civil 170.

Wars, 2.15.101. Florus, Epitome, 2.13.88; Josephus, Jewish War, 7.139—-48. It is also evocative that particular triumphs were sometimes painted in ancient temples; Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 24.16.19 (Temple of Jupiter Festus,

7s

172. “Ac sic quidem oportuit victricem veritatem de mendacio et haeresi trium-

Libertas); and Sextus Pompeus De verborum significatu quae

supersunt cum Pauli epitome, ed. Wallace M. Lindsay (Leipzig, 1913), 228 (Temples of Vertumnus and Consus). It was sometimes said in the Renaissance that the route of the ancient triumph had been decorated with curtains; Flavio Biondo, Roma trionfante, trans. Lucio Fauno (Venice, 1549), 36or. Real tapestries representing pa-

gan triumphs were used to ornament churches on festive occasions. One prominent example was the celebration at Santa Maria in Aracoeli following the victory at Lepanto in 1571, when a series representing the triumph of Scipio over Hannibal was displayed; Cancellieri, Possessi, 118. The great reforming bishop of Bologna, Gabriele Paleotti, censured the use of pagan subjects in this kind of decoration: “quando, andandosi in una chiesa per pregare

173.

phum agere, ut ejus adversarii in conspectu tanti splendoris, et in tanta unversae ecclesiae laetitia positi vel debilitati et fracti tabescant, vel pudore affecti et confusi aliquando resipiscant.” H. J. Schroeder, ed. and trans., Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent (London, 1941), 352-3, translation on p. 76 (Session 13, Chapter 5; 11 October 1551): Tapestries were officially prescribed to decorate the route of the Corpus Domini procession as well as to embellish the interior of the church; Caeremoniale episcoporum, 1600 ed., 318-19. For extant sets of tapestries used in these celebrations, see H. Geisenheimer, “Di alcuni arazzi nel duomo di Como su cartoni di Alessandro Allori,”

Rivista d’arte 4 (1906): 109-16; H. C. Marillier, “The Ronceray Tapestries of the Sacraments,” Burlington Magazine 59 (1931): 232-9; and Charles Scribner, III, The Triumph of the Eucharist: Tapestries Designed by Rubens (Ann Arbor, 1982), 12'7.

For a detailed account of the Corpus Domini procession held in Viterbo in 1462, which included tableaux and tapestries, see Adriano

Pii Il commentarii: lium que temporibus

van

Rerum

Heck, ed.,

memorabi-

suis contigerunt,

Studi e testi 312-13, 2 vols. (Vatican City, 1984), 2:499—-505; and Leona C. Gabel, ed., Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope: The Commentaries of Pius II, an Abridgement, trans. Florence A. Gragg (New York, 1959), 264-9. 174. Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 3:43, recorded Constantine’s gift to the church of the Nativity at Bethlehem of “costly presents of silver and gold and embroidered hangings.” Theodoret, Ecclesias-

239

Notes to p. 127 lichen Entwicklung, 2 vols. (Munich, 1924), 2:133-72. Painted curtains appear in the eighth-century decoration of Santa Maria Antiqua; Per Jonas Nordhagen, “The Frescoes of John VII (A.D. 705-707) in S. Maria Antiqua in Rome,” Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 3 (1968): 1516, pls. 1-4. Other examples are cited in Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 4:96;

tical History, 1.29 (PG 82:987), noted similar embellishments for the Holy Sepulcher. Dati, Comincia el tractato, sig. a verso, transposed these references to the Lateran, claiming that Constantine had given to the church “gemme drappi e€ panni.”

See

also

Panvinio,

“De

ecclesiis christianorum,” in Spicilegium romanum, ed. Mal, 9:151-2. Concerning the tapestry decoration of the imperial palace at Constantinople, see Jean Ebersolt, Le grand palais de Constantinople et le Livre des Céremonies (Paris, 1910), 69—76. In the Bible, fabric hangings are mentioned in the context of the banqueting hall of King Ahasuerus; Esther 1:6. See also the related motif of the ruler presented within a chamber closed by curtains, one that was also adapted for saints; Johann K. Eberlein, Apparitio regis — revelatio veritatis: Studien zur Darstellung des Vorhangs in der bildenden Kunst von der Spatantike bis zum Ende des Mittelalters (Wiesbaden, 1982); idem, “The Curtain in Raphael’s Sistine Madonna,” Art Bulletin 65 (1983): 66-7. 176. See John Shearman, Raphael’s Cartoons in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen and the Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel (London, 1972), 6-7; and Roberto Petriaggi, “Utilizzazione, decorazione e diffusione dei tessuti nei corredi delle basiliche cristiane secondo il Liber pontificalis (514-795),” Prospettiva 39 (1984): 37-46. Durandus, Rationale divinorum officiorum, 1.3, noted that this kind of decoration in churches was intended to stimulate the piety of the worshiper. 177. Shearman, Raphael’s Cartoons; Richard Harprath, “Raffaels Teppiche in der sixtinische Kapelle,” in Raffaello a Roma, 117-26. . An especially splendid example dated to the early first century B.C. was discovered in a sanctuary located near the Capitolium of Brescia; Clara Stella, Guida del Museo Romana di Brescia (Brescia, 1198'7))5.1 73 179. On liturgical veils, see Josef Braun, Der christliche Altar in seiner geschicht175.

240

and Shearman, Raphael’s Cartoons, 4 n. 20; cf. Quednau, Sala di Costantino,

149. In the frescoes commissioned for the Lateran’s nave by Martin V, small pendant curtains were included in the clerestory zone as festive banners (Fig. 37, present volume). 180. Of the Farnesina loggia Serlio said that the decoration appeared “pit tosto uno apparato per qualche trionfo, che una pittura perpetua, fatta nel muro”; quoted in Vincenzo Golzio, Raffaello nei documenti, nelle testimonianze dei con-

temporanei e nella letteratura del suo secolo (Vatican City, 1936), 285. The

vault frescoes of the Stanza d’Eliodoro have been discussed in relation to the traditions of honorific canopies by Traeger, “Stanza d’Eliodoro,” 54-6, fig. 24.

181. 182.

Most significant in our context is the notion of a heavenly enclosure; Robert Eisler, Weltenmantel und Himmelszelt (Munich, 1910). Quednau, Sala di Costantino, 148-50. Constantine tapestries are recorded in Ernst Ritter von

Birk, “Inventar,

der im

Besitze der Allerhochsten Kaiserhauses befindlichen Niederlander Tapeten und Gobelins,” Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhéchsten Kaiserhauses 2 (1884): 184, no. 71”; L. Roblot-Delondre, “Les sujets antiques dans la tapisserie,” Revue archéologique ser. 5, 9 (1919): 58, no. 84; ibid., 10 (1919): 302-3, no. 117; and Louis Réau, Iconographie de l'art chrétien, 3 vols. in 6 (Paris, 1955-9), 3.2: 636. The most famous example is the Barberini series designed by Peter Paul Rubens and Pietro da Cortona; see Da-

vid DuBon, Tapestries from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Philadelphia

Notes to pp. 128-9 Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:334: “Dicitur etiam templum Misericordiae

Museum of Art (London, 1964); and Peter Kriiger, Studien zur Rubens’ Konstantinzyklus, Europaische Hochschulschriften, ser. 28, Kunstgeschichte, vol. g2 (Frankfurt am Main, 1988). 183. Ursula Reinhardt, “La tapisserie feinte: Un genre de décoration du maniérisme romain

au

XVle

siécle,”

Gazette

quia, ut usque hodie cernitur, cum multos aditus habuerit, nullis die vel

nocte claudebatur, nisi tapetibus, ut quasi alterum asilum semper pateret obnoxiis omnibus, quatinus amplius non punirentur a legibus saecularibus.” See also Panvinio—Lauer, 424, who used the words -telae” and) cortinae. A passage in Rhabanus Maurus suggests that the association of fabric hangings in churches with the Old

des

Beaux-Arts 84 (1974): 285-96. Painted tapestries were used in the nave decoration of San Lorenzo in Damaso, portions of which were executed by Arpino

ca. 1589; Rottgen, Cavalier

d’Arpino,

Testament prototypes was quite common: “Tentorium est sanctitas primitivae Ecclesiae, ut in Exodo [26:36]:

68—71, cat. no. 1; Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 212-14 (Daniela Porro).

See also the frescoes in the choir of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni, and the nave of Santa Susanna; ibid., 145-51 (Paola Mangia

Renda);

Hibbard,

‘Fecit et tentiorium in introitum tabernaculi,’ quod multo sanctitatis decore ornata fuit Ecclesia primitiva.” (“Allegoriae in sacram scripturam,” PL 112:

Maderno,

113, pl. 8. 184.

Josephus,

Jewish

Antiquities, 3.124-

33, described the curtains in detail. 185. Josephus, Jewish War, 7.161-2. 186. See the avviso dated 18 October 1598, in BAV, Urb. lat. 1066, fol. 54r: “Mercolidi fu tenuta una congregatione sopra il ricevimento del Papa con ressolutione che da Ponte Molle fino alla porta del Popolo gli hebrei appartino tutta quella strada di panni d’arazzi, e dalla porta sudetta per san Marco sin a San Pietro faciano il simile questi Artisti rispettivamente donendo ogn/’arte vestire tanti gioveni, quali habbino d’andare incontro s. B.ne oltre 200. gentilhuomini vestiti con giubboni d’velluto negro a cavallo.,..~ That) the Jewish community was responsible for the tapestry decorations used in Corpus Domini processions is suggested by a notation in Martin, Roma sancta, 204. 187. An echo of this same idea might be provided by John the Deacon’s statement that the entrances to the Lateran were never closed “neither day nor night, except with tapestries.” This custom was reported to explain one of the Lateran’s traditional appellations, “Temple of Mercy,” which concerns the right of sanctuary. See John the

188.

1065.) Matthew

27:51; Mark

15:37; Luke 29:

45-

189. Josephus,

Jewish Antiquities, 3:132, suggested a heavenly identity for the curtains of the Tabernacle. Among the patristic sources that discuss fabric hangings, especially interesting is Ambrose’s exegesis on the splendors of the world with reference to Genesis 1:9, in “Hexameron”

190.

[3.1.5], PL 14:169—70.

Mark Weil, “The Devotion of the Forty Hours and Roman Baroque Illusions,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 37 (1974): 218-48. Concerning the meaning of the illusionism, see

Karl Noehles,

“Teatri per le Quaran-

t’ore e altari barocchi,” in Barocco

ro-

mano e barocco italiano: II teatro, leffimero, l’allegoria,ed. Marcello Fagiolo and Maria Luisa

191.

Madonna

(Rome,

1985), 88-99. For perspective as a metaphor of the Eucharist in sacrament tabernacles, an idea I owe to Irving Lavin, see Lavin, Unity, 98, 103; and Jack Freiberg, “The Tabernaculum Dei: Masaccio and the ‘Perspective’ Sacrament Tabernacle” (M.A. thesis, New York University, 1974).

241

Notes to pp. 130-4 5. REVELATION:

THE ALTAR OF THE SACRAMENT

Pietro Paolo

Baglione, Vite, 60. Popes Paul II, Julius HI, Paul IV, Pius IV, Gregory XIII, and Sixtus V all com-

missioned receptacles for the sacrament; see Janson, Donatello, 2:95-101; Christoph Luitpold Frommel, “Antonio da Sangallos Cappella Paolina,” Zeitschrift fiir Kunstgeschichte 27 (1964): 30;

Carlo

Pietrangeli,

For the facade of the Gest, see James Ackerman and Wolfgang Lotz, “Vignoliana,” in Essays in Memory of Karl Lehmann,

chiese,

111-12,

114;

with Giacomo

della Porta, see Howard

Hibbard, “The Early History of Sant’Andrea della Valle,” Art Bulletin 43 (1961): 289-318, esp. 295-6. For new information on the artist, see Enzo Borsellini, “Una nuova acquisizione sulla

collezione

242

Corsini:

La ‘Cleopatra’

di

Sandler

supp.

vol.

1, ed.

(Locust Valley,

N.Y., 1964), 18-22. 10.

tieth Birthday, ed. Marilyn Aronberg Lavin (New York, 1990), 167—go0. Nove

Marsyas,

Lucy Freeman

Freiberg, “Clement VIII; the Lateran, and Christian Concord,” in IL6o: Essays Honoring Irving Lavin on His Six-

Vite, 59-60, 76, identified Pier Paolo Olivieri as architect of the altar. For his prior architectural activity in association

n.s.,

see also Lavin, Unity, 89.

g0, 125-6; and idem, “Bernini’s Baldachin: Considering a Reconsideration.”

Baglione,

Paragone

bard, Maderno, 61. For this development, see Renate Jiirgens, “Die Entwicklung des Barockaltars in Rom” (Ph.D. diss., Universitat Hamburg, 1956), 59-70. A prominent example is the main altar of the Cappella Gregoriana of Saint Peter’s, designed by Giacomo della Porta; Jurgens, “Entwicklung,” 338-9, no. 94. The integration of the aedicula with the wall was observed by Jurgens, “Entwicklung,” 65; and Lavin, Unity, 87. The Lateran ciborium has been compared to the portico of the Pantheon by Bruhns, Rom, 471, but the association is valid only in the most general sense;

“Il tabernacolo

cinquecentesco dell’Aracoeli al Museo di Roma,” Bollettino dei musei comunali di Roma 8 (1961): 26-33; Benedetti, “Tabernacolo,” 45-64. Michelangelo executed a tabernacle for the high altar of Santa Maria degli Angeli commissioned by Pius IV; the work generally associated with it by Jacopo del Duca is actually a variation made for the Certosa of Padula; Mario De Cunzo and Vega de Martini, La Certosa di Padula (Florence, 1985), 68-71; cf. Benedetti, Jacopo del Duca, 61-76, 453—5- For Gregory XIII’s Lateran altar, see Chapter 1; and for Sixtus V’s altar in Santa Maria Maggiore, see n. 52. See also Chapter 2, n. 43. Fundamental observations regarding the Lateran altar have been made by Lavin, Crossing, 16-18; idem, Unity, 87, 89-

Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 21 (1984): 408-9, 411. A portion of the following material concerning the bronze ciborium was presented in Jack

Olivieri,”

40, no. 475 (Sept. 1989): 3-14, including documentary confirmation of Olivieri’s death on 6 July 1599, reported by Baglione, Vite, 77. The documents concerning the ciborium are discussed in Catalogue, §II.H.1. Its influence on later projects has been noted by Hib-

11.

See James Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo, 2 vols. (London, 1964), cat. vol., 105-7; and Christof Thoenes, “Bemerkungen zur St. PeterFassade Michelangelos,” in Munuscula discipulorum: Kunsthistorische Studien Hans Kauffmann zum 70. Geburtstag, 1966, ed. Tilmann Buddensieg and Matthias Winner (Berlin, 1968), 331— 41. A Trajanic—Hadrianic date for the columns has been proposed by Paolo Liverani, “Le colonne e il capitello in bronzo d’eta romana dell’altare del SS. Sacramento in Laterano: Analisi archeologica e problematica storica,” in Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, Rendiconti (forthcoming). I am grateful to Dott. Liverani for providing a typescript of his study and for discuss-

Notes to p. 134

12.

said to be fashioned in bronze; Strabo,

ing with me the results of the recent restoration of the columns. For further details, see Catalogue, §III.H.1. The columns are shown flanking the high altar in an engraving by Battista Panzera dated 1598 (neither 1508 nor 1608); Prosperi Valenti Rodino and Strinati, eds., San

Francesco,

Geography, 3.5.5—6. For additional references to the use of bronze in antiquity, see Liverani, “Colonne.” Cf. Rhabanus Maurus,

187, cat.

no. 119. See also Rohault de Fleury, 160, 350-1, pl. 19; Lauer, 305, fig. 112; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:634; and Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 26 n. 64. A fresco in the cloister of the Ognissan-

14.

ti, Florence, attributed to Giacomo Ligozzi (ca. 1600) repeats the scene; illustrated in Krautheimer et al., op. cit., 64,

fig. 76; and Nilgen, op. cit., pl. 4a. In the earliest version of the Descriptio lateranensis ecclesiae [1073], a source used by John the Deacon for his own treatise on the Lateran, the columns are described as surmounted by

15.

16.

gold and silver statues of saints, and are located between the choir and the high altar; Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:338; cf. Panvinio—Lauer, 453-4. Liverani, “Col-

onne,” proposed that the reference might be to the canons’ choir that is known to have occupied a position in

13.

the nave; if true, the columns would have stood in front of, rather than behind, the high altar as is generally thought. For the removal of the choir by Martin V, see Panvinio—Lauer, 436; Rasponi, 38; and Lauer, 273-4. For the material used in the Temple of

17.

Janus, see Procopius, Gothic War, 1.25. Other examples of bronze architecture are discussed by Pausanius, Description of Greece, 10.5.5. Bronze columns existed in antiquity independent of a supporting function. Augustus’ Res gestae was inscribed on two bronze columns (“incisarum in duabus aheneis pilis”) set up in front of his mausoleum; CIL 3.2, p. 770. According to a late source, Alexander Severus decorated the Forum of Nerva with statues of the deified emperors in association with bronze columns;

Scriptores

et indulgentis,

18.

historiae augustae,

“Alexander Severus,” 27.6. The mythic columns of Hercules that marked the limits of the known world were also

19.

“De universo,”

PL 111:

477: “Usus aeris postea transiit in simulacris, in vasis, in aedificiorum structuris maxime, et ad perpetuitatem monumentorum.” The legendary origins of the Lateran’s bronze columns and the relevant literary sources are discussed by Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 18-26. The Jerusalem provenance of the columns was often repeated in combination with the Actium legend. Alternative sources were also proposed. On the providential role of Titus and Vespasian in the rise of the Christian Church, see Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 78-9. Constantine’s responsibility for transferring the columns to the Lateran directly from the Temple is stated in the Memoriale de mirabilibus et indulgentiis quae in urbe romana existunt (late fourteenth century), in Valentini-Zucchetti, 4:85-6. This idea was repeated by Baglione, Nove chiese, 111-12, and he may have referred to it in his fresco of Constantine’s Donation, where a golden column appears at the right edge of the image (Plate VII). Mariano da Firenze, Itinerarium, 154, identified the relics as “terra et lapidibus de monte Calvario et de sepulcro Domini aliisque sanctis locis ablatis in adaptatione earum a sancta Helena Constantini matre, plenae sunt.” The reference to Calvary was repeated by Giovanni Battista Pauliano, De iobileo libri

tres...

(Rome,

1550), 225; Rutilio Benzoni, De anno sancti iubilaei libri sex... (Venice, 1599), 377; and Fabrini, Giubileo, 131. Lavin, Crossing, 16, 34-5, stressed the idea of topographical transplantation in the context of holy earth Helena brought from the Holy Land to the Roman church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. See the relic list of Leo X in Lauer, 297: “Quatuor Columnae ex Metallo

743

Notes to pp. 135-6 deauratae, quae erant in Porticu Salomonis quas Titus et Vespasianus a Judeis ex Hierusalem asportari jusserunt, una cum Reliquiis, et rebus mirabilibus hic annotatis.” See also Fabrini, Giubileo, 131: “appresso le quali colonne si sono fatti per virtt divina molti miraco20.

ig? The use of bronze in the Temple of Jerusalem paralleled God’s directives for the Tent of the Meeting. Especially noteworthy in our context are the four brazen posts set before the Tent; Exodus 38:19. For the bronze altar of the holocaust, see Exodus 27:1—8; 1 Kings 8:64, 9:25; 2 Chronicles 1:5-6; 2 Kings

25.

26.

16:14.

22.

23.

1 Kings 7:15—22; 2 Chronicles 3:15-17; 2 Kings 12:9, 25:13-17. See Th. A. Busink, Der Tempel von Jerusalem von Salomo bis Herodes: Eine archdeologisch-historische Studie under Beriicksichtigung des westsemitischen Tempelbaus, 2 vols. (Leiden, 1970-80), 1:299321. The Lateran’s columns were sometimes associated with Jachin and Boaz; Capgrave, Solace, ed. Mills, 73. These gates were often equated and must have shared in the mystical significance of the eastern gate expressed by Ezekiel in his description of the heavenly Temple; Ezekiel 43:4, 44:1-3;

27. 28.

29.

46:1—7. Josephus, Jewish War, 5.201, 6.293-6. In Rabbinic tradition, this gate is identi-

fied as the Gate of Nicanor and its construction in bronze is associated with a miracle; Middoth

2.3b, in F. J. Hollis,

The Archaeology

of Herod’s

with

24.

244

a

Commentary

on

the

Temple, Tractate

‘Middoth’... (London, 1934), 266-7. The miracle is discussed by E. Wiesenberg, “The Nicanor Gate,” Journal of Jewish Studies 3 (1952): 14-29. See Hugues Vincent and F.-M. Abel, Jérusalem: Recherches de topographie, d’archéologie et d’histoire, 2 vols. in 3 (Paris, 1912-26), 2, fasc. 4, 832-6; and F. J. Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp Lake, eds., Acts of the Apostles, 5 vols. (London, 1920-33), 5:479-86. The Beautiful Gate was made with bronze doors according to Peter Comestor (d. ca.

30.

1179), “Historia scholastica,” PL 198: 1361. It was equated with the Corinthian Gate by Baronius, Annales, 1:201-8 (year 34, nos. 250-7). Petrus Comestor, PL 198:1593: “Porticus ante illa dicebatur templum Salomonis, in quo solebat stare ad orandum, in qua in die dedicationis erexit columnam aeream, supra huam oravit, flexis genibus, cum tamen Judaei soleant stare cum orant.” Comestor’s reference is to 2 Chronicles 6:13. With reference to Acts 3:5, Tertullian, “De praescriptionibus adversos hereticos,” PL 2:22-3, opposed the portico of Solomon to the portico of the Stoics: “Nostra institutio de Porticu Salomonis est.” For further references, see Wayne Dynes, “The Medieval Cloister as Portico of Solomon,” Gesta 12 (1973): 61Q. See i. 19.

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 15.41117. It is unclear why Josephus named this gate Royal, but there may have been an association with the Great Gate that Herod decorated with an imperial eagle. On Flerod’s Gate, see ibid:,27,.151; and Josephus, Jewish War, 1.650. Petrus Comestor identified Herod’s Gate with the Porta Speciosa; PL 198:1655. See Arthur M. Hind, Early Italian Engraving, 7 vols. (London, 1938-48), 1: 122-3, 3:pl. 175 (B.1.4). As Hind noted, the architecture derives from one of the scenes designed by Antonio Pollaiuolo for the vestments used in the baptistery of Florence; Leopold D. Ettlinger, Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo (Oxford, 1978), 156-9, cat. no. 26. Sesterces of Tiberius issued in 34-7 A.D. (obverse: inscribed in center S$. C. and around the border TI. CAESAR. DIVI. IANKG

38 DANKE NASI, 125 IN

also XXXVII, XXXIIX).

IIR,

TXOVIN,

DO5O.0745

See Harold

Mat-

tingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, vol. 1: Augustus to Vitellius (London, 1923), cxxxvili n. 4, 137-9, nos. 116, 132-4; and A. Banti and L. Simonetti, Corpus nummorum romanorum, 18 vols. (Florence, 1972-

9), 9:233—-6, nos. 382-4, with many examples illustrated.

Notes to p. 137 Sie

Vitruvius, De re architectura, 4.8.4. Regarding this type of plan, see Marisa Conticello De’ Spagnolis, I/ tempio dei Dioscuri nel Circo Flaminio, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, Lavori e studi

di archeologia,

4

daglie... (Rome, 1641), 22; and Famiano Nardini, Roma antica... (Rome,

1665), 397-8. 34-

(Rome,

1984), 34-7; and Ferdinando Castagnoli, “Un nuovo documento per la topografia di Roma antica,” Studi romani

33 (1985): 205-11.

53%

Around the middle of the sixteenth century Sallustio Peruzzi drew the Tiberian coin on a sheet now in the Uffizi, no. UA 683v; Ian Campbell, “Reconstruc-

tions of Roman Temples Made in Italy Between 1450 and 1600” (Ph.D. diss., Oxford University, 1984), 126, fig. 21. The first published image of the coin is

35-

Enea Vico, Le imagini con tutti i riversi trovati et le vite de gli imperatori tratte dalle medaglie et dalle historiae de gli antichi. Libro primo (Venice, 1548), 2d plate following p. 3v. See also idem, Omnium Caesarum verissimae imagines ex antiquis numismatis desumptae (Venice, 1554), pl. CI, no.

33-

7. A more precise rendering of the coin appears in Johannes Sambucus, Emblemata cum aliquot nummis antiqui Operis... (Antwerp, 1564), p. 236, illustrated in Freiberg, “Concord,” fig. g. In none of these cases is the temple identified. Hubert Goltzius, Caesar Augustus sive Historiae imperatorum ... liber secun-

Concord since Dio Cassius had placed its dedication in 10 A.D. Foy-Vaillant’s argument was developed by Lorenz Berger, Thesaurus Brandenburgicus selectus sive Gemmarum

dus accessit Caesaris Augusti vita et res

Pesige, « (biuges, 1574), pl. S1,. the caption to which reads: “Divi Augusti Divaeque [uliae Augustae Divinitas, statuae sacrae, Templa, ac Carpentum.” The association with Augustus was re-

peated by Ludovicus Nonnius, Commentarius in nomismata Imp. Tuli, Augusti, et Tiberi. Huberto Goltzio scalptore... (Antwerp,

1620), [Augustus] pl.

Heinrich Dressel, Die romischen Medaillone des Miinzkabinetts der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, 2 vols. (Dublin/Zurich, 1973), 437, no. 3 (illustrated in Freiberg, “Concord,” fig. 10); no. 2 is identical; no. 6 is another Renaissance variation with a portrait of Tiberius, profile left, inscribed TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR V (illustrated in Banti and Simonetti, Corpus, 9:237). The identification of the coin with the Temple of Concord was advanced, perhaps for the first time in published form, by Jean Foy-Vaillant, Selectiora numismata in aere maximi moduli e museo illustrissimi D. D. Francisci de Camps... (Paris, 1695), 5-6. The coin there reproduced is a sixteenth-century copy of the Tiberian sesterce, incorporating a portrait of Tiberius and a legend dated to his fifth term as imperator (g-11 A.D.); compare the example cited in the preceding note. This date led the author to identify the temple as that of

36.

et numismatum

Graecorum in cimeliarchio electorali Brandenburgico... (Cologne, 1696), 87-9. The same sort of reasoning may have been behind the Renaissance recreation of the coin in the first place. For the excavations of the Temple, see Carlo Fea, Varieta di notizie economiche fisiche antiquaire... (Rome, 1820), 88-119. On its identification, see Ronald T. Ridley, “The Monuments of the Roman Forum: The Struggle for Identity,” Xenia 17 (1989): 75-6. For the Temple of Concord, see Paul

80, p. 98, [Tiberius] pl. 8, p. 34; Alex-

Zanker,

ander

gestaltung durch Augustus (Tubingen, 1972), 19-23; Carlo Gasparri, Aedes concordiae augustae (Rome, 1979); and Eva Margareta Steinby, ed., Lexicon topographicum urbis Romae

Donati,

Roma

vetus

ac

recens

utriusque aedificiis ad eruditam cognitionem expositis. .. (Rome, 1639), 157, illustrated on p. 177; Francesco Angeloni, La historia augusta da Giulio Cesare insino a Costantino il Magno. IIlustrata con la verita delle antiche me-

(Rome,

Forum

1993-

Romanum:

), 1:316-20

Die

Neu-

(A. M. Fer-

roni). The literary sources attest that the

245

Notes to pp. 137-9 second-century B.C. temple was preceded by one of the fourth century B.C., but this has been disputed; see Zanker,

39-

um and that the bronze columns served as its original supports; for another interpretation, see Molly Teasdale Smith, “The Lateran Fastigium: A Gift of Con-

op. cit., 20; Lawrence Richardson, Jr., “Concordia and Concordia Augusta:

Rome and Pompeii,” La parola del passato 33 (1978): 260-72; and German

Hafner,

“‘Aedes

Concordiae

stantine the Great,” Rivista di archeologia cristiana 46 (1979): 149-75; and de Blaauw, “Cultus et decor,” 53-8, 84, 116. More recent opinions on the question of the original form and location of the fastigium are discussed by

et

Basilica Opimia,’” Archdologischer Anzeiger 98, 4 (1984): 591-6. Concerning the decoration of the temple, see Giovanni Becatti, “Opere d’arte greca nella Roma di Tiberio,” Archeologia classica 25-6 (1973-4): 30-42; and Barbara Kellum, “The City Adorned: Programmatic Display at the Aedes Concordiae Augustae,” in Between Republic and Empire: Interpretations of Augustus and His Principate, ed. Kurt A. Raaflaub and Mark Toher (Berkeley, 1990),

40. 41.

Suetonius,

Tiberius,

20;

Dio

Ecoles Francaises Rome 231 (Rome,

42.

identification of the coin with the Temple of Concord might have emerged from close observation of the sculptural decoration, especially the three embracing figures located above the apex of the pediment, which translate concord as a spiritual state into physical

38.

246

Caesar,

81.3.

See also the

Institut, Abteilung Istan-

bul 7 (1957): 11-55.

The relevant text is quoted in Chapter 1,n. 94. The word fastigium was sometimes used in the Middle Ages to mean ciborium;

Smith, “Lateran

Fastigium,”

174; Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 6—7. The modern identification of the structure as an altar ciborium was first proposed by Charles Rohault de Fleury, La Messe: Etudes archéologiques sur ses monuments, 8 vols. (Paris, 1883-9), 2: 2-6, pl. go, and was often followed; see the literature cited in Nilgen, 6 n. 11.

4344-

Liber pontificalis, 1:233. See Freiberg, “Concord,”

179-80, fig.

11, for a spurious ancient inscription, said to have existed at the Lateran,

Ouarterly 35 (1972): 5-7. The bronze shrine dedicated to Concord is dated to the late fourth century B.C.; Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 9.46.16; Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 33-6.19. See also Steinby, ed., Lexicon, 1:320-1 (A. M. Ferroni).

152-8;

Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 5-6. For the pediment as a symbol of the imperial office, see Florus, Epitome, 2.13.91; Cicero, Philippic, 2.110; and

chaologisches

d’Athénes et de 1976), 32-4. The

terms. For these figures, see Becatti, “Opere,” 37; and Zanker, Forum, 22. They may have suggested a pagan equivalent to the Christian Trinity, which was a common symbol of concord; Marie Tanner, “Concordia in Piero della Francesca’s Baptism of Christ,” Art

>

works cited in the preceding note; Donald F. Brown, “The Arcuated Lintel and Its Symbolic Interpretation in Late Antique Art,” American Journal of Archaeology 46 (1942): 389-99; and Peter Hommel, “Giebel und Himmel,” Istanbuler Mitteilungen, Deutsches Ar-

Cassius,

Roman History, 6.25.1. The new dies natalis of the temple was 16 January, the day on which Augustus received his cognomen in 27 B.C., understood as the date the Republic was restored; Pierre Gros, Aurea templa: Recherches sur larchitecture religieuse de Rome a Pépoque d’Auguste, Bibliothéque des

Liverani, “Colonne.” Smith, “Lateran Fastigium,’

Suetonius,

276-307. 37:

Liber pontificalis, 1:179. Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 1-31, argues that Constantine’s fastigium functioned as an altar cibori-

45-

claiming that the Senate and the Roman People restored the Temple of Concord in gratitude to Constantine for having extended the Republic to the entire world. Lavin, Crossing, 17, noted that the altar is unified in this way. It should be not-

Notes to pp. 139-42

46.

ed that the figure of God the Father is nimbed with a triangular halo, reinforcing the trinitarian theme. Finally, it is significant that the Trinity is invoked at the beginning of the Decretals to express the unity of the Church; Pfeiffer, “Dekretalen,” 48-9 and n. 49. Catalogue, §III.H.14. On the history and significance of the Arma Christi, see

Rudolf

Miinchner te, ser. 3, 1:183-—7, struments

Berliner,

50.

Sansovino

Christi,”

Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschich6 (1955): 33-152; and LCI, s.v. “Arma Christi.” The inof the Passion are also pres-

ent on the sacrament

47-

“Arma

form of an armorial

tabernacle

Ra. 52.

Left strip: column of the Flagellation to which are affixed two bundles of reeds; cock; three dice; tunic stained with blood; three nails; cross with super-

scription; crown of thorns. Right strip: hammer, pliers; ladder; sponge on staff and lance; three nails; cross with super-

scription; crown of thorns. The left strip is illustrated in Zuccari, Arte e committenza, fig. 8.

49-

For the Arma

Christi disposed in the

Spirito,

Florence,

Concerning Sixtus V’s sacrament tabernacle, see Ostrow, “Sistine Chapel,” 198-223; and Madonna, ed., Roma di

this tabernacle type, see Hans Caspary, Das Sakramentstabernakel in Italien bis zum Konzil von Trient: Gestalt, Tkonographie und Symbolik, kultische Funktion, 2d ed. (Munich, 1965), 5267. Carlo Borromeo advised that tabernacles be centrally planned, that they be decorated with images of Christ’s Passion, and that a figure of the Resurrected Christ be placed at the top of the structure;

53-

5455-

341-35V.

48.

in Santo

where the structure itself is derived from the Arch of Constantine, and the crown of thorns and the superscription also appear at the top; see Chapter 3, n. 27. Catalogue, §III.H.7.

Sisto V, 394-9 (Pietro Cannata), figs. 6— g on p. 437. For the background to

itself,

held by angels on the balustrade below the cupola. Of the objects associated with the Arma Christi, the Lateran claimed to possess portions of the following: the towel Christ used to wipe the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper; the purple garment Christ was made to wear in Pilate’s palace, which was divided by the soldiers at the Crucifixion; the sponge from the Crucifixion; True Cross; and the column that provided the perch for the cock who crowed when Peter denied Christ. The slab upon which the soldiers threw dice to decide who would get Christ’s garment, and the table on which Judas counted the thirty pieces of silver, although not part of the Arma Christi, do allude to the dice and coins that were. All these objects are mentioned in the records of the Visitation of the Lateran’s relics conducted on 26 January 1656; ASV, Sacra Congregazione della Visita Apostolica, vol. 98, fasc. 1 (“Acta Visitationis Apostolicae S.D.N. Alexandri PP. VII”), fols.

shield, see Berlin-

er, “Arma Christi,” 95-102. The Arma Christi occasionally appear on sacrament tabernacles, most significantly on the Corbinelli altar by Andrea

56.

Imstructiones [1.13], in Trat-

tati, ed. Barocchi, 3:22—4. The central niche of the tabernacle, now occupied by a crucifix, was probably used to expose the Eucharist to the veneration of the faithful. Its aedicula frame is more elaborate than the others, and statuettes representing Faith and Religion are perched above the segmental pediment. Caspary, Sakramentstabernakel, 97-9. Staale Sinding-Larsen, “Some Functional and Iconographical Aspects of the Centralized Church in the Italian Renaissance,” Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 2 (1965): 227-38. The two figures standing at the level

just below Christ can be identified as Enoch and Elijah. Both these Old Testament prophets were assumed directly into heaven, and because of this they were identified as the two witnesses who would play an important role during the Last Days according to Revelation’11:3; LCI, 1:645, s.v. “Enoch und Elias” (E. Lucchesi Palli).

247

Notes to pp. 142-8 57-

Jean Zuallart, I] devotissimo viaggio di Gerusalemme fatto e descritto in sei libri dal Sig. Giovanni Zuallardo l’anno 1586 aggiontovi i dissegni di varij luo-

63.

ghi di Terra

64.

Santa

©& altri paesi,

in-

Peter’s, see Lavin, Crossing, 35 and n. 164. rament in this way, see Jean Daniélou, The Bible and the Liturgy (Ann Arbor,

intorno

see Maurice E. Cope, The Venetian Chapel of the Sacrament in the Sixteenth Century: A Study in the Iconography of the Early Counter-Reformation (New York, 1979), 176-255. The statues also signal the basilica’s Old Testament affiliation by referring to the Temple’s chief cult objects claimed by the Lateran. A visual inventory of this treasure is provided by the objects held by Aaron and Moses, and by the narrative reliefs located above the niches (see Figs. 99, 134). At the uppermost level additional reliefs depict:

d’un vivo sasso,

1956), 142-61. For the textual sources and a survey of sixteenth-century projects in which these same figures appear,

& rivelato so-

65.

piombo, sostenuta (con le sue cornici di lauro corintiaco) da dodici alti, ma

5960.

61.

62.

248

Concerning the prefiguration of the sac-

tagliati da Natale Bonifacio (Rome, 1587), 206-7: “Il detto santissimo Sepolcro, e sotto l’apertura della cupola grande; & nel mezzo della sudetta chiesa tonda, tagliato per di fuori intorno pra il pavimento, in guisa d’una capella di quadratura oblonga, & terminando in mezzo cerchio, ma pentagono (cioe a 5. faccie) tutta incrostata di tavole con la giunta di 10. pilastrini, & le sue cornici dimarmo bianco, & di sopra e piano, havendo in cima, & aponto sotto la detta apertura, una cuppola coperta di

58.

For this idea as it pertains to the Lateran, and later to the crossing of Saint

sottili pilastrini, posti duo a duo, sotto un pilastrone, tutti di colore simile al PODndO. e ky These ideas are also relevant to the high altar of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme where a similar conflation occurs in the context of a church that was intimately associated with both the Holy Land and the Constantinian royal house. In general on this work, see Bruce Boucher, The Sculpture of Jacopo Sansovino, 2 vols. (New Haven, 1991), 1:52, 2:325—-6, cat. no. 16, figs. 110-11. Catalogue, §II.H.8. Lavin, Crossing, 35 and n. 164, noted the activation of these figures and suggested an influence on Bernini’s design for the crossing of Saint Peter’s. Further to this idea, see Chapter 7, n. 40. Aaron’s thurible and Melchisedech’s chalice are fashioned in gilded bronze, underscoring their reality as sacred vessels. Moses is described as “con faccia gloriosa, ch’eleva i raggi in la fronte,” and Elijah is said to be “in atto di viaggiare meditando,” by the author of “Relatione della parrochia laterana patriarchale della S. sede ap.lica romana, alla Santita D.N.S.re Alessandro 7.° P.O.M.,” ACL, FE.XV, fols. 357-8.

thurible and rod above Aaron; vase with six loaves above Melchisedech; tablets of the law and staff above Moses; sword and cloud above Elijah. These objects are presented above rich swags,

recalling the reliefs in the portico of the Pantheon, where pagan sacrificial implements are similarly depicted. The Lateran claimed to possess the following objects that are represented in association with Aaron: golden censer filled with incense, priestly garments and ornaments,

rod, loaves

of offering, table

of offering. The relics linked to Moses are the tablets of the law, his staff, and

66. 67.

the manna. See the relic list of Nicholas IV; Lauer, 437. The “vestes et ornamenta Aaron” and the “mensa proposita” were introduced as possessions of the Lateran in the Graphia aureae urbis Romae (thirteenth century), in Codex urbis Romae topographicus, ed. Carolus Ludovicus Urlichs (Wurzburg, 18471), 117; and Lauer, jo nm: 4. See also Panvinio—Lauer, 436-7. Catalogue, §II.H.9. The Last Supper relief was described by Baglione, Nove chiese, 113; idem, Vite, 60; and in an anonymous seventeenth-

Notes to pp. 148-9 century text; see Catalogue, §III.H.9, where the destruction of the relief in 1798 is also discussed. Lavin, Unity, 125-6 n. 2, provided a list of the known images that reflect the relief, to which should be added Figure 117 of the present volume. In the 1860s a reproduction of Leonardo’s fresco in Milan, worked

68.

69.

in metal, was

inserted

August 1264, instituting the Corpus Domini feast, ordered that it be celebrated on the first Thursday following the Sunday after Pentecost; Bullarum

pontificum no. 19.

WE

Martin, Roma sancta, 34. For the Station at the Lateran on Holy Thursday, see Panvinio—Lauer, 449; Ugonio, Stati-

73°

Joseph Braun, Das christliche Altargerat in seinem Sein und in seiner Entwicklung (Munich, 1932), 343-4; idem, Die Reliquiare des christlichen Kultes und ihre Entwicklung (Freiburg i. B., 1940), 658-g. Presentor angels were also employed in reliquaries and monstrances used for the display of eucharistic relics; Michel Andrieu, “Aux origines du culte du Saint-Sacrement: Reliquaires et monstrances eucharistiques,” Analecta bollandiana 68 (1950): 397418. The motif was also adapted for tabernacles of the sacrament. Catalogue, §III.H.10. It is unlikely that these torches were actually ignited. However, angels bearing real candles are featured in Sixtus V’s sacrament altar in Santa Maria Maggiore. According to the Visitation of the Lateran under Urban VIII the Clementine altar was well outfitted with burning lamps: “Ante Altare S.mi sacram.ti ardent continuo quatuor lampades argentea expensis Cap.li, et insuper altera ex dotatione Clementis VIII.” ASV, Sacra congregazione della Visita Apostolica, vol. 2, fol. ger. For the tradition of lights placed before the sacrament, see Peter Browe, Die Verehrung der Eucharistie im Mittelalter (Munich, 1933),

in

place of the original relief; Lavin, op. cit, 1SGimad. Compare the commemorative medal reproduced in Fig. 121 of the present volume, where the dramatic aspect of the Last Supper becomes the defining

oni, 306r; and Martin, op. cit., 21.

characteristic of the entire altar; Lavin, Crossing, 35 n. 164. For the work by Algardi in the Cathedral of Savona, commissioned in 1636,

see Jennifer Montagu, Alessandro AIgardi, 2 vols. (New Haven, 1985), 3912, cat. no. 97, figs. 15-18. The dependence of the Last Supper relief in Bernini’s Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, on the Lateran relief was noted by Antonio Nibby, Roma nell’anno

1838, 4 vols. (Rome,

74: 75°

1838-

41), 3:530, cf. 2.1:258. Its significance was first recognized by Lavin, Crossing, 18 n. 81; idem, Unity, 125-6, 200.

70.

The composition recalls Raphael’s adaptation of Leonardo’s Last Supper; Konrad

Oberhuber,

of Marcantonio

ed., The

Raimondi

Works

and

His

School, The Illustrated Bartsch, 26 (New

York, 1978), pls. 41-3; and Grazia Bernini Pezzini, Stefania Massari, Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodino, Raphael Invenit: Stampe da Raffaello nelle collezioni dell’Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, exhib. cat. (Rome, 1985), 1745, no. 8, 1-5, figs. on 676-7. Around 1595 Arpino employed a similar com-

position in a fresco in the Olgiati Chapel, Santa Prassede. For documents concerning the cover and

its

inscription,

see

Catalogue,

§I.H.g. Because the anniversary of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday was a mournful occasion, the joyous commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist was transferred to Corpus Domini. Pope Urban IV’s bull of 11

romanorum, 3.1:414-16,

76.

1-11. Nicolo Signorili, Descriptio urbis Romae eiusque excellentiae (ca. 1430), in BAV, Vat. lat..3536, fol. sev: “In sacristia autem dicte ecclesie est mensa ornata argento in qua dominus noster Iesus Christus fecit cenam in suis ap.lis ante passionem eiusdem.” This passage was copied by Panvinio in BAV, Vat. lat. 6781, fol. 38v. The silver cover is also mentioned in a source of 1656, quoted in Catalogue, §II.C.g. See also

249

Notes to pp. 149-51

77°

George Head, Rome: A Tour of Many Days, 3 vols. (London, 1849), 2:252: “The fragment in question which appears to be of cedar wood, very much darkened in colour by age, and partially covered with the remains of silver sheathing secured by small silver pins, that here and there remain sticking in the wood in places where the metal has been removed, is about 3 1/2 feet long and about 20 inches broad.” The table is also described by Brewyn, Rome, ed. Woodruff, 26. For the project to put sculptures above the pediment, see Catalogue, §III.H.4.

78.

79-

Mary, and the mother of the was often identified as Mary’s the kinship of Christ, see LCI, s.v. “Johannes Evangelist und

idem, “Baldachin,” 409 n. 9, figs. 3, 4. mata

engravings

in Buonanni,

pontificum

Numis-

romanorum, 2:47,

nos. 10,11, are inaccurate. The obverse

of the first medal (Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris; Fig.

120)

bears

80.

a profile

portrait of Clement VIII facing right; inscribed around the border CLEMENS . VIII. PONT.

MAX.

ANNO.

VIIL. Encircling

the image of the sacrament altar on the reverse is the inscription MAGNVM

81.

GRATIAE.

82.

Another

SACRAMENTVM. . / LATERANI.

example

of the medal

is in

the Staatliche Miinzsammlung, Munich; Bauten Roms auf Miinzen und Medaillen, exhib. cat. (Munich, 1973), 194,

83.

no. 314. On the obverse of the second medal (Medagliere Vaticano; Fig. 121) is a similar portrait of the pope facing right; the border is inscribed CLEMENS . VIII. PON. MAX. Below the pluvial is

For the fresco, see Catalogue, §III.G.4; Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 37-8; Stri-

head

of Christ

in the Musée

Granet,

Aix-en-Provence. Another drawing that he associated with Arpino’s Resurrection of Christ in the Olgiati Chapel, Santa Prassede, appears to be more closely

inscriptions on the reverse can be reconstructed as (around the border) . SACRAMENTVM /

LATERAN[I], the last word divided by the

related to the Lateran

steps of the aedicula; (on the frieze of 84.

gen, Op. Cit., bO1—2; no, 126, cf. 154, no. 93. The integration of the altar in this

85.

way was noted by Lavin, Crossing, 18 n. 83. Jungmann, Mass of the Roman Rite,

the aedicula) CLEMES VIII. PONT MA[X] A [VIJIl; (on the frieze of the pediment)

M.DXCIX. In this medal the Evangelist appears to the left, the Baptist to the right. Since the Baptist points with his left hand, the figures must be reversed. The Vatican example is perforated at the top, suggesting that it was used as a talisman.

250

ibid., 4:164-7, s.v. “Sippe, Heilige” (Gregory Martin Lechner); and ibid., 8: 306-7, s.v. “Salome” (Christel Squarr). See the relic list of Nicholas IV, in Lauer, 437: “de sanguine et aqua lateris Christi ampullae duae”; “de cineribus et sanguine Sancti Joannis Baptistae.” See also John the Deacon, in Valentini-— Zucchetti, 3:337. See Chapter 3. Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 38, suggested that the problem concerned the space between the pediment and the ceiling.

nati, “Roma nell’anno 1600,” 30-3; and see also Gerardi, 2:49—50, pl. 40. Rottgen identified the cartoon for the

the name EMILIO . B (Emilio Bonis). The

MAGNYM . GRATI[AE]

Evangelist sister. For 7:191-3, Johannes

der Taufer” (Gregor Martin Lechner); and for the identification of John the Evangelist as the cousin of Christ, see

On the medals, see Lavin, Crossing, 18 Ne 61,95 0.104; idem, Unity, to. n. 2;

The

In addition to alluding to the Lateran’s dedication to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the placement of these statues in relation to the columns would have recreated the situation recorded in the Middle Ages, where gold and silver statues of saints were said to have stood above the columns; see n. 12. The mother of the Baptist, Saint Elizabeth, was the cousin of the Virgin

Ascension;

ROtt-

2:218-26. The placement of the fresco above the altar visually affirms the simultaneous presence of Christ on earth in the Host and in heaven. This ortho-

Notes to pp. 151-2 Trasfiguratione del Signore, de la Decollatione di S$. Giouanni, & ne la dedicatione del Saluatore, & la plenaria remissione di peccati.” See also Carlo Bartolomeo Piazza, Emerologio di Roma

dox belief was negated by Calvin, who argued against the Real Presence on the grounds that having risen at the Ascension the Lord would only return at the end of time. Christ’s dual presence in heaven and in the Eucharist was reiter-

cristiana, ecclesiastica, e gentile..., 2 vols. (Rome, 1713-19), 2:514. In 1911

ated at the Council of Trent, and was restated by Roberto Bellarmino with

specific reference to the Ascension. See Schroeder,

ed., Canons

and

Decrees,

73,349 (Thirteenth Session, Chapter One; 11 October 1551); and Roberto Bellarmino, Disputationes ... de controverstis christianae fidei adversus huius temporis hereticos..., 3 vols. (Ven-

go.

ice, 1599), 3:375, 408.

86.

87.

Peter could not exercise his office while Christ was still on the earth; Michael Wilks, The Problem of Sovereignty in the Middle Ages: The Papal Monarchy with Augustinus Triumphus and the Publicists (Cambridge, 1964), 532 and ek: Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 37, noted the dependence on Raphael’s tapestry. For the Scuola Nuova tapestries, see Fabrizio Mancinelli and Anna Maria Strobel, eds., Raffaello in Vaticano,

Cosma

gl.

exhib. cat. (Milan, 1984), 326-32, cat. no. 124 (Charles Hope). For the engrav-

88.

89.

ings after the Ascension tapestry see Suzanne Boorsch, Italian Masters of the Sixteenth Century, The Illustrated Bartsch, 29 (New York, 1982), pl. 264; and Bernini Pezzini et al., Raphael Invenit, 142, no. 9, figs. 1-3. The formal relevance of Raphael’s Transfiguration was noted by Strinati, “Roma nell’anno 1600,” 30. The feast (“quod vulgariter Salvatoris dicitur”) was established in the Western Church by Pope Callixtus II in

1457 to commemorate the victory over the Turks at Belgrade in the prior year; Bullarum romanorum pontificum, 3.3:

92.

85-8, no. 7. See Juan Bautista Ferreres,

“La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur: Histoire de sa féte et de sa messe,” Ephemerides theologicae lovaniensis 5 (1928): 630-43. The importance of the feast at the Lateran is recorded by Palladio, Descritione, unpaginated: “Et nel giorno di S. Giouanni Battista, de la

Pius IX officially instituted the Transfiguration as the titular feast of the Lateran, equal in importance to the celebration of its dedication on g November; Acta Apostolicae Sedis 3 (1911): 639Bl. For the representation of the Traditio legis and its variations in apse decoration, see Christa Ihm, Die Programme der christlichen Apsismalereit vom vierten Jahrhundert bis zur Mitte des achten Jahrhunderts, Forschungen zur Kunstgeschichte und christlichen Archaologie, 4 (Wiesbaden, 1960), 33-40, and 137-8, cat. no. 5, for the apse of Santi

93-

e Damiano,

Rome.

The figures of Peter and John are distinguished by their age, physiognomy, and the colors of their garments; Andrew and James Major are identified by analogies with their depictions along the side walls of the transept. For the calling of these Apostles, see Matthew 10:2; Luke 6:14. Christ chose Peter, John, and James to be present at the Transfiguration and in the garden of Gethsemane; Matthew 17:1, 26:37; Mark 9:2; Luke g:28. A tradition originating with Clement of Alexandria asserted that Christ baptized Peter, who in turn baptized Andrew; Andrew baptized James and John, and they initiated the remainder of the Apostles; Harry A. Echle, “The Baptism of the Apostles,” Traditio 3 (1945): 365-8. Cf. Galatians 2:9. A prominent medieval example is Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. The formula was revived in the 1470s at Santi Apostoli, and applied in the later sixteenth century at Santi Nereo ed Achilleo and San Cesareo. “Tollite portas principes vestri et elevamini portae aeternales et introibit rex gloriae.” The relevance of this passage for the Ascension is explored by Danié-

251

Notes to pp. 154-7

94-

ing to 95-

sandro Perosa, ed., Giovanni Rucellai ed il suo zibaldone, vol. 1: Il zibaldone

lou, Bible, 303-7, with the translation from the Latin herein quoted. A medal issued in 1525 shows the promulgation of the Holy Year indulgence on the obverse and Christ ascendheaven

on

the reverse;

Institute,

anni sancti, 70-2, no. 11.2.

This is reported in the relic list of Leo X

99:

(Lauer, 297); by Giovanni Ruccellai (Perosa, ed., Giovanni Rucellai, 70); and by Giuliano Dati (Comincia el tractato, sigg. a lll verso, a V verso). Vasari, Vite, ed. Milanesi, 4:152-9,

Chigi L.II.30, fols. 218v—-

96.

romanum

(Paris,

1600), sig. e iii recto. May 19 is also the vigil of the feast of San Bernardino da Siena, which began a prolonged period of grace at the Lateran; Palladio, Descritione, unpaginated: “& dal giorno di S. Bernardino ch’e a. 20. di Maggio insino al primo di d’Agosto, ogni giorno e la remissione plenaria di pecCavin For the meaning of the Holy Doors, see Thurston, Holy Year, 28-54; Carlo Cecchelli, “Origini della porta santa,” Capitolium 25 (1950): 229-38; EvaMaria Jung-Inglessis, “La porta santa,” Studi romani 23 (1975): 473-85; and Fagiolo and Madonna, eds., L’arte degli anni santi, }8-88, 197-203. Fabrini, Giubileo, 175-6, associated the idea of the Holy Door with the gates of heaven, and with the entrance to the Tem-

ple. In general on this idea, see Thurston, Op. Cit., 244, 405-10.

97-

A legend first mentioned in 1437 held that those who passed through the “Puerta Tarpea,” located in the Lateran palace, would be immune from punishment;

Thurston,

Holy

Year, 405-6,

181. Around 1450 Giovanni Rucellai repeated the legend and associated the ancient door with the Porta Santa; Ales-

252

speaks only of “un’arme di papa Alessandro VI lavorata in fresco, con angeli e figure che la sostengono.” A more detailed description was provided by Baglione, Nove chiese, 126-7: “e sopra d’essa [the Porta Santa] il Saluadore con diuersi Angioli intorno, e due di loro piu grandi, che reggono vn padiglione, e dietro euul vna prospettiua con colonne, é pittura a fresco di mano di Brama[n]te da Castel Durante di Vrbino pittore, & architetto meriteuole d’ogni lode.” A sketch by Borromini shows the papal coat of arms sheltered by a cano-

219r. Clement VIII’s bull was published on 19 May 1599, vigil of the Ascension; Schmidt, ed., op. cit., 73-9, no. 12.1. For the date of the Ascension in that year, see Missale

1960), 70. For

98.

Francesco Mucantio, papal master of ceremonies, recorded the promulgation of the bull under the same date, which he identified as the feast of the Ascension; BAV,

Studies of the Warburg

24 (London,

the “Golden Gate,” see Thurston, op. cit., 38-9; and Jung-Inglessis, “Porta santa,” 475.

Berni,

Medaglie, 25, no. 22. Herbert Thurston, The Holy Year of Jubilee: An Account of the History and Ceremonial of the Roman Jubilee (London, 1900), 86-7. For Gregory’s bull, dated 10 May 1574, see Schmidt, ed., Bullarium

quaresimale,

py; Hermann Egger, “L’affresco di Bramante nel portico di S. Giovanni in 100.

101.

Laterano,” Roma 10 (1932): 303-6. For the medal, see Berni, Medaglie, 13, no. 5 bis; and Fagiolo and Madonna, eds., L’arte degli anni santi, 197, fig. IV.5.1; cf. 204. The same reverse appears on medals that honor the first Holy Year of Boniface VIII; Berni, op. Git, 75 no..2 bis; cf. “Vhurstony, Holy Year, 40-1. For the Ascension as Christ’s royal en-

thronement, see Daniélou, Bible, 30714. In Matthew 20:20-23, the mother of James and John asks Christ if her sons might sit to His left and right when He appeared in His kingdom. The position of John and James may allude to the statues that stood upon the columns in the Middle Ages; see n. 12. See also Galatians 2:9, where Saint Paul identifed James, Peter, and John as the pillars of the Church, a text that was interpreted by the Venerable Bede with respect to the bronze columns of Solomon’s Temple; PL 91:779-85.

Notes to pp. 157-61 102.

103.

4318, fol. 2114r: “Nella volta della tribuna l’Imagine del Salvatore finta di

Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 38, noted the optical effect and explained it with reference to the angels’ message. See Geoffrey Wainwright, Eucharist and Eschatology, 2d ed. (London, 1978),

musaico, mezza figura, con due Angioli in piedi che tengono due Candelieri in mano. ... supra l’arco l’Angelo che anuntio la vergine dalle bande delle arco due Profeti, et altre poche pittore a fresco.”

esp. 60-93. 104.

The Capranica tabernacle is one of a group of Roman tabernacles that follow the same general form. See Caspary, Sakramentstabernakel, 39-41; Francesco Caglioti, “Paolo

MOby

Romano,

Mino

da

Fiesole e il tabernacolo di San Lorenzo in Damaso,” Prospettiva nos. 53-56 (1988-9): 245-55; and Zuraw, “Mino da Fiesole,” 131-7, 413-18, 532-45. See Anne Markham Schulz, The Sculpture of Bernardo Rossellino and His Workshop (Princeton, 1977), 94, where a similar device on the now dismembered tabernacle for the Badia, Florence, is identified with John the Evangelist and the passage in John 1:14 concerning the Eucharist. It should be noted that at the Lateran, the figure of Saint John the Evangelist in the Ascension gestures toward Christ with one

hand and with the other indicates the sacrament altar. 106.

Liliana Barroero, ed., Guide rionali di Roma: Rione I-Monti, parte I (Rome, 1978), 96-8. Panciroli, Tesori nascosti,

1600 ed., 194-5, reported that the Eucharist and holy oil were conserved in this church for the benefit of those in the Lateran hospital. The original decoration of the apse repeated the basic scheme of the tabernacle and alluded to the Volto Santo in the Lateran’s apse; Mellini, “Descrittioni,” BAV, Barb. lat.

6. CLEMENT

VIII AND THE IDEAL CHRISTIAN

Cesare Ripa, Iconologia

tione

di diverse

overo

imagini

The placement of the reliefs of adoring angels along the transept’s side walls reinforces the association with this type of sacrament tabernacle. The first three Breviary lessons read on the feast of the Lateran’s dedication derive from the book of Revelation and include the descent of the Heavenly Jerusalem. See also John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:343: “In hac ecclesia, quia typum gerit caelestis ecclesiae, die noctuque in matutinis et

missa seu vesperis cotidie festive pulsatur. Inde est quod in ea non cantatur ad missam Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem, quoniam ibi summa

pax iustorum ipse Christus erit,

ubi perfecta et consumata in electis, nec postulatione opus erit, nec augmento.”

This text was repeated by Panvinio— Lauer, 424. See also the characterization of the Lateran by Marco Attilio Serrano, De septem Urbis ecclesiis. . . (Rome, 1575), 62: “Haec primogenita aliarum ecclesiarum omnium sit princeps: hac prima uero Deo erecta finis

imponitur idolotriae: in ea primum clausis ubique idolorum templis Deus in spiritu, & ueritate adoratur: haec prae alijs in terris triumphantem illam Hierusalem

repraesentare

uidetur.”

STATE

Descrit-

cavate

107.

dal-

Vantichita, @ di propria inventione, trovate, @& dichiarate da Cesare Ripa Perugino, Cavaliere de Santi Mauritio, @ Lazaro... (Rome, 1603), 254-5: “Del presente Pontefice CLEMENTE VIII.

ogn’un vede chiaro la mirabil pieta, & Pottimo, e giusto governo, & ognun sti-

ma che per la santissima mente di Sua Beatitudine, & per l’orationi sparse di lagrime che molto frequentemente fa, & per quelle che di continuo fa fare al santissimo Sacramento dal suo Popolo oltre infinite altre attioni di singolar Carita, e di raro essempio della Santita sua, ogni impresa gli sia sotto il suo felicissimo Pontificato successa prosperamen-

253

Notes to p. 162 te, & favorito da Dio a tranquillita, & pace universale del popolo Christiano ad augumento del culto divino, & dello stato Ecclesiastico; onde restaranno di tanto Pontefice (che piaccia al Signore Iddio di conservarlo lunghissimo tempo) memorie gloriossime.” For the pope’s close relationship with Antoniano, see Pastor, 23:36-8; and in general concerning these men, see DBI, 3:511-15, s.v. “Antoniano, Silvio” (Paolo Prodi); DBI, 6:470-8, s.v. “Baronio, Cesare” (Alberto Pincherle); and for Bellarmino, see Romeo De Maio, Agostino Borromeo, Luigi Gulia, Georg Lutz, Aldo Mazzacane, eds., Bellarmino e la controriforma, Atti del simposio internazionale di studi (Sora, 1990). Information concerning Clement’s association with the Oratorians is provided by Beggiao, 36 n. 16; see also Chapter

2. Baronius’s role as Clement’s confessor is noted by the ambassador from Venice to the Holy See, Paolo Paruta, “Relazione di Roma” [1595], in Le relazioni degli ambasciatori veneti al senato durante il secolo decimosesto, 15 vols. ing, ed. Eugenio Albéri (Florence, 1839-63), 10 (ser. 2, vol. 4), 427, and Beggiao, 36. For Baronius’s role in the

decoration of Saint Peter’s under Clement VIII, see Chapter 7, n. 16; and for San Cesareo, see Chapter 2, n. 60. Kirwin, “Roncalli,” 149-53, pro-

posed that the fresco cycle in the Lateran transept follows the chronology of Baronius’s

discussion

of Constantine,

and on this basis identified him as the originator of the program; see also Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 121-5; repeated by others. A contemporary biography states that Antoniano was active in developing three of Sixtus V’s major artistic undertakings — the papal chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, the Scala Santa, and the Lateran palace — and goes on to record his responsibility for authoring inscriptions for both Sixtus and Clement VIII; Giuseppe Castiglione, Silvii Antoniani S.R.E. cardinalis vita... (Rome, 1610), g. See also Ostrow, “Sistine Cha-

254

pel,” 327-31. For a reevaluation of Antoniano’s participation in these projects see Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V,

36, 79, 95-6.

Klaus Schwager, “Kardinal Pietro Aldobrandinis Villa di Belvedere in Frascatl,” ROmisches Jahrbuch fir Kunstgeschichte g-10 (1961-2): 289-382; Cesare D’Onofrio, La Villa Aldobrandini di Frascati (Rome, 1963). “Tutta questa scrittura che € come uw zibaldone et un ogliapotrida, s’é fatta per obedire a chi si deve e perché serva per trattenimento al padrone et all’igegnoso pittore, che ambedue vadano pensando, l’uno dove haveria maggior inclinatione et l’altro dove meglio crederia poter spiegar l’eccellenza dell’arte sua, considerato il campo, il luogo di villa, il signore di essa, la nobilita della fabrica, et altre circostanze. Et quando questi due, cioé il padrone et il pittore, si concordassero in qualche particolare di tanti che si propongono, si potria poi, co’ studi, co’ libri et conferenze co’ persone intendenti cercar di dar qualche forma et polimento a cose rozzamente abbozzate. “Intanto no’ saria male far conservare questa scrittura, quale ella é, perché colui che ’ha cosi imbastita, ha poco cervello et no’ sapria pit: strecciare questa

matassa.” The letter is published in Paola Guerrini, “Villa Aldobrandini,” in Villa e paese: Dimore nobili del Tuscolo e di Marino,

ed. Almamaria

gnosi, exhib. cat. (Rome,

Tantillo

Mi-

1980), 165—

TAGE

It is probable that the learned antiquarian Fulvio Orsini, who was a canon of the Lateran, also participated in the

transept project. In 1592 the chapter placed him in charge of the construction of the new sacristy, and in 1594 he was given the responsibility of honoring Clement VIII with a bronze bust; Catalogue, §§II.B.1—2. For his other ac-

tivities in the capacity of iconographic advisor, see John Rupert Martin, The Farnese Gallery (Princeton, 1965), 39— 48, 52-3; and Loren Partridge, “The Sala d’Ercole in the Villa Farnese at Cap-

Notes to pp. 162-3 rarola, Part II,” Art Bulletin 54 (1972): 53-4. In general, see Pierre de Nolhac, La bibliothéque de Fulvio Orsini (Paris, 1887). The bull was cited by Lauer, 639, no. 119, incorrectly dated 1600 following a similar error in his source, BAV, Vat.

lat. 8035, pt. 2, fols. 16g9r—178r (repeated by Pastor, 24:478). I have used another copy in ASR, Camerale III, Roma, Chiese nee, fe).

e monasteri,

Busta

1901,

Concerning the duties of the chaplains, the bull states: “In super quod dd. Capellani singulis diebus duas Missas ad ds Altare p. seipsos...-” Ibid., Busta 1901, reg. 8, fol. er. The two chaplains Gregory XIII had instituted for service at the sacrament altar he constructed at the Lateran were transferred to the Clementine altar, according to the records of the Visitation of the

Lateran

under

Urban

VIII;

ASV,

Sacra Congregazione della Visita Apostolica, vol. 2, fol. ger. Clement is recorded by the papal master of ceremonies as having used the altar either for the celebration of Mass or for other reasons on 27 May 1601 (BAV>

Barb,

Mat.

26a0,

fol. 150); 24

June 1601 (BAV, Vat. lat. 12319, fol. 206v); 21 July 1602 (ibid., fol. 267r-v); and 28 October 1609 (ibid., fol. 34ov—

3411). “Immensa

redemptoris

nostri

Jesu

Christi charitas in sacratissimi Corporis sui mysterio, quo memoriam

fecit mira-

bilium suorum, maxime inesse atque elucere dignoscitur tantaque ex eo veluti ex perenni flumine in nos largitas redundat gratiarum tam praeciosum in vera illa Divini Corporis substantia datur incomparabilis amoris, aeternaeque beatitudinis pignus, ut illud nec humano sensu concipere nec meritis laudibus celebrare, neque iustis honoribus prosequi valeamus, infirmitatis tamen nostrae et Christianae pietatis partes sunt, ut certissimum hoc salutis nostrae subsidium fidelibus animis accipere, assiduoque cultu quantum nobis ab ipso conceditur venerari, eique copiosae laudis exaltationem offerre studeamus,

quod quidem non solum intimis cordis nostri visceribus, omnique animi dimissione, sed exteriori etiam significatione,

quantum humana fert imbecillitas sedulo praestare. Cupientes nuper in Basilica S. Joannis Lateranensis de Urbe unum Altare quatuor columnis aeneis auro coruscantibus, laquear etiam inauratum sustentantibus parietibus depictis, aeneisque imaginibus circumpositis, et Coena Dominica in figuris argenteis repraesentata, nec non Tabernaculo ex variis gemmis, lapillis praetiosis mirifice, et eleganter composito desuper collocatis decoratum, in quo eiusdem Sacratissimi Corporis sub visibili specie invisibile Sacramentum decenter, et honorifice asservaretur insigni, et sumptuoso opere construi, et demum solemni ritu consecrari Curavimus, ac multa alia tum ad ipsius Sanctissimae Eucharistiae sacramentum, venerationem, et honorem, tantique mysterli representationem, ac Christi fidelium erga illud per amplius exercitandam devotionem, tum etiam Basilicae praedictae splendorem, et ornatum fieri curavimus. Vt autem in dicto Altari incruentum salutaris hostiae sacrificium assidue pro nostra, et Christiani Populi salute offeratur, competensque ibidem Beneficiorum, et ministrorum numerus ad eiusdem Redemptoris nostri laudem, et gloriam ac praedicti S.mi Sacramenti venerationem, divinique cultus incrementum instituatur, et

congruis facultatibus communiatur. Motu proprio non ad alicuius nobis super hoc oblatae petitionis instantiam, sed ex mera deliberatione, et certa scientia nostra, ac de Apostolicae potestatis plenitudine ad dictum Altare quatuor perpetuas Cappellanias sacerdotales pro quatuor Clericis saecularibus, etiam alienigenis in Presbiteratus ordine constitutis, futuris, perpetuis Cappellanis, qui bonae vitae, et famae, ac iis ritibus, et caeremonijs Missae experti, atque ab examinatoribus in Urbe deputatis, examinati,

et approbati

sint, nec

aliud beneficium Ecclesiasticum personalem residentiam requirens in dicta Basilica, vel alibi obtineant, ac missas ad dictum Altare per se ipsos celebra-

255

Notes to pp. 163-5 rent....” ASR, Camerale III, Roma, Chiese e monasteri, Busta 1901, reg. 8, fols. 1r-v. 10.

12.

17.

23:21-58; DBI,

26:

259-82, s.v. “Clement VIII, papa” (Agostino Borromeo); and Beggiao, 35— 46. On clementia as an imperial virtue, see Stefan Weinstock, Divus Julius (Oxford, 1971), 233-43. Seneca identified clemency with mercy, not leniency; when exercised by a strong prince, it provides a powerful means to control his subjects, encouraging their obedience through respect rather than enforcing it through fear. See Ford Lewis and André Malan Hugo, eds. and trans., Calvin’s Commentary on Seneca’s De clementia (Leiden, 1969).

On

the

legation

that took

place

di Firenze;....”

18.

19.

20.

Roma, in Italia, et altrove, divise in due libri (Venice, 1648), ed. Costantino

los; Herz,

and 492.

Ostrow,

“lombs,

“Sistine

2575 cat, 10.4:

Chapel,”

485,

lis, 1:1xxi-Ixxiii; and The Catholic Encyclopedia, 15 vols. (New York, 190712), 4:12-13. For the Epistle of Clement to James, see PG 2:31-56. The content of the letter and the means of its transmission are analyzed by Walter Ullmann, “The Significance of the Epistola Clementis in the Pseudo-Clementines,” Journal of Theological Studies, n.s., 11 (1960): For the Sala Clementina, see Morton C.

Abromson,

“Clement

VIII’s Patronage

of the Brothers Alberti,” Art Bulletin 60 (1978): 535-40; and Kristina Hermann-

22:1690—73, 23:23-4.

15.

On the papal succession, see Duchesne’s comments in Liber pontifica-

295-317.

Panigada, Memorie e lettere, Scrittori d'Italia, 150 (Bari, 1934), 33. For the legation to Poland, see Pastor, The consistory held in the Sala degli Imperatori on 30 May 1589 inaugurated the new Lateran palace for official use; see ACL, K.XXX, fol. 15, (entry dated 5 June 1589): “primum concistorium publicum in novo Palatio Lateranen.” Quoted by Galletti, BAV, Vat. lat, 8097, pt. 3, fol. 151; See also ACL, K.XXIX, fol. 25v, where it is specified that the consistory was held in “Aula secunda q. dicitur Imperatoria.” See also the reports in Buonanni, Numismata pontificum romanorum, 1:415; and Orbaan, “Roma di Sisto V,” 309. Concerning the relief, see Schwager, “Zur Bautatigkeit Sixtus’ V.,” 346 n.

il

quale teneva molta autorita ed erano grandemente i suoi consigli stimati, come é notissimo a tutti... .”

Bentivoglio, con le quali descrive la sua

14.

See Pastor, 23:10; DBI, 2:112-14,..s.v. “Aldobrandini, Silvestro” (Elena Fassano Guarini); and Paruta, “Relazione,” 427-8: “Silvestro suo padre ne’ tempi

del pontificato di Paolo IV, presso

vita, e non solo le cose a lui successe nel corso di essa, ma insieme le piu notabili ancora occorse nella citta di

13.

See also Paruta, “Re-

lazione,” 439 (concerning both of Clement’s parents): “l’una e l’altra famiglie nobili di Firenze.”

in

1571-2, see Pastor, 18:408-10, 23:22. Aldobrandini’s role is recorded by Guido Bentivoglio, Memorie del cardinale

For what follows, see Pastor, 23:6—18. Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada,

32: “Era nato della casa Aldobrandina che é una delle pit antiche e pit nobili

For a biographical sketch of Aldobrandini, see Pastor,

11.

16.

22.

23.

Fiore, Disegni degli Alberti: Il volume 2503 del Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, exhib. cat. (Rome, 1983), 7882, cat. nos. 30-2. For the Lateran sacristy, see Catalogue, §II.B.3. Clement also planned to have the relics of Clement I transferred to the main altar in the Cappella Clementina he embellished in Saint Peter’s; see Chapter 47, n, 16. Kirsopp Lake, trans., The Apostolic Fathers, Loeb Classical Library (London, 1912), 1:9-127. Scipione Ammirato, Orazione ... al santiss. et beatiss. padre, et signor nos-

tro Clemente VIII (Florence, 1594), 23: “quasi antiuedendo, che l’ottauo Clemente, essendo |’ottauo numero quasi corona che stringe il fine col suo principio, hauesse a suoi tempi dopo tre

Notes to pp. 166-7

24.

500. anni a sbarbar del tutto il sommo Patriarca del paganismo.” Liber pontificalis, 1:123: “Clemens, natione Romanus, de regione CelimonTERE

25.

247.

tree

Catholic Encyclopedia, 4:13-14. See also Saint Eucherius, bishop of Lyons (d. ca. 449), “Epistola paraenetica ad Valerianum cognatum,” PL 50:718:

“Clemens

Papae huius nominis primi qui summo iure magni cognomentum iam olim

obtinet, sermones @& homiliae, quae quidem extant omnes (Cologne, 1547),

vetusta prosapia senatorum,

atque etiam ex stirpe Caesarum, omni scientia refertus, omniumque liberalium artium peritissimus, ad hanc justorum viam transit; itaque etiam in ea excellenter effloruit, ut principi quoque apostolorum successor extiterit.” This text was quoted by Baronius, Annales,

preface, sig. ii verso: “Nam hactenus illis valet Gennadius de communione & transsubstantiatione, Clemens de Eucharistiae reseruatione,...” Cited in 28.

2:23 (year 102, no. 23). 26.

The notion that Clement I was a member of the Lateran gens adds further resonance to Clement VIII’s commemoration of Clement I in the Lateran sacristy; Catalogue, §II.B.3. See Casella, “Historia,” BAY, Barb. lat. 4594: “et in

2g.

questa casa [the Lateran palace] habitava I’Ill.ma Donna Flavia sorella di Tito

30.

Flavio Clementi di S. Clemente,

Console, et del Padre che sia poi Papa. Et

tur.” “Orate pro Ecclesia sancta catholica, ut, dissipatis erroribus, unius fidis

rio Plautiano, chiamava ft Plautilla. . . [fol. ir]. ... diremo che S. Clemente

cessori Apostolici per ordine. Et cosi quando S. Pietro prima, et poi S. Paolo

venero a Roma, habbero per la diligenza di S. Clemente adito spedito in quello Palazzo [fol. 2r].” Casella culled some of his information from Antonio Gallonio, Historia della vita e martirio de’ gloriosi santi Flavia Domitilla Vergine, Nereo, et Achilleo, e piu altri,

con alcune vite brevi de santi parenti di S. Flavia Domitilla... (Rome, 1597).

Polman, L’élément historique, 315. An avviso dated 1 February 1592, two days after Clement’s election, records that the pope “mostra di essere istruttissimo di tutte le cose della corte, et particolarmente da Preti, et Regolari, i quali dovranno aspettare presto qualchelriuwiorma’BAV, Urb, lat ooo, pt 1, fol. Ker, in Beggiao, 47. For the goals Clement set forth concerning the Visitation, see Chapter 2. Bullarium romanum, 9:644-6, no. 48: “ut die noctuque, quavis hora, toto vertente anno, sine intermissione, orationis incensum in conspectu Domini dirga-

non é dubbio ch’ella dal nome del madre, che 6 figlio, 6 Nipoti fusse di Tibe-

per lufficio suo dissemmando la fide in Giesu Christo Nostro Signore, doveva fra le prime portarla in casa di Plautilla.... Et tanto pit che Plautilla era vedova, et vicina, cioé nella stessa regione Celimontana. Cosi N.ro Sig.re andava preparando il... [?] alla Cathedra sua, dove haveva a sedere il Prencipe de gli’ Apostoli suo Vicario, et poi gli suc-

In his edition of the writings of Pope Leo I, the Jesuit Petrus Canisius recorded that the Protestants accepted certain early Church authorities on liturgical practices, including Clement on the reservation of the Eucharist; D. Leonis

1.

veritas toto terrarum orbe propagetur.” “Orate pro regum et christianorum paceret unitate, Antonio De Santi, L’orazione delle

Quarant’ore e i tempi di calamita e di guerra (Rome, 1919), 179-204. Baglio-

ne, Vite, 59, recognized the innovatory character of Clement’s decree. a2. 33-

Pastor, 23:100-46. See Pastor, 24:125—-40, 256-7; Vincenzo Buri, “L’unione della chiesa copta con Roma sotto Clemente VIII,” Orientalia christiana, 23, 2, no. 72 (1931):

105-264; and Georg Hofmann, Wiedervereinigung der Ruthenen

ed., mit

Rom, Orientalia christiana, 3,2,no. 12 (Rome, 1925). The bull of reconcilia-

tion with the Ruthenians is dated 23 December 1595; Bullarium romanum, 10:239-46, no. 122. In it Clement expressed the hope that all the schismatic churches would follow their example.

aE)

Notes to pp. 167-70 34: 3536.

tique de Clément VIII a l’égard de Ferrare en Novembre et Décembre 1597 et excommunication

Angelo Rocca, De sacrosancto corpore

romanis

40.

pontificibus

expresso

diuinae

Pageantry in Late Renaissance

Medieval

and

Renaissance

Studies, 71 (Binghamton,

N.Y.,

42.

39:

and

Munshower,

43-

44-

and

1990);

eds.,

“All

the world’s a stage... ,” 1:118-36. It should be noted that Antoniano, Baronius, and Arpino all accompanied Clement on the triumphal march. It is likely that the final design for the transept frescoes in which the idea of triumph is a prominent component was

Berlin,

(Ph.D.

diss.,

1979),

102;

nio’s career. The peace between France and Spain and the Ruthenian bishops supplicating before the pope appear to the pope’s right; to his left are represented the triumphal entry into Ferrara and Clement investing Gian Francesco Aldobrandini with the command of the troops, who would repulse the Turks in Hungary.

and idem, “A Papal Progress in 1598,” in Wisch

Villamenas”

Universitat,

and Ursula Konig-Nordhoff, Ignatius von Loyola: Studien zur Entwicklung einer neuen Heiligen-Ikonographie im Rahmen einer Kanonisationskampagne um 1600 (Berlin, 1982), 294, fig. 383. Baglione, Vite, 227-9, discusses Arco-

Ferrara,

Texts

X -

(Rome,

1979), 58.

Francesco

tantum,

itinerary, and the events that occurred along the route. See Veronika Birke, “Der Einzug Papst Clemens VIII. in Bologna im Jahre 1598,” Wiener Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 40 (1987): 5766; Bonner Mitchell, 1598, A Year of

Rione ed.

The engraving measures 533 X 381 mm. The date 1599 appears along the bottom border with the names of Ma-

Freie

opis praesidio,

restituit, Ferraria gaudio gestiente, tota Vrbe Roma exultante, Deoque ingentes gratias agente, vniuersaque Italia admirante.” Rocca, De sacrosancto Christi corpore, 41-115, provided a detailed account of the preparations for the journey, the

II, 2d

below the portrait of Clement, however, is dated to the seventh year of his reign, 1598. See Dorothee Kihn-Hattenhauer, “Das grafische Oeuvre des

Christi

cientibus praeferendo commentarius, ... (Rome, 1599), 42: “superior: anno M.D.XCVIII. die 12. Ianuarij restituere, inita conuentione, scriptis mandata, promisit: reque ipsa eiusdem vigesima nona Mensis die, hoc est, pridie diei sancto Hippolyto consecratae, in qua ipsius Clementis, antea Hippolyti nuncupati, Pontificatus natalis celebratur,

sed

di Roma:

parte

rio Arconio as inventor and Francesco Villamena as engraver. The inscription

iter confi-

libere ac pacifice, non humano

rionali

Campitelli,

Ai:

Arpino’s Mander; 182. The recorded

by Rocca, De sacrosancto Christi corDOLE Olen Os O2 OA. Forcella, 1.104; Carlo Pietrangeli, ed.,

Guide

de César d’Este,”

Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de l’Ecole Francaise de Rome 74 (1962): 289-328. Clement’s legal claim was based on a bull promulgated by Pius V on 29 March 1567 declaring that all escheated fiefs must revert to the papacy; Bullarium romanum, 7:560—-4, no. 53. 37°

under discussion at that time. presence is attested to by Van Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, participation of the others is

Pastor, 23:285. Pastor, 23:209-13. Pastor, 24:382-95; Alberto Gasparini, Cesare d’Este e Clemente VIII (Modena, 1960); Bernard Barbiche, “La poli-

45-

Schmidt,

ed., Bullarium

anni

sancti,

73-9, NO. 12.1. Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 119: “Ma in tempo di Clemente essendo caduto l’anno santo che chiudeva lintiero secolo del 1600, percid parve che in certa maniera questo anno venisse a portare con se qualche prerogativa maggiore degli altri framezzati nell’ordinario corrente spazio fra un secolo e Paltro, e che in conseguenza promettesse maggior concorso di forastieri e ricercasse all’incontro maggior preparamento alle devozioni.” Concerning the Holy Year of 1575, see Chapter 1.

Notes to pp. 170-1 46.

For an overview

cheduno di quelli santi gradi gli uscivano secondo che le ginocchia dall’uno all’altro di mano in mano lo portavano;.... A similar account appears in

of the Holy Year of

1600, see Pastor, 24:269—80. More

spe-

cific information is provided in Camillo Fanucci, Trattato di tutte l’opere pie dell’alma citta di Roma... (Rome, 1601);

Agostino

Valier

(Valerio),

De

sacro anno iubilei millesimo sexcentesimo sedem Petri tenente Clemente VIII commentarius

Valier, De sacro

49-

(Verona, 1601); Vittorel-

li, Giubilei pontefici, 421-56; Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 119-26; Domenico

anni

Maria

Manni,

Istoria

santi dal loro principio

degli

fino al

presente del 1750... (Florence, 1750), 150-75; and Giuseppe Beltrami, “L’anno santo del MDC,” Roma 3 (1925):

433-47. For estimates of the number of pilgrims, see Vittorelli, op. cit., 433-4; IMIevnbeN, OV Clty LAWS AWE, B77 Kos and Hibbard, Maderno, 20. Giacomo Grimaldi recorded that by 18 December 1600 Clement had visited the churches 60 times: “Papa complevit visitationes ecclesiarum pro 60 vicibus.” BAY, Vat- lat.118685 in’ Beltrami;

50.

“MDC,” 447. 48.

Bentivoglio,

Memorie,

ed. Panigada,

122: “Ma non passo mai domenica di quell’anno santo, purché egli non fusse

infermo, che non visitasse le quattro basiliche principali.... In ciascheduna chiesa egli faceva apparire la sua esem-

plarissima devozione, ma nel fare specialmente, quasi sempre in genocchione, la scala santa quanto egli in quell’atto pativa tanto pit edificava. E senza dubio il patimento era grandissimo rispetto alla sua podagra e chiragra, le quali nel fermar egli tutto il peso sulle genocchia e nel salire dall’uno all’altro scalino gli tenevano impedite in modo le mani ed i piedi che non poteva se non difficilmente, e con intenso e acer-

bo dolore, servirsene. E pure io non mi ricordo ch’egli in queste funzioni mai tralasciasse quella sorte di particolare devozione. E certo s’intenerivano 1 cuo-

ri di ciascuno in vedere una tanta maesta umiliarsi a quel segno, ed accompagnar quell’azione con si vero ardor di spirito e con si gran zelo di fede; il che specialmente appariva dalla copia di tante lagrime che dagli occhi per cias-

51.

52.

anno, 32.

These activities are reported in Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 120; Manni, Anni santi, 166-7. A report of the Venetian ambassador dated 1601 records the same acts as though they had become a permanent part of the pope’s behavior; Marco Venier, “Relazione [1601],” in Relazione degli stati europei lette al senato dagli ambasciatori veneti nel secolo decimosettimo, 10 vols. in 11, ed. Nicolo Barozzi and Guglielmo Berchet (Venice, 1856-78), ser. 3, Italia, Relazione di Roma, 1:33. Valier, De sacro anno, 42: “& in dies augetur magis frequentia nimirum Sanctissimorum Sacramentorum Poenttentiae, & Eucharistiae, Pontificis Sum-

mi imprimis, Cardinalium plurimorum, Episcoporum, & omnium generum Praelatorum, & aliorum quotidianis sacrificijs iustissimam Dei iram placare studentium, & populum Dei optimo exemplo ad pietatem excitantium; quam sinceram pietatem mirabiliter alit continuae orationis....” See also ibid., 98-9, for a moving statement of the larger significance of the Holy Year celebration of 1600. See Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., “Liturgical Expressions of the Constantinian Triumph,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 57-8, with particular reference to Eusebius, Tricennial Oration, 17. Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 120. According to Giacomo Grimaldi, BAV, Vat. lat. 11898, in Beltrami, “MDC,” 445, the indulgence was available beginning on Christmas: “Die ultima

Decembris,

festo S. Silvestri, Porta

Sancta aperta fuit a Papa ob podagram. Indulgentiae coeperunt a Vesperis Dominicae DAESo”

Nativitatis ex declaratione

Pa-

Orazio Massari, Epigrammata ad Sanctissimum D.N. Clementem VIII Pont. Opt. Max. de ipsius insignibus (Rome, 1598), unpaginated:

259

Notes to pp. 171-5 AD EVNDEM

Croce, apertamente

DE PATRIS NOMINE

Clementem stabili regno, imperioque micantem Quam bene Siluestro conuenit esse satum. Per sacra Siluestri iussa, atque per inclyta facta Nobile pontificum stemma, decusque viget, Qui genuit sacra illum aspergine lucis in auras: Cui Constantino nobile nomen erat. Ille crucem regno inseruit, sacrisque tyaris, Claraque Christiadis sceptra regenda dedit. Tu quoque Siluestri o Clemens generosa propago Incrementa pijs gentibus ampla refers. Quam Constantinus regnis ingentibus auxit, Tu vero amplificas cultu, & honore fidem. Hinc tantum superas illum: coelestia quantum Humanis praestant nobilitate bonis.

54:

55:

56.

57°

nix, see

primitivo,”

apse, on the interior facade, and the ceiling; Herz, “Restoration,” 611, fig. 16. See R. van den Broek, The Myth of the Phoenix According to Classical and

Early Christian Traditions, Etudes préliminaires aux religions orientales dans empire romain, 24 (Leiden, 1972). Concerning the phoenix in the Lateran apse mosaic, Bosio, Croce, 703, noted: “si vede ivi in mezzo di essa, un’altra, et eminente palma, albero di vittoria, e di trionfo; e sopra di essa, una Fenice; 260

nostro

sopra

Bisconti,

“Aspetti

e

Vetera

christianorum

16

(1979): 21-40.

1:27Vv—28r, 2:ggr—-v; and Joachim Camerarius, Symbolorum et emblematum centuriae tres,4 vols. in 1, 2d ed. (Leipzig, 1605), 99vV—102r. The phoenix also decorates the Lateran organ; Chapter 3, n. 34. Other appearances include the Cappella Clementina in Saint Peter’s (upper frieze); and the Sala di Concistoro in the Vatican palace, where it is integrated with the papal coat of arms located at the center of the ceiling (photo: Archivio Fotografico Musei Vaticani, XXII.20.6); illustrated in Carlo Pietrangeli, ed., I palazzo apostolico vaticano (Florence, 1992), 177. At San Cesareo the phoenix appears in frescoes located in the

Salvator

Fabrizio

significati del simbolo della fenice nella letteratura e nell’arte del christianesimo

Clement I, “Epistola ad Corinthios I,” PG 1:262-6. Filippo Picinelli, Mondo simbolico o sia universita d’imprese... (Milan, 1653), 117: “Da fenice altresi parve si portasse il Rendentore, quando col pane Eucaristico, che vuol dire con le sue proprie carni, e sangue, a se medesimo appresto il nodrimento di viva, e vera vita.” See also the comments by Bosio and Rasponi quoted in n. 56. For the depiction of a phoenix on a sacrament tabernacle, see Caspary, Sakraments-

For the emblematic use of the phoenix, see Giulio Cesare Capaccio, Delle imprese Trattato, 3 vols. (Naples, 1592),

che Christo

significa.” Cf. Ras-

poni, 42: “Palma, & Phoenix Christi figuram gerunt, qui Crucem ascendens, & passionis amore mirum in modum aestuans, dignatus est in ea pro nobis emori, atque instar Phoenicis victor a MOrtwis resurrexit. ...~ On the early Christian uses of the phoe-

la

tabernakel, 61. 60.

Biblioteca Angelica, Rome, [Cl.2.1, no. 18. (My thanks to Irving Lavin for bringing this image to my attention.) The sheet is dated at the bottom “Romae, Apud Aloysium Zannettum MDC. Superiorum permissu.” The dedication to Clement VIII is owed to Juan de Horozco y Covarruvias, bishop of Agrigento, among whose published works is Emblemas Morales (Segovia, 1591). For a biographical sketch of the author who had reason to be especially grateful to Clement, see Giuseppe Cappelletti, Le chiese d'Italia dalla origine sino ai nostri giorni, 21 vols. (Venice, 1844— 70), 21:604. “Ex quo phoenicem tuum, B.P. ardentem ad Solis radios conspexi, nulla inscriptione decoratum, coepi mecum diligenter inquirere, quidnam illi potissimum adscriberem, quod clamosum illud silentium interpretaretur. Cumgq. varia sese obtulerint,

diversa

inde sym-

bola mihi licuit effingere, quae mentem tuam Deo penitus dicatam ostenderent, & tuo exemplo singulos ad meditan-

Notes to pp. 175-7 dum

sublimiora

phoenicem

mam,

62.

quae

prouocarent,

suum,

unica

ani-

est, contemplantur,

& post renovationem in vera poenitentia, ad Deum accedere, & illuminari concupiscunt.” For the phoenix as a symbol of reform, see Gerhard B. Ladner, The Idea of Re-

form: Its Impact on Christian Thought and Action in the Age of the Fathers, 63.

rev. ed. (New York, 1967), 21 n. 21. Lactantius was the tutor of Constantine’s son Crispus. For the De ave phoenice, see J. Wight Duff and Arnold M. Duff, eds. and trans., Minor Latin Poets, Loeb Classical Library (London,

1934), 634-65.

64.

Michel

Christol,

“L’image

du phénix

sur les revers monétaires, au milieu du

65.

torowicz, The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology 66.

(Princeton, 1957), 385-95. In another coin type the bird appears raised above either a globe or a mountain. For a survey of these coins, see J.P. C. Kent, Roman Imperial Coinage, vol. 8: The Family of Constantine I, A.D. 337-364 (London, 1981), 580 (“Emperor on galley”), 584 (“Phoenix”). Their meaning in relation to the eleventh centenary of Rome’s foundation in 348 has been discussed by Harold Mattingly, “FEL. TEMP. REPARATIO,” Numismatic Chronicle, ser. 5, 13 (1933): 182-202; and J.P.C. Kent,

IIe siécle: Une référence a la crise de

“FEL.

Vempire?,” Revue numismatique, ser. 6, 18 (1976): 82-96. Francesco Gnecchi, I medaglioni romani..., 3 vols. (Milan, 1912), 2:134, no. 3, pl. 130.2; Andreas Alféldi, “On the Foundation of Constantinople: A Few Notes,” Journal of Roman Stud165, 37 (10947): 15, pl. 1, No.7. By way of negation, Eusebius, Life of Constan-

Chronicle, ser. 7, 7 (1967): 83-g0. The inscription can also mean “Felicitous Restoration of Times.” Particular interest in Constantinian coins, although not the ones under discussion here, is demonstrated by the

tine, 4.71—2, related Constantine’s rule after death through his sons to the phoenix. This is an early statement of a theme that would be developed by the glossators in the Middle Ages where-

VIII; Pierre de Nolhac, “Les collections d’antiquités de Fulvio Orsini,” Mé-

7. ENCAENIA 1.

by the dignitas of office does not die with the individual, but appears as a phoenixlike species; see Ernst H. Kan-

si modo

id est, cuiusque

TEMP.

REPARATIO,”

Numismatic

Lateran canon Fulvio Orsini (d. 1600),

who bequeathed two medals and two coins of Constantinian date to Clement

langes d’archéologie et d’histoire de l’Ecole Francaise de Rome 4 (1884): 210 and note.

ECCLESIAE

“Evangelium intendite: ‘Facta sunt autem Encaenia in lerosolymis.’ Encaenia festivitas erat dedicationis templi. Graece enim Ka@lvov dicitur novum

quandocumque novum aliquid fuerit dedicatum, Encaenia vocantur.” St. Augustine, “In Iohannis Evangelium ee Me egetasa The rich literature on the development of Saint Peter’s that underlies my discussion is cited in the notes that follow. I owe a particular debt to Irving Lavin, who pointed the way to understanding the larger implications of the influence

of the Lateran sacrament altar on Saint Peters:

The main innovations of the Lateran transept were adapted in a series of Roman projects conceived during the first decade of the seventeenth century. The series appropriately begins with the Aldobrandini chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva (initiated by Clement VIII in 1600), and includes the high altar of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, the Cerasi

chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, the chapel of Santa Barbara at San Gregorio Magno, the high altar ensemble at the 261

Notes to p. 178 tine structures hypothesized by Kirwin, successive refurbishings of the first monument of 1594. In addition to Grimaldi’s account of the ceremony, see also Pastor 24:471-2; and Kirwin, “Baldacchino,” 144 n. 11, 147, citing diaries of the master of ceremonies. The papal medal commemorating the consecration of 1594 is dated to the fourth year of Clement’s pontificate, 1595; the image is based on the

Chiesa Nuova, and the chapel of Paul V in Santa Maria Maggiore. Whether for reasons of patronage, dedication, or function, each project can be related to Clement

VIII, and each builds on the

primary achievement mentina,

where

of the nave

the ensemble

cle-

decora-

tion is orchestrated to assert the real presence of a divine event. See Freiberg, “The Lateran and Clement VIII,” 284-94, 494-501 nn. 72-101. John Shearman, “II tiburio di Braman-

engraving

gresso internazionale, Milano—Urbino-

Roma, 1970 (Rome, 1974), 567-73-

Gregory XIII had a vestibule joined to the structure; Siebenhiiner, “Umrisse,” 202; The activities of Clement VIII at the high altar and crypt chapel, including the consecration of the altar, are described by Grimaldi, Descrizione, ed. Niggl, 204-6. For the new altar mensa, see also Orbaan, Documenti, 47 n.; Armando Schiavo, “L’altare papale di San Pietro,” Strenna dei romanisti 22 (1961): 161-4; Siebenhuner, “Umrisse,” 290; and W. Chandler Kirwin, “Bernini’s Baldacchino Reconsidered,” ROmisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 19 (1981): 148 n. 37. The raising of the pavement created the “grotte vecchie,” for which

palis

at Saint

“Tiburio,”

romanum,

Peter’s,

see

568; and Kirwin,

Shearman,

“Baldac-

chinoy: 152 n.0G: This aspect of Clement’s intervention is discussed in B. M. Apollonj Ghetti, A. Ferrua, E. Josi, E. Kirschbaum,

Es-

plorazioni sotto la confessione di San Pietro

in Vaticano

eseguite

negli anni

Concerning the ciborium of Sixtus IV (actually begun by Pius II), see Vatican

1940-1949, 2 vols. (Vatican City, 1951), 1:216—20. For the association of the site with the burial of both Saints Peter and Paul, see Lavin, Crossing, lene i Grimaldi, Descrizione, ed. Niggl, 205: “Tri igitur altaria sunt: sancti Silvestri, Callisti secundi et Clementis octavi.” The high altar is identified as the first stone altar in the Breviary lessons for the feast of the dedication of Saint Pe-

Collections, 40-1,

ter’s on

see Kirwin, op. cit., 126 n. 58.

Raggio); L’arte

cat. no.

10

Fagiolo and Madonna,

degli anni

santi, 357-67,

(Olga

eds., no.

10.

VUI.10 (Pierluigi Silvan, Anna Cavallaro); Pierluigi Silvan, “II ciborio di Sisto IV nell’antica basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano: Ipotesi per una ideale recomposizione,”

Bollettino

18 November;

Breviarium

ro-

manum, 1606 ed., 983. The event occurred in 1594. See the account in Filippo Bonanni, Numismata summorum pontificium templi vaticani

fabricam indicantia,... (Rome, 1696), 149; and the discussion in L. Duchesne, “Notes sur la topographie de Rome au moyen-age, XIII. Vaticana,” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Ecole Fran¢aise de Rome 35 (1915): 3-13. The tomb Constantine built for Peter’s relics is described in Liber pontificalis, 1:

d’arte, ser. 6,

no. 89 (1984): 87-98; and Zuraw, “Sojourn,” 317-19. The discussion of the new Clementine ciborium for Saint Peter’s by Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 126-7, was expanded in Kirwin, “Baldacchino,” 148-51. The interpretation of the material therein set forth has been clarified in important respects by Lavin, “Baldachin,” 405-9, who sees in place of the four Clemen262

in Pontificale

1595 ed., 421; cf. Siebenhtiner, “Umrisse,” 291-2, fig. 31, and Fig. 87 of the present volume. For the celebration of the Capella pa-

te,” in Studi bramanteschi, Atti del con-

170% 11.

Avviso of 2 June 1593; BAV, Urb. lat. 1061, fol. 306, in Orbaan, Documenti, 48 n.; and Heinrich Thelen, Zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Hochaltar-Archi-

Notes to pp. 178-80 (Berlin,

“Cardinal Baronius and the ‘Misteri’ in St. Peter’s,” in Baronio e l’arte, ed. De

The decoration and function of the chapel is described by Francesco Maria

Maio et al., 3-20. In 1604 Clement announced a plan,

Torriggio,

in the event never carried out, to transfer the relics of Pope Clement I from the church of San Clemente to the main altar of the Cappella Clementina; Siebenhiiner, “Umrisse,” 301-2; Orbaan,

tektur von St. Peter 1967), 18-19 n. 32. 12.

in Rom

Le sacre grotte vaticane...

(Viterbo, 1618), 44: “Questo luoco é stato di varie pietre adornato da Clemente Ottauo, e nella volta fece fare i lauori di stucco indorato, & il pauimento pure: di-varie pictre, ¢ marm). ... Qui vi si celebra la santa Messa spesse volte da Cardinali, Vescoui, Prelati, & altri gran personaggi con diuotione in-

Documenti,

credible. Alle volte vi celebra anco il Sommo Pontefice, e con gusto rimira queste pietose antichita quiui conseruate.” Giovanni Battista de Toth, Grotte vaticane (Vatican City, 1955), 166, claims that the stuccoes visible today

13.

are in large part the work of Giovanni Battista Maini (1690-1752). The decoration of the dome was under discussion in 1593; Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 125 nn. 534; Kirwin, “Baldacchino,” 144-6. The mosaics were executed by Giuseppe d’Arpino in 1603-12; Siebenhiner, “Umrisse,”

17. 18.

19.

300; ROttgen, Cavalier Ar-

Payments for the inscription appear in September—December 1605; Ennio Francia, Storia della costruzione del nuovo San Pietro da Michelangelo a Bernini (Rome,

15.

16.

20.

1989), 116-17.

Gregory’s chapel was conceived as a quasi-independent area of the church. There were, however, plans to extend the decoration to the chapel located opposite the Gregoriana, which were later realized by Clement VIII; Siebenhiner, “Umrisse,” 268-78. Baglione, Vite, 110-11, records Baronius’s involvement. These same subjects were represented in the stuccoes of

the crypt chapel. Of the navi piccole chapels, only the Cappella Clementina, located in the southeast corner, was brought to completion during Clement’s reign. See Siebenhiner, “Umrisse,” 293-9; Tiberia, Giacomo della Porta, 44-5; Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine

Triumph,” 128-70, with extensive documentation;

and W. Chandler

Kirwin,

n. This

idea imitated

De See Orbaan, Documenti, 46 n., 47 1.5; and Hibbard, Maderno, 156, 168. For a survey of Paul V’s works at Saint

Peter’s with ample documentation, see Hibbard, Maderno, 65-74, 155-88. For the various positions in favor of and against preserving the Constantinian nave at the time of Paul V, see Pastor, 26:380-1, 385-8; Hibbard, Mader-

pino, 119-22.

14.

47

Gregory XIII’s placement of relics of his namesake, the Greek Doctor of the Church Gregory Nazianzus, in the chapel he constructed on the opposite side of the basilica. However, Clement’s plan would have had the additional value of emphasizing the apostolic succession. Further to the importance of Clement I for Clement VIII, see Chapter

no, 156-7, 168-9; and De Maio, Controriforma, 325-9. The significance of the portico in this respect was recognized by Hibbard, Maderno, 162. Maderno also employed columns from Old Saint Peter’s in the side aisles of the new building; ibid., 164.

22.

The idea to frame the facade of Saint Peter’s with twin towers, introduced in Nicholas V’s mid-fifteenth-century rebuilding project, was revived under Julius I], and again under Paul V. In the late sixteenth century, twin towers were employed at Santa Trinita dei Monti and San Attanasio dei Greci. Further to the meaning of the form, see Chapter 1. The date of the inscription that adorns the facade, 1612, warrants comment

in

this connection. Although the facade itself was completed in that year, the statues that crown the attic story were lacking, and the campanili, portico, as well as the nave remained unfinished. What263

Notes to pp. 180-2 logical relics — the veil of Veronica and the lance of Longinus — were transferred to the western crossing piers located toward the apse. A third relic, the head

ever else it signifies concerning the chronology of building operations, 1612 was surely chosen for its symbolic value, synchronizing the ostensible date of completion with the thirteen-hundredth

of Saint Andrew, was also transferred at this time; Lavin, Crossing, 3. During the

anniversary of Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge and the conversion

23-

24.

of the empire to Christianity. The confessio complements the subterranean Cappella Clementina, which is situated at a slightly lower level behind the high altar. For Clement’s works in the confessio at Saint Peter’s, see Apollonj Ghetti et al., Esplorazioni, 21920. Apparently, the great arch that forms the vault of the chapel was constructed by Clement to support the new high altar; Pierluigi Silvan, “I cicli pittorici delle grotte vaticane: Alcuni aspetti poco noti dell’opera di Giovan Battista Ricci da Novara e di Carlo Pellegrini,” Arte lombarda n.s., nos. go-1 (1989): 106, The obverse

of the medal

(Fig.

Hibbard, Maderno, 165-6, 185-7. These frescoes were painted by Giovanni Battista

Ricci, who

tension of the tribune, the dimensions

277.

28.

29.

264

baldachin

in bronze;

Lavin,

Crossing, 6 n. 24. Baldachins of this type were traditionally used to shelter the pope, the Eucharist, and relics when carried in procession (Fig. 132, present volume); see ibid., 6. 30.

based the scene

An avviso of 26 January 1611 referred to the Lateran’s confessio and the one in the chapel of Sixtus V at Santa Maria Maggiore as models for Paul V’s confessio in Saint Peter’s; Lavin, Crossing,

volume).

Sketches of all three frescoes were included in Grimaldi, Descrizione, ed. Niggl, 289-91. Other frescoes located near the confessio depict miraculous events that had occurred in that place; see ibid., 292-306; and Francesco Maria Torriggio, Grotte, 1639 ed., 173200. The fresco program has been analyzed by Silvan, “Cicli pittorici,” 10421. To augment the sanctity of the altar area, two of the basilica’s chief Christo-

no,” 152-5. The form of the early Christian presbytery and the significance of the spiral columns are discussed by Lavin, Crossing, 13-16. According to a late seventeenth-century source, a plan existed to execute the Pauline

of consecration on the parallel subject that he contributed to the Lateran transept cycle (see Fig. 85, present

of which were maintained in the new basilica; Lavin, Crossing, 4-5. For the Christmas Mass in 1605, see Hibbard, Maderno, 187. For the use of both altars during Paul’s pontificate, see Kirwin, “Baldacchino,” 152 n. 69. Concerning Paul’s project for the ciborium of the apse altar, see Lavin, “Baldachin,” 410; cf. Kirwin, “Baldacchi-

140,

present volume), which carries a portrait of Paul V, is dated to the thirteenth year of his reign, 1618, which is when the confessio received its final decoration. The idea to make this subterranean area available for the celebration of Mass was announced in 1606; it was revived in 1611, and was completed by 1615. See Torriggio, Grotte, 1618 ed., 79-83; Lavin, Crossing, 4-5, n. 16;

25.

26.

reign of Clement VIII, in 1598, there was a plan to place Veronica’s veil and the lance in the tribune; ibid., 3 n. 3. The reason for the distance between the papal throne and the high altar was Nicholas V’s mid-fifteenth-century ex-

Bile

32.

17 n. 73; Hibbard, Maderno, 186. See Catalogue, §§UI.I,J. My discussion

follows Lavin, “Baldachin,” 407-9. I omit from discussion here the renewal of the Saint Peter’s baldachin during the reign of Gregory XV (1621-3), for which see Lavin, “Baldachin,” 411-193; cf. Kirwin, “Baldacchino,”

33°

160-1.

In 1608 Cardinal Maffeo Barberini joined the Congregazione della Reverenda Fabbrica

di San Pietro, which su-

pervised the works in the basilica; Pastor 26:378. He is known to have been

Notes to pp. 182-4 adamantly opposed to the construction of Maderno’s

34:

SWI

nave;

see

cited in n. 19. The various stages of the project’s history have been unraveled by Irving Lavin in the following publications: Crossing; “Letter to the editor,” Art Bulletin 55, (1973): 475-6; Unity, 19-21; “Baldachin,” 405-13. See also Thelen, Hochaltar-Architektur. For this temporary structure, see Lavin, Crossing, 10, Contracts’ to cast the bronze columns were drawn up beginning in November 1624; Stanislao Fraschetti, I] Bernini: La sua vita, la sua opera, il suo tempo

36.

37°

38.

and Madonna,

in Crossing,

Perkins, “The Shrine of St. Peter

and Its Twelve Spiral Columns,” Journal of Roman Studies 42 (1952): 24 and n. 19; and for later references see Shearman, Raphael’s Cartoons, 56 n. 69. 39-

40.

Lavin, Crossing, 16, was the first to associate the bronze columns of the baldacchino with the Lateran’s bronze columns, for which see Chapter 5. Concerning

the statues

eds., La

of Saint

Peter’s,

citta degli anni santi, 235. It should be noted that Bernini had been involved in the previous temporary baldachin erect-

28-37;

idem,

ed (or renewed) during the reign of Gregory XV; Lavin, Crossing, 5-9, 412, no. 13; Hibbard, Maderno, 188; and see above n. 32. For the consecration ceremony, see Pastor 29:458, citing contemporary sources that do not, incidentally, support Pastor’s claim that the date marked 1,300 years since the original consecration by Sylvester. Torriggio, Grotte, 1618 ed., 7, placed this event in 319. On 13 November 1626, Urban conceded a plenary indulgence to those who would come annually to Saint Peter’s on the day of the consecration and for the entire octave; Bullarum basilicae vaticanae, 3:238. In 1630 and again in 1643 Urban extended plenary indulgences to the faithful who visited the confessio; ibid., 3:242—-3, 259. This fundamental contribution was made by Irving Lavin, who also defined the primary innovations of Bernini’s design. For the relevance of the Lateran altar to the crossing of Saint Peter’s, see Lavin, Crossing, esp. 16-17, 35 n. 164; idem, Unity, 20-1; and idem, “Balda-

chin,” 408—g. Further allusions to the Lateran altar in Bernini’s Cornaro chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria are

18; and Unity,

According to the Liber Pontificalis, 1: 176, Constantine brought the columns “de Graecias.” The first dated reference linking the Petrine columns to the Temple of Jerusalem is 1438; J.B. Ward

(Milan, 1900), 60;

Kirwin, “Baldacchino,” 163. The project was reported in a diary of the Holy Year; Fagiolo

discussed 125-6.

the literature

see

Unity,

in the crossing

Lavin,

Crossing,

19-21.

Lavin,

Crossing, 35 n. 164, noted the activation of the Lateran statues and suggested their influence on Bernini’s conception: “All four figures [at the Lateran] look toward the altar as if to witness the enactment of the sacrament. The figure on the lateral wall at the right [Elijah] strides toward the altar in a motion anticipating that of Mochi’s Veronica.” (Mochi, it should be recalled, was the student of Camillo Mariani, who was responsible for completing the Eli-

jah after Olivieri’s death.) To this may be added further references to the Lat-

41.

42.

43-

eran that occur with the Helena, whose measured advance recalls the Aaron, while both the Longinus and the Andrew reveal debts to the Moses. To the relics moved to the crossing of Saint Peter’s by Paul V (see n. 25), Ur-

ban added fragments of the True Cross. On the disposition of the relics in the crossing, see Lavin, Crossing, 19-20, 24-7. Bernini’s plan to place a statue of Christ atop the baldacchino is discussed by Lavin, Crossing, 10, 17-18. For the project at the Lateran, see Catalogue, §III.H.4; and Figs. 120,121 of the present volume. On this aspect of the crossing of Saint Peter’s, see Lavin, Crossing, 18, 35, 37, 265

Notes to p. 185

44-

39; and idem, Unity, 19-21, 102-3. For the Lateran transept, see Chapters 2, 5. As the central ecclesiastical commission of Urban VIII’s pontificate, the crossing of Saint Peter’s can be viewed as a memorial to the spiritual regeneration of the Church that was codified by the Holy Year celebration in 1625. Beyond the extensive application of Urban’s heraldry in the crossing, his personal association with the project is suggested by the Barberini chaplaincies he established in 1632 at the four altars positioned in the grottoes beneath the piers; Pastor, 29:471 n. 4; and Torriggio, Grotte, 1639 ed., 200. For the painted decoration added under Urban to these chapels and the corridors encircling them, see Silvan, “Cicli pittoricl,” 104-21. Clement raised Camillo Borghese to the cardinalate in 1596, and named him

Vicar of the Church in 1603; Pastor, 25:41. For Clement’s beneficence toward Maffeo Barberini, which began with the governorship of Fano (Clement’s birthplace) in 1592, see Pastor, 28:28; and Armando Schiavo, “Iscrizio-

ni inedite del monumento di Urbano VIII,” Studi romani 1g (1971): 308. Maffeo was elevated to the cardinalate by Paul V in 1606; Pastor, 28:29.

Concerning the chapel of Paul V in Santa Maria Maggiore, see Klaus Schwager, “Die architektonische Erneuerung von S. Maria Maggiore unter Paul V.,” Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 20 (1983): 241-312; and Gerhard Wolf, “Regina Coeli, Facies Lunae, ‘et in Terra Pax’: Aspekte der Ausstattung

der Cappella Paolina in S$. Maria Maggiore,” ROmisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana 27-8 (1991-2): 283336. For the tombs of Paul and Clem47: 48.

ent, see Herz, “Tombs,” 241-62. Maffeo Barberini, Poemata (Paris, 1642), 151, 159-61.

“CL” appears on the first line, “A” on the second (for Clement VIII Aldobrandini). See Schiavo, “Iscrizioni,” 307-8;

and Philipp P. Fehl, “L’umilita cristiana e il monumento sontuoso: La tomba di Urbano VIII del Bernini,” in Gian 266

Lorenzo

Bernini

e le arti

visive,

ed.

Marcello Fagiolo (Rome, 1987), 194, 195, fig. 4, where Maffeo’s poems honoring Clement are also mentioned. Clement’s portrait also appears in the tapestry commemorating Maffeo Barberini’s works at Lake Trasimeno, part of a series of the life of Urban VIII commissioned for display in the salone of the Palazzo Barberini. For the cycle in general, see John Beldon Scott, Images of Nepotism: The Painted Ceilings of Palazzo

Barberini

(Princeton,

1991),

186 n. 13, 189-91. The dependence of Pietro da Cortona’s fresco in the vault of the salone on the Sala Clementina in the Vatican palace assumes added meaning in the context of Urban’s veneration

49-

of Clement;

see

Scott,

op

cit.,

126, 162-3. Among the encomia to Clement published in the seventeenth century, especially moving is that by Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 36-7: “E sen-

za dubio per commun senso venivano giudicate segnalatissime le sue qualita per formare quell’unico e mirabil composto di principato ecclesiastico e temporale, che si congiunge insieme ne’ romani pontefici e che gli fa si altamente stimare e riverire quando il governo loro fa prevalere la parte spirituale con la proporzionata misura alla temporale, cioé la parte divina a quella che é tutta umana, 1 tesori celesti alle cupidigie terrene; e quando insomma da loro vien dato alla Chiesa quel che tanto superiormente in primo luogo é dovuto alla Chiesa, vedesi che dal governo

spiritua-

le nasce la grandezza maggiore del pontificato. Roma per tal rispetto stende ora pit largamente il suo imperio ecclesiastico che in altri tempi non dilatava il profano. Quindi nasce ch’ella non € patria solamente di se medesima o della sola Italia, ma ch’ella di sé formi, per cosi dire, un mondo spirituale, che

la fa generalmente divenire patria commune di tutte le battezzate nazioni. In questo riguardo esse la frequentano, i prencipi loro la riveriscono, ed all’oracolo della religione che qui risiede tutti i fedeli devotamente ricorrono; e per-

Notes to pp. 185-6 cid non é meraviglia se un pontefice di tanto zelo e di tanta prudenza come era Clemente ottavo con ogni spirito procurava d’esercitare quanto pit perfettamente poteva questa parte del suo supremo pastorale officio.” 50.

For Borromini’s

works

at the Lateran,

see Marcello Fagiolo, “Borromini in Laterano: ‘Il nuovo tempio’ per il concilio universale,” L’Arte n.s., 4, no. 13 (1971): 5-44. See also Connors, “Borromini,” gg-105; and Robert Echols,

“A Classical Barrel Vault for San Giovanni in Laterano in a Borromini Draw-

ing,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 51 (1992): 146-60. See also Augusto Roca de Amicis, “L’opera di Francesco Borromini in

54-

San Giovanni in Laterano” (Ph.D. diss., Universita degli Studi di Roma “La

Sapienza,” 1991). The relevant archival material has been presented by Minna Heimburger Ravalli, Architettura, scultura e arti minori nel barocca italiana: Ricerche nell’archivio Spada (Florence, 1977), 217-50; and Klaus Githlein, “Quellen aus dem Familienarchiv Spada zum romischen Barock,” Romisches Jahrbuch fuirKunstgeschichte 18 (1979): 173-246; ibid., 19 (1981): 173-243. 51.

On Borromini’s role in the baldacchino, see Heinrich Thelen, Francesco Borro-

mini: Die Handzeichnungen, 1. Abteilung: Zeitraum von 1620-32, 2 vols. (Graz,

52.

53:

1967), 30-2, 79-86,

nos.

(1991-2): 337-74. 55-

References to the earthly as well as the Heavenly Jersualem are discussed by Fagiolo, “Borromini in Laterano.” It should be recalled that in 1658 Borromini inspected the Old Testament trophies at the Lateran; see Chapter 4, n.

56.

See Giithlein, “Spada”

24,

68-73. Oskar Pollak, Die Kunsttatigkeit unter Urban VIII., 2 vols. (Vienna, 1928-31), 1:42-3; quoted in Echols, “Barrel Vault,” iKs 1. 32. Clement VIII’s works in the Lateran’s

110.

For the renovation plan

of Urban VIII, who was also responsi-

[1979], 207-8,

236-8, nos. 29, 48-9; and Jennifer Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, 2 vols.

nave and side aisles are discussed in Chapter 2 and in Catalogue, §II.A. The resetting of inscriptions and tombs constituted important precedents for Borromini’s own activity at the Lateran during the pontificate of Alexander VII (1655-67), for which see Paolo Portoghesi, “I monumenti borrominiani della basilica lateranense,” QOuaderni del[Istituto di Storia dell’Architettura 2 (1955): 1-20.

ble for extensive restorations in the Lateran baptistery, see Pollak, Kunsttatigkeit, 1:132—44; Pastor, 30:387-9; and Connors, “Borromini,” 98-9. According to an avviso of 15 November 1608, Paul V ordered the repair of “alcuni colonnati, che minacciavano rovina,” and he resolved to cede the Lateran palace to the canons while reserving those rooms that were necessary to papal functions; BAV, Urb. lat. 1076, fol. 828v, in Orbaan, Documenti, 125. Paul was also responsible for decorating the inner face of the cupola of the baptistery with his heraldic eagles and dragons; ACL, FF.XX, fols. 2-3; cited in Pollak, op. cit., 1:140. For a review of the sources, see Echols, “Barrel Vault.” In sharp contrast to the conservation-minded treatment of the Lateran was the redecoration campaign pursued by Bernini under Innocent X at Saint Peter’s, where the nave and side aisles were sheathed with colored marble in a comprehensive refurbishing of Maderno’s design, which had incorporated columns from Old Saint Peter’s in the side aisles; see Helga Tratz, “Die Ausstattung des Langhauses von St. Peter unter Innocenz X.,” Romisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana 27-8

(New Haven,

1985), 1:117-18, 2:343-—

6, 465-6. In the scene repreenting the Crucifixion of Christ, the good thief is afforded an unusual prominence. The medieval claim concerning the Lateran’s original decoration was made in 787 by the papal legates to the second Council of Nicaea; see Chapter 4, n. 148.

57-

ASR, Archivio Spada, vol. 192, fol. 13: “e dentro d’essi resta a vista di tutti li

267

Notes to p. 188 tles” (Ph.D. diss., Harvard

muro antico, come gioia nell’anello, accio resti a perpetua memoria la fabbrica fatta da Constantino Imp. nel che S. Sta grandemente preme”; quoted in tually the same text appears in Honorati, Tesori, 136-7; see also Rasponi, 85. Borromini also conserved the verde antico columns from the side aisles and employed them in the sculpture niches of the nave. For the paintings of prophets, see Christopher M. S. Johns, Papal Art and Cultural Politics: Rome in the Age of Clement XI (Cambridge, 1993), 87-92, 209-10. Echols, “Barrel Vault,” 157-8, proposed that a similar disposition of elements in Alberti’s church of Sant’Andrea, Mantua, influenced Borromini’s design. Since Sant’Andrea was the repository for the relics of the Blood of Christ, believed to have been brought to Mantua by Saint Longinus, more than formal concerns may have recommended it as a model for Christ’s own Lateran church. The considerable influence exerted by Giulio Romano’s refurbishment of the Cathedral of Mantua on

lon (Rome, 1980), 243-60; and the relevant entries in Robert Enggass, Early Eighteenth-Century Sculpture in Rome, 2 vols. (University Park, Pa., 1976). For the official decision of 4 April 1647 to install statues of the Apostles in the nave of the Lateran, in which Bernini, Francesco Mochi, and Andrea Bolgi are named along with other sculptors, see Guthlein, “Spada” [1979], 227-8, no. 41, fig. 4 on p. 179. In an alternative project calling for the Doctors of the Church and the Evangelists, one that never received official sanction, these same sculptors appear along with Alessandro Algardi, evidently in substitution for Francesco Duquesnoy (d. 1643), the fourth artist who had worked in the crossing of Saint Peter’s; BAV, Vat. late tan 7, tole orice sce Paolo Portoghesi, Borromini nella cultura europea (Rome, 1964), fig. 250;

Connors,

58.

“Borromini,”

Borromini’s

been

Lateran

explored;

in Giulio

103 n. 24. Vir-

project

and Fagiolo,

has never

see Manfredo

Romano,

61.

exhib. cat. (Milan,

A contemporary witness equated the festive quality of Borromini’s Lateran

architecture with temporary decoration: “Et in effetto sono tali, e tanti gl’ornati, cioé de’tabernacoli, bassi rilievi, ovati, fenestroni, pilastri scanellati, con basi, e capitelli, cimase, fregi, et archetravi, che non resta luogo ad altro ornato di drappo, © arazzi in tempo di festa... .”

Guthlein,

“Spada”

aspect of Borromini’s

[1979], 209. This design was

asso-

ciated with the Holy Year context by Giulio Carlo Argan, “Il ripristino di San

Giovanni

in Laterano,”

Studi e note dal Bramante

in idem,

al Canova

(Rome, 1970), 227-8; and Fagiolo, “Borromini in Laterano,” 31-2. Argan

also suggested a relationship to the “festa inaugurale” of the church. For the nave

statues

as executed,

see

Michael Conforti, “The Lateran Apos268

“Borromini

in Laterano,”

10, fig. 6. Although estimates for marble and even modelli appear in the documents, there is no evidence for the appearance of the figures as conceived at

Tafuri,

1989), 550-7. 59-

University,

1977), 61-73; idem, “Planning the Lateran Apostles,” in Studies in Italian Art and Architecture, 15th through 18th Centuries, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, 35, ed. Henry Mil-

that time; Githlein, 231-2, 62.

“Spada”

[1979],

Under Innocent X a balustrade was added to the upper level of the Lateran’s high-altar ciborium to facilitate veneration of the head relics of Peter and Paul. A drawing by Borromini shows this addition in place with the Pamphili doves at the corners; illustrated in Connors, “Borromini,” n.p. Also of interest here are Borromini’s designs for the renewal of the Lateran’s high altar during the reign of Alexander VII, in which an earlier project for Saint Peter’s seems to have been reworked (BAV, Chigi P.VII.9, fol. 11); see Lavin, Crossing, 40, no. 2; and cf. Hibbard, Maderno,

165.

One tradition held that relics of all twelve Apostles were donated by Con-

Notes to pp. 188-9 Ecclesiae in the Ancient Church with Special Reference to Palestine and Syria,” Journal of Theological History5 (1954): 78-85; and Hilarius Emonds, “Enkainia: Weihe und Weihegedachtnis,” in Enkainia: Gesammelte Arbeiten zum S8o0o0-jahrigen Weihgeddachtnis der Abteilkirche Maria Laach am 24. August 1956, ed. Hilarius Edmonds (Dusseldorf, 1956), 30-57. The link between the Temple and the Holy Sepulcher is discussed by

stantine to the Lateran and were preserved in the confessio chapel; Panvinio-Lauer, 435. A medieval gloss on Prudentius, Contra Symmachum, 1.585 (PL 60:16g) states: “Lateranus, ad basi-

licam S. Iohannis baptizantis, ubi ecclesia est in honore duodecim Apostolorum.” It should be recalled in this

63.

connection that Constantine’s fastigium had been decorated with statues of the Apostles, and that the Apostles figured prominently in the painted decoration of the transept. The table relic was located at the high

altar during the Middle Ages and continued to have its ideal locus in that place. Clement VIII requested that the table be returned to the high altar. Martin, Roma sancta, 34, recorded that the table was placed upon the high altar on Holy Thursday. For the vicissitudes of

Robert Ousterhout, “The Temple, the Sepulchre, and the Martyrion of the Savior,” Gesta 29 (1990): 44-53.

66.

67.

the relic, see Catalogue, §II.C.3. For Pe-

64.

ter’s altar, see Chapter 4, n. 106. The original dedication of the Temple took seven days and the celebration another seven; 2 Chronicles 7:8-10. The annual feast was established to commemorate the purification of the Temple following its profanation by Antiochus Epiphanes; 1 Maccabees 4: 58-59. In its new form the feast was identified with the dedication of the Tent of the Meeting and the dedication of the Temple by way of allusion to Jeremiah’s prophecy; 2 Maccabees 2: 8-12. For the significance of the Temple dedication in the context of the Lateran’s sacred history, see Chapter 4. It is veleyant here that the Lateran’s bronze columns were associated with the Porticus Salomonis, where Christ first revealed His divinity on the feast of the Temple’s dedication; Chapter 5,

65.

Heel Gs On the encaenia,

see especially Matthew Black, “The Festival of Encaenia

68.

For the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, see Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 3.25—40, and for the dedication celebration, see 4.40-7. For other expressions of Constantine’s emphasis on concord, see André Grabar, Martyrium: Recherches sur le culte des reliques et l'art chrétien antique, 3 vols. (Paris, 1943-6), 1:222—-7. See Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 2.26, Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History,

1.29, and the extensive description written by a female pilgrim to Jerusalem during the late fourth century; A. Franceschini and R. Weber,

eds., “Itinerar-

ium Egeriae,” in Itineraria et alia geographica, Corpus christianorum, series latina, 175 (Turnholt, 1965); trans. in

John Wilkinson,

trans.

and ed., Ege-

ria’s Travels (London, 1971). This text,

which survives in a single manuscript, was published for the first time in 1887, but there is some indication that it was known by 1600; Franceschini and Weber, op. cit., 29. Egeria ranked the encaenia feast with Easter and Epiphany in importance. She also asserted that the dedication of the Holy Sepulcher had occurred on the same day the cross of Christ was uncovered by Saint Helena, and referred both events to the dedication of the Temple.

269

a

F : eer

_

as

oe —7;

_

Oe

-

-

77

a

_ Oo = - 7

CAL ACOGUE Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran

Introduction

. Frescoes

Documents

Supplementary

Sources

Section I. Baptistery: 1592-1600

ae Chapel of Saints Rufina and Seconda ah Chapels of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist 1. Chapel of Saint John the Baptist . Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist Sacristy of the Chapel of Saint Venantius Section II. Basilica: First Phase,

1592-6

A. Changes in the Nave and Side Aisles . Altars, Tombs, and the Seats of the Confessors

. Inscription Plaques of Popes Sergius IV and Sylvester II iS) .

Tombs of Berardo Caracciolo and Riccardo Annibaldi

. Sacristy of the Canons . Construction

. Bust of Clement VII . Frescoes

Miscellaneous

. . . eg eH Nn Oo .

Transept Ceiling Leveling of the Pavement Fifteenth-century Organ and Related Structures a. Organ b. Choir Loft c. Altar of the Virgin Annunciate Sacrament Altar of Gregory XIII . Exterior of the Basilica East Portico Fountain for the East Piazza Road to Link the Lateran with nN oo FG Y Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 4.- North Transept Doors

Section III. Basilica: Second Phase, 1597-1600

. Transept: Summary Chronology Transept: Architectural Changes Arches on the Eastern Wall Arches on the Western Wall North Ambulatory Entrance South Ambulatory Entrance Windows in the Transept PS Ww | oon QOouP . Windows within the Ambulatory Entrances

Works

. High Altar Ciborium OD ee ND 64o OX ne Confessio Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist Relic of the Last Supper Table iS)

@) . Transept: Architectural Decoration

1. Stucco Moldings of the Arches . Marble Revetment of the Lower Walls Pavement

284 284 284 285 286 286

287 287 287 287 288 288 288

288

288 288

289 289 290 290 290 290

291

291 291 291 292

271

Catalogue D. Transept: Sculptural Decoration of the Lower Walls 1. Angel Reliefs a. Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo

292 292

(Valsoldino) b. Francesco Landini

203 203

c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

293 204 204 204 2105 205 205

Nicold Cordier Ambrogio Bonvicino Tommaso della Porta Ippolito Buzio Camillo Mariani Egidio della Riviera Silla da Viggit

2. ‘Crosses

296

E. Transept: Organ 1. Instrument 2. Organ Case

296 296 297

F. 1. 2. 3.

Transept: Entrance Wall Structure Angels above the Central Portal Old Testament Figures a. David b. Solomon 4. Reliefs of Musical Instruments

207 297 299 299 299 299 300

G. Transept: Frescoes 1. Chronology

300 300

2. 3. 4. 5. H. 1.

Authorship Apostles Ascension of Christ Restorations Transept: Sacrament Altar Structure of the Bronze Ciborium

301 301 302 302 302 = 302

2. Ceiling of the Ciborium 3. Painting of God the Father in the Tympanum of the Pediment 4. Models of Statues to Stand above the Ciborium a. Saint John the Evangelist b. Saint John the Baptist c. Risen Christ 5. Balustrade 6. Inner Aedicula 7. Sacrament Tabernacle 8. Old Testament Statues and Narrative Reliefs

g. 10.

a. Aaron b. Melchisedech c. Moses d. Elijah Last Supper Relief Angels Flanking the Last Supper Relief Phoenix Reliefs Cherubim

11. 12. 13. Garlands with Symbols of the Old Testament Figures 14. Arma Christi

304

304

304 304 305 305 305 305 305 306 307 307 307 307 307 309 309 309 310 310

I. Project to Move the High Altar

310

J. Project for a Baldachin

310

K. Exterior of the Basilica

310

1. East Piazza

310

2. North Transept Towers 3. Benediction Loggia of Sixtus V

311 311

INTRODUCTION

This Catalogue sets forth the documents and literary sources concerning Clement VIII’s Lateran commissions, including those in the baptistery, basilica, and the urban setting. Of fundamental importance for our knowledge of the pope’s intentions is the record of his Visitation of the Lateran that took place on 14 June

1592;

ASV,

Miscellanea,

Armadio

VII,

vol. 3, fols. 6r-14v, in Beggiao, 111-19. At that time Clement envisioned a comprehensive renovation of the church and baptistery. The actual work was supervised by Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici, who had charge of the project until May 1596, when he went to Paris as papal legate. A biography of the Car-

272

dinal (later Pope Leo XI, 1605) reports that under his tutelage expenses were kept to a minimum, and that the chapel of the sacrament, which had been begun in the basilica, was left incomplete at his departure (see Supplementary Sources, no. 1). Accounts for this first phase of the Lateran renovations are scattered in the general disbursement ledgers of the Camera Apostolica. Two months after Cardinal de’ Medici’s departure the scope of the Lateran renovations was being rethought. An avviso dated 3 July 1596 announced that Clement was prepared to spend an additional 40,000 scudi on the project. This would involve rebuilding the

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran nave colonnade and constructing new chapels in the side aisles as well as “another splendid chapel in the area where the organ stood before” (see Supplementary Sources, no. 2). We hear no more of this revised plan until September 1597 when accounts of the Camera Apostolica reflect renewed activity in the transept of the church. Unlike the previ-

transept. In large part, these new interventions were finished early in 1600. It has sometimes been claimed that the project was not finished until 1601, but for the most part the documents dating from that year relate to a final accounting and do not cover either work

ous financial records, these ledgers are devot-

the renovations, see §III.A.

then in progress or recently completed. For a summary chronology of this second phase of

ed almost exclusively to works in the Lateran

DOCUMENTS

Excerpts from the documents preserved in the Archivio di Stato, Rome [hereafter cited as ASR], that concern the Lateran under ent VIII were published by Bertolotti, lombardi, and Lauer, 617-22. Anna Corbo, Fonti per la storia artistica al

di Clemente rali

ClemArtisti Maria tempo VIII, Ministero per i Beni Cultu-

e Ambientali, Archivio di Stato di Roma,

85 (Rome, 1975) [hereafter cited as Corbo] provided a guide to these documents organized according to an alphabetical listing of the names of artists, workmen, and laborers. Wherever possible Corbo is cited, but when the text of the document adds significant information, it is quoted in full. Two volumes in the ASR series Camerale I, Fabbriche, Registers 1595, 1536, contain copies of the orders for payment (mandati); these are the most complete and descriptive of the records. Concerning Register 1535, between g May and 3 October 1598 the dates of the mandati are lacking. Since the other portions of the account follow a weekly rhythm, it was possible to determine in what month the payment was made. This is indicated in the Catalogue by providing the month within brackets. Occasional references in Registers 1537, 1539, 1540 repeat payments previously noted. The actual disbursements of the funds are recorded in the folowing four volumes: October 1597-April 1598: Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 25, reg. 33 April 1598—-May 1599: Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 26, reg. 14;

May 1599-April 1600: Camerale I, Giustificazioni di tesoreria, Busta 1524, reg. 3; May 1600-July 1601: Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 27, reg. 27.

In addition to evaluations of the work of various artists, which are contained in the series Camerale I, Giustificazioni di Tesoreria, there is also a volume of excerpts from the account books with information not otherwise known: Camerale I, Fabbriche, Busta 1524, reg. 2. The following list is limited to the principal volumes in the ASR that concern the second phase of the transept project (hereafter cited with volume number only):

ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche Busta 1524, reg. 2: Estratto del Libro della Cappella del S.mo Sacramento et organo in S.to Gio: Laterano Busta 1524, reg. 3: Secondo. Conti del S.r Giovanni Vaccarone per la fabrica di $. Giovanni Laterano dalli 5 di Maggio 1599 per tutto il mese di Ap.le 1600 Reg. 1535: Mandati per le fabbriche, 1597-1508 (e

1599) Reg. 1536: Mandati per le Fabbriche, 1599-1601 (title on loose folio) Registro de’ mandati per le

fabbriche spediti da monsignor Zacchia a Giovanni Vaccarone, 1599-1601

Reg. 1537 ASR, Camerale I, Giustificazioni di Tesoreria Busta 25, reg. 3: Conti del Sig.re Don Gir.mo Abrusca Dep.rio delli denari per la fabbrica della Cappella del Sant.mo Sacram.to in San Gio: laterano d’ottobre 1597 sino Aprile 1598 reg. 6: Misura e Stima di lavori fatti da M.r Biagi Giusti Indoratore alla fabbrica di san Gio: Laterano 1597-1600

reg. g: Conti di M.ro Gio. Batt.a Montano Intagliator de legnami per la fattura dell’organo della Chiesa di san Giouanni Laterano 1597-1599

273

Catalogue reg. 11: Misura e stima di lavori da M.ro Gio: Volpetta falegname alla fabrica che N.S.re ha fatto fare nella Chiesa di san Gio Laterano 15971600 reg. 17(3): Conto del M. Horatio Cianti delli legnami dati da lui per seru.o della fabrica che N.S.re fatto fare in san Gio: laterano, 1597-1601 reg. 21: Misura e stima di lauori di scarpello fatti da M.ro Marchionne Carmona nella fabbrica che N. S.re a fatto fare in san Gio. laterano Busta 26, reg. 3: Misura e stima de lavori fatti da M.r Stefano Longhi Scarpellino nella fabrica che N.S.re a fatto fare in san Gio: Laterano, 1598 reg. 7: Misura e stima di lavori fatti di scarpello da M.ro Fran.co Albano et scarpellini alla fabbrica di san Gio. Latarano

SUPPLEMENTARY

1. Excerpt from Alessandro

SOURCES

the biography

of Cardinal

de’ Medici, “Vita del cardinale di

Firenze che fu P. Leone XI scritta da un suo famigliare insino al tempo che fu mandato in Francia da Clemente VIII,” Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome, 4201, fol. ggv, in Zuccari, Arte e committenza, 122 (with abbreviations expanded). The passage appears in the context of Medici’s role in the pastoral Visitation of 1592. Fece rivolgere et restaurare tutta la Chiesa di San Giovanni in Laterano, dove ft fatta una bellissima

sacrestia, il soffitto della croce, due cappellette nel Battisterio, una a S. Gio Battista l’altra all’evangelista. Fece scoprire, et levare la terra d’intorno alla Madonna miracolosa, che é appresso al Battisterio, et fu cominciata una cappella del Smo Sacramento nobilissima la quale lascio imperfetta andando in Francia, il tutto con molta industria, et con spesa minore che non s’€ imaginato chi I’ha vista.

2. Avviso dated 3 July 1596, BAV, Urb. lat. 1064, pt. 1, fol. 413r, in Orbaan, Documenti, 130 n. (with minor variations). N.S. oltre alla mag.nima spesa fatta nella basilica di s. Gio. Laterano, in fare indorare la soffitta dalla banda dell’Altare Magg.re, s’intende habia anco resoluto di far portar da Nettuno pit di 30. colonne nascoste in quel Porto che erano gia in quello di Traiano Imperatore et pigliar quelle che stanno in Campo Vaccino, a fin di farle mettere di qua et di la dalla nave magg.re di essa Basilica, volendo parimente S.S.ta far nelle Navi Minori Cappelle per tutte et il porticale innanzi alla principal porta nel qual siano per spendersi piu di m/q4o. scudi, degnando

274

reg. 14: Primo. Conti del signore Giovanni Vaccarone per la fabbrica di San Giovanni Laterano dalli XIX d’aprile 1598 per tutto maggio 1599 Busta 27, reg. 19(a): Conti di Horatio Censori fonditore della Cam.ra App.lica Per diuersi lauori fatto da lui per seruitio della fabrica di S. Gio: laterano reg. 19(b): Conto e stima di diuersi lauori di Metallo fatti da Horatio Censori fonditore nella Chiesa di San Gio: laterano l’anno 1600 reg. 27: Conti per la fab.ica di S. Gio: late.no che incominciano dalli 13 di maggio 1600 fino al primo di luglio 1601, Terzo Busta 28, reg. 6: Misura e stima di lavori fatti da M.ro Biagio Lugaresi Indoratore alla fabbrica di san Gio: Laterano

inoltre S$. B.ne di fabricare un altra Capella Magnifica dalla parte, ove p[rim]a stava li, organo et altra ne fabricarano li Car.li S.ta Severina, Lancillotti et Colonna giovane Arcip.te di essa, di condurre |’Acqua sopra quella piazza et farvi una belliss.a fontana et di aprir una nuova strada ampla et diritta da S. Gio. a S.ta Croce in Hier.lem.

g. Avviso dated 23 July 1597, BAV, Urb. lat. 1065, pt. 2, fol. 446r, in Orbaan, Documenti, 130-1

n. (with minor variations).

Dopo che il Pontefice @ calato nelle stanze di San Marco, quasi ogni mattina se ne passa per sua divo-

tione a qualche chiesa dentro di Roma et in specie quelle dedicate alla gloriosiss.a Vergine, come fece domenica

matt.a che se ne passo al Popolo, sebene

p.a era stato a celebrar messa alla Rotonda, dove con tale occ.ne quei Canonici misero in consid.ne a S. B.ne le molte necessita in che si trova quella macchina et particolarm.te la cuppola, la quale é tal.te dall’antichita disfatta, che quando piove tutta la Chiesa si riempie d’acqua supplicandola pero a voler compatire dalla lor’ poverta onde la S.ta Sua si mostro prontiss.a a un’opera tanto pia havendovi di gia destinato un architetto, che vegga il bisogno, et in somma dicesi, che si ricoprira la Cuppola di piombo et si abbellisa dentro di belliss.e Cappelle, et di fuori alla porta si fara un cancello di ferro et molte pietre di fino marmo, che stavano sotterrate in quel porticale, son state discavate per condurle a San Giovanni Laterano in servitio della nova cappella, che Sua Santita fa fare in quella basilica con notabilissima spesa.

4. Avviso dated 6 January 1599, BAV, Urb. lat. 1067, fols. g4r—-v, in Ermete Rossi, “Ro-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran ma ignorata,” Roma nor variations).

12 (1934): 40 (with mi-

Arrivato S. B.ne in §. Giovanni Laterano, dove resto

a desinare, et a diporto buona parte del giorno per rilatione di persone, che sanno l’intrinseco, si é inteso, che S. S.ta non senti punto di sodisfat.ne in veder

altar grande, fatto far da S. B.ne con tanta spesa in quella basilica, poiche con nulla 6 pochiss.a simmetria di architettura é riuscito in modo la fabrica bassa et nana, che non apparisce la millesima parte della spesa fattaci, oltre che il detto altare vien posto in un’angolo della chiesa, che non si vede senon quando la persona gli é auanti, et in somma non ha punto di magnificenza, sebene é quasi tutto oro et pietre mischie di varij colori, et valuta grande. Il difetto vogliano sia venuto da certo pocho sparambio della spesa, et per ristringerla alquanto da quel che si era deliberato in principio, et pero vogliono, che se si alzasse un poco piu non apparerebbe tanto il difetto, ma se ci si fara altro staremo vedendo, che non si crede.

5. Avviso dated g January 1599, in BAV, Urb. lat. 1067, fol. g9r, in Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma 12 (1934): 40 (with minor variations). Nella visita del Papa delle s[ette] chiese si fermo a desinare a S. Gio. Laterano, dove volse vedere mi-

nutamente la capella et li organi che vi si fabricano,

SECTION

I. BAPTISTERY:

et se bene S. S.ta sia molto essausta de danari ordino agli architetti che tirassero l’opera a fine dovendovisi rimover quel gran tabernacolo che contien li corpi delli dui Principi d’Apostoli et metter sotto la tribuna, et farvi il pavimento di nuovo.

6. Avviso dated 12 April 1600, in BAV, Urb. lat. 1068, fols. 234r—-v, in Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma 12 (1934): 323 (with minor variations). L’altro hieri nell’altar maggiore che ha fatto far nuoet proprio sopra d.o Altare, et sopra la Custodia del smo Sacramento misero quella bella tauola massiccia di argento fatta fare da S.B.ne nella quale é ritratta la cena che fece N. S.re Jesu Christo con suoi s.mi Apostoli, et tanto ben fatta, che sicome per se stessa é belliss.a et piena di artificio et richiss.a poiche saranno da mille libre d’argento, cosi anco ha reso ornamento tale a d.o Altare, che lo fa comparire altretanto pur bello, et mass.e homai che Il’opera é in fine, intendendosi, che S. B.ne non voglia farci lavorare che per tutto questo presente mese, et che poi quelli medesimi assegnamenti di danari che andauano spesi per d.a fabrica, S. B.ne gli sia per applicare et conuertire in un’altra fabrica di un’altra capella, che vuol far fare nella chiesa della Minerva poiché in quella chiesa riposano le ossa della Madre, forse del Padre, et de altri di sua casa.

vamente S.S.ta a $. Giovanni

1592-1600

Clement’s overriding interest in the baptistery as expressed at the Visitation of 1592 was to restore the chapels that ring the central space. In addition to the works discussed below, he demonstrated concern for the proper celebration of the baptismal ritual. The names of those being baptized, their parents, and godparents were to be recorded in a separate book along with the date. The baptismal basin would receive a new marble cover, and bronze vessels would be provided. The entrance to the building was to be decorated “most properly and most magnificently” (decentius ac magnificentius). See Beggiao, 113.

I.A. Chapel of Saints Rufina and Seconda The portico and main entrance to the fifthcentury baptistery had been converted into a chapel by Pope Anastasius IV (1153-4) with

the addition of two altars in the lateral apses, one dedicated to Saints Rufina and Seconda and the other, containing relics of Saints Cipriano and Giustina, dedicated to Saint Andrew; Panvinio—Lauer, 466. Additional information on the chapel is provided by Ugonio, Stationi, 471r-v; Baglione, Nove chiese, 102; Rasponi, 220; and Gerardi, 2:74, 87 n. 176. Panvinio recorded the ancient ceremonies that once took place there on Easter and the following Monday. Fragments of the “belle pietre intarsiato”

noted

by Ugonio

survive

(photos: Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione E21111-12).

[hereafter

cited

as ICCD],

Clement decreed that the chapel be adorned with a wooden coffered ceiling, that the entry from the south be closed with wooden doors in place of the existing masonry walls, and that the bronze plaques,

275

Catalogue which had been removed from the basilica by Sixtus V (Ugonio, Stationi, 42r), be installed at the doorway, perhaps the one that leads from the portico to the central octagon. The early Christian mosaic decoration of the chapel was to be restored, and the altar of Saints Rufina and Secunda was to be repositioned so that the priest could celebrate Mass facing the congregation. See Beggiao, 116. Few payments are known for these renovations. In November 1597, Giovanni Andrea Stabilini was paid for works in this chapel as well as for gilding in the chapel of Saint John the Evangelist; see §I.B.2. The restoration of the mosaics was paid for in March 1598; see Corbo, 145,190; and idem, “La cappella di S. Giovanni Evangelista nel battistero lateranense,” Commentari 21 (1970): 141, nos. 11, 13. The wooden ceiling with the coat of arms of Clement VIII, which was recorded by Baglione, Nove chiese, 102, does not survive.

I.B. Chapels of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist The twin chapels dedicated to the two Saint Johns were constructed by Pope Hilarus (461-8). They are discussed by John the Deacon, in Valentini-Zucchetti, 4:354—-5; Panvinio-Lauer, 466-7; and Rasponi, 225-31. Ugonio, Stationi, 46v, noted their deplorable condition: “Al presente sono povere, e nude, ancor che vi siano di molte degne Reliquie, & Indulgentie.” In 1592 Clement ordered that the chapels be entirely restored. They were to be adorned with paintings, stuccoes, and gilding, and their altars rebuilt with polychrome marble. In the chapel of the Baptist, the sixteenth-century wooden statue of the saint was to be restored and on its model a statue of the Evangelist was to be cast in bronze for the companion chapel. Terracotta statues then existing in the chapel of the Evangelist would be removed because of their poor condition, and the entrance to this chapel would be closed with the bronze doors formerly located at the Scala Santa, i.e. the entrance to the Lateran palace. See Beggiao, 115-16. The biography of Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici indicates that he supervised the renovation of these chapels (Supplementary Sources, no.

276

1).

1.B.1. Chapel of Saint John the Baptist. Documentation is not known for the works ordered by Clement. Work must have been in progress during the summer of 1597, since on the feast of the Baptist (24 June), Clement

celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Evangelist; recorded by Giovanni Paolo Mucantio, master

of ceremonies,

in BAV,

Vat. lat.

12318, fol. g9or. A possible terminus ante quem for the completion of the project is provided by the consecration of the new altar on the sixth anniversary of the pope’s election, 30 January 1598, the same day the altar of the Evangelist was consecrated; Tesori nascosti, 1625 ed., 133.

Panciroli,

One contemporary source recorded frescoes in the vault by Antonio Tempesta and a painting of the Baptism of Christ by Andrea Commodi; Giovanni Battista Cherubini, Le cose meravigliose dell’alma citta di Roma... (Rome, 1609), 6. Baglione cited works by Giovanni Alberti (“bellissime grottesche”), Giacomo Stella (“due Angeli a fresco in atto di orare™), and Cosei (“sopra la voltae, « la Storia di Erodiana, che balla, a fresco”); Vite, 70, 334, 336. He also identified the wooden statue of the Baptist (photo: Anderson 20955) as the work of Donatello and said that “da gli artefici tenuta in riuerenza, & ammiratione.” Baglione, Nove chiese, 100-1; cf. Domenico

Gnoli, “Le opere di Donatello in Roma,” Archivio storico dell’arte 1 (1888): 28-31; and Janson, Donatello, 2:102. This statue is now

displayed at the entrance to the confessio chapel in the basilica. The chapel was rebuilt in the eighteenth century, and at that time the Clementine decoration was lost; see Gerardi, 2:71; and Iacobini, “Porte bronzee,” 1:77 n. 9. For the original

mosaic

decoration

of the vault,

see

Giovanni Ciampini, Vetera monimenta, in quibus praecipue musiva opera sacrarum,

profanarumque aedium structura ac nonnulli antiqui ritus, dissertationibus, iconibusque illustrantur...,

2 vols. (Rome,

1690-9),

1:

243, pl. 75. The statue of the Baptist remained in position until 1722 when it was replaced with a bronze adaptation by Luigi Validier;

see Gnoli, op. cit.; and

Gerardi,

2:

BO. pln I.B.2. Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist. Some portion of the works ordered by Clem-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran ent must have been completed in 1596 when an inscription in gilded stucco was attached to

the altar frontal: CLEMENS . PP . VIII. ANNO V. It was still in place ca. 1660; Mellini, “Descrittioni,” BAV, Barb. lat. 4318, fol. 1g6r. By mid-1597 the chapel was fully functional when, on the feast of the Baptist the pope celebrated Mass at this altar (see §I.B.1). An inscription on the interior entrance wall is dated 1597; Forcella, 8.125. Payment for this inscription was made in October 1597; Corbo, 126, 184 (not for the sacrament chapel), 236.

Panciroli,

Tesori

nascosti,

1625

ed.,

133, recorded the formerly dilapidated condition of the chapel and noted that it was reconsecrated on 30 January 1598, anniversary of Clement’s election and the feast of his name saint, Hippolytus. An inscription located on the upper molding of the altar table confirms this notice: CLEMENS PP. VII ALTARE

HOC

CONSECRAVIT

DIE XXX.

IANVARY

MDLXXXXVIII. A payment of 28 February 1598 concerns the decoration of the door of the chapel “per il gior.o della consecrat.e dell’altare di d.a Cappella”; Corbo, 127. Most of the painted decoration was carried out in 1597 and must have been substantially completed at the time of the altar’s dedication. For the documents relating to this phase Of tae project, see Corbo,, 119; 1245 126, i227 tS 25 S46 eh 190, 1A ba LOL. oe. USES

heel O Ons S—OsliOOn 212.09) agian oiT.

241, 244; idem, “Battistero,” 139-44. Following a lapse of approximately one year, additional works were begun in February 1599, and it was only then that the chapel received its final polish; Corbo, 78, 113, 121, 139, Much of the original fresco decoration survives, including works by Agostino Ciampelli and Antonio Tempesta; Baglione, Nove chiese, 101; idem, Vite, 315, 319. On 25 October and 22 December 1597, Ciampelli received payment for five small scenes in the anteroom of the chapel, the subjects of which were drawn from the Book of Revelation; Corbo, 129, 124, cf. 183, 234; idem, “Battistero,” 140-2,

nos. 4,7,

19, 20;

and

nos. XXXII.160.12-XXXII.160.59. The walls of the chapel are reveted in poly-

chrome marble and the vault decorated with gilded stuccoes by Ambrogio Bonvicino; Corbo, 137, 181, 243, (cf. 249, for the gilding); idem, “Battistero,” 142, no. 16. Two paint-

ings by Arpino were walls;

Baglione,

Nove

placed on the lateral chiese, 101;

idem,

Vite, 371-2; Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 978, cat. no. 22. The subjects were Saint John Led to His Death (now displayed in the Cappella Massimo of the basilica) and Saint John Forced to Drink Poison (whereabouts unknown). A payment of 100 scudi to Arpino dated 29 March 1597 has been associated with this commission by Rottgen, citing Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 68a, 247a. On 14 February 1598, Arpino received 50 scudi for “due quadri aoglio che fa per mett.e nelle nichie nella Capella di S.o giovanni evangelista”; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 68a. This payment is also recorded in Corbo, 123 (not for the sacrament chapel), cf. 234, and idem, “Battistero,” 142, no. 22. Documents for other minor works are cited by Corbo, 78, 160, 173.

The unusual iconography of the two paintings can be explained by the tradition that the chalice from which the saint was forced to drink poison was preserved in the basilica, and another tradition that located his martyrdom on the Caelian hill; Ugonio, 38r, 48v; Lauer, 297.

Stationi,

The altar aedicula was rebuilt, presumably

156, 160, 173-4, 219, 223, 244.

“Alberti,” the life of Tempesta, his role in

no. 33. Additional scenes of Christ’s Passion decorate the vault above the altar. The condition of the frescoes before the restoration of 1968 is recorded in a series of photographs in the Archivio Fotografico Musei Vaticani,

Abromson,

532 n.15. Other frescoes illustrate the saint and are presumably by who received a final payment for the project in January 1601; Cor-

bo, 175, 226, 249; idem, “Battistero,”

144,

in accordance

with

Clement’s

decree,

utiliz-

ing columns from the altar of the Holy Cross formerly located in the north transept of the basilica; Beggiao, 115; cf. Panvinio—Lauer, 438. Baglione, Nove chiese, 101, attributed the model for the bronze statue of the saint placed within the aedicula to Giovanni Battista della Porta (photo: Alinari 5852). In the Vite, 152, he reattributed it to Tommaso della Porta, but in a list of errata at the end of the index he stated that Taddeo Landini and Ambrogio Bonvicino were responsible. This was repeated in his life of Orazio Censore (p. 325) whom he says cast the model in bronze. Venturi, Storia dell’arte, 10.3:874, 879-84,

270

Catalogue fig. 769, accepted to Riccoboni,

Landini, whereas

Roma

nell’arte:

La

Alberscultura

nell’evo moderno del Quattrocento ad oggi (Rome, 1947), 70, fig. 139, followed the dual authorship proposed by Baglione and dated the sculpture to 1592 (also in Gerardi, 2:85, pl. 76). Landini died in 1596, and it is possible that Bonvicino was engaged to complete the figure. The literature is reviewed by Ugo Donati, “La statua di $. Giovanni Evangelista nella (1943):

tonio model to be bronze

battistero lateranense,” Roma 21 111-13. A payment to Giovanni An-

Valsoldo for the monumental clay of the Evangelist, which was intended cast in bronze and placed above the aedicula of the sacrament altar in the

basilica (§III.H.4), was misinterpreted by Donati as referring to the statue in the baptistery; repeated by Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:367. The payment was correctly interpreted by Sabina Maniello Cardone, “Ambrogio Bonvicino:

Contributo allo studio delle origini della scultura barocca in Roma,” Alma Roma 27, nos. 3-4 (1986): 110 n. 12. Landini’s responsibility for the statue seems to be supported by a document dated 23 August 1596; Antonio Bertolotti, Artisti bolognesi, ferraresi ed alcuni altri del gia stato pontificio nei secoli XV, XVI e XVII (Bologna, 1885), 83. The bronze doors of the chapel, which

were preserved when the Lateran palace was demolished

under Sixtus V, were

installed in

the chapel after 1592 in accordance with Clement’s decree: “Ad huius Sacelli ostium accomodentur valvae aeneae, quae olim ad Scalam Sanctam positae erant.” Beggiao, 116. See also Iacobini, “Porte bronzee,” 76-91, and 77 n. 25 where the author attributes the restoration of the chapel’s exterior door frame to Clement’s intervention. I.C. Sacristy of the Chapel of Saint Venantius The chapel of Saint Venantius was the subject of major renovations under Gregory XIII; see Chapter 1. At the Visitation Clement or-

SECTION

II. BASILICA: FIRST PHASE,

ACL, FF.XV, fols. 262-3, where the date is recorded (XIII. Kalend Decemb. MDXCII)

along with a list of relics preserved there. The doorway leading from the chapel to the sacristy is inscribed CLEMENS PAPA VIII ANNO II (1593); Forcella, 8.122. The sacristy is noted by Baglione, Nove chiese, 103, and is represented on the plan in Gerardi, 2:pl. 62 (M). At some point the structure was demolished, but the lavabo remains in place on what is now the exterior wall of the chapel of John the Evangelist. The fifteenth-century organ located in the basilica was transferred to the chapel of Saint Venantius in 1598; see §II.E.3. Documents concerning minor works in the chapel are cited im Corbe, 116,120) 149, 174 cles n. 239, 241. Also to be noted is the repair of the angels that flanked the icon of the Virgin; see the saldo of work by Giovanni Volpetta, dated 7 April 1601, in Busta 25, reg. 11, fol. 4t: “Per haver raccommodato doi Angeli che staccano all’altare della Madonna rimessi ins.e li bracci che erano staccati con il lampadario racconcio mo.ta ....” These angels are represented in Fig. 34 of the present volume (upper left). Also mentioned in the documents is a coat of arms of Clement “sopra organo di San Gio. Euangelista” (ibid., fol. gv), and the elaborate decoration of the sacristy altar that contained “pilastrelli scannellatin.o otto con soi capitelli torniti scorniciati con 3. quadri intagliati in fa. con patern. attorno, e fogliami, cornice intagliata, con stelle, rastelli, wx. (ibids fol: ar):

1592-6

During the first phase of renovations initiated with the Visitation of 1592, equal attention was paid to the nave and transept. The works

278

dered the construction of a sacristy adjacent to the chapel. He also directed that an altar, a confessional, and a stone lavabo be built, and that a small area for prayer be incorporated as well. When this was done the altars dedicated to the Virgin and to Saint Venantius were to be reconsecrated. See Beggiao, 116. It is unlikely that these works were completed when the new altars in honor of Saint Venantius and the Nativity of the Virgin were consecrated on 18 November 1592; see

that were accomplished at this time amounted to a comprehensive restructuring of the church. There is no certain information con-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran cerning the architect in charge, although Giacomo della Porta’s name does appear in bills for the gilding of the nave ceiling. His primary role in the second phase of the transept project is firmly documented, and it is probable that he was similarly responsible for the earlier renovations as well. II.A. Changes in the Nave and Side Aisles Following the fire of 1361, the nave colonnade was restored with the insertion of brick piers, two of which enclosed the original columns; Malmstrom, “Nave Piers,” 155-64; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:67; Roca de Amicis, “Considerazioni,” 345-54. Pius IV intended to restore the columns and provide them with new bases, but this was never done; Lauer, 603-4.

At the Visitation Clem-

ent noted the condition of the colonnade and ordered additional masonry supports to be inserted. He further decreed that the arcade located against the wall in the outermost aisle to the south should be demolished, and additional windows opened in that area to provide illumination; Beggiao, 117-18. The arcade in the south aisle was formed with twenty verde antico columns that sheltered ten altars; it is described by Panvinio— Lauer, 438, and appears on the Lateran Archive plan (see Fig. 5). Since it is not represented on the surveys of the church drawn by Borromini in the mid-seventeenth century, it

is likely that the work Clement ordered was executed;

Krautheimer

et al., Corpus, 5:68,

cf. figs. 57-60. The avviso of 3 July 1596 (Supplementary Sources, no. 2) announced that the pope wanted to reconstruct the nave colonnade with ancient columns to be brought from Nettuno along with others from the Roman Forum. There is no evidence that this was done. II.A.1. Altars, Tombs, and the Seats of the Confessors. Clement ordered a major reorgan-

ization of the altars and tombs in the church. Certain altars were to be destroyed and others rebuilt and reendowed by their patrons. A tablet was to be appended to each giving the appropriate antiphon, verses, and prayer in honor of the saint. All pensile tombs were to be placed on the ground, and the seats of the confessors were to be transferred from

the extreme northern side aisle, where they are recorded by Panvinio—Lauer, 438, to the nave. See Beggiao, 114, 116-18. Despite the lack of documentary evidence regarding the new installation of the tombs and altars, a partial picture of what was done can be reconstructed on the basis of drawings that record the new settings provided for two tombs and the papal inscriptions. II.A.2. Inscription Plaques of Popes Sergius IV and Sylvester II. Clement requested that the epitaph of Pope Sergius IV (1009-12), which

was

then

located

in the

choir,

be

moved to the east end of the church near the main portal, and that the epitaph of Pope Sylvester II (999-1003) be reinstalled on the wall opposite the Sabello tomb; Beggiao, 118. For the original location of these monuments, see Panvinio—Lauer, 440, and for the inscriptions, see Forcella, 8.1-2; and Lauer, 145-8, figs. 56-57. A drawing by Borromini records the single mount for the two inscriptions; BAV, Chigi P.VII.g, fol. 6.I[I. Set upon a high base are two rectangular frames; the upper area is decorated with Aldobrandini stars, flaming vases, and the papal stemma (inscribed below: CLEMES / PP. VIII). Baglione, Nove

chiese, 118,

noted the location of the inscriptions in their new setting near the east end of the basilica. The appearance of the Clementine monument is also recorded in a sketch in the Spada Archive; Heimbirger Ravalli, Architettura, fig. 173 (lower left). The drawing is also reproduced in Githlein, “Spada [1979],” 231, fig. 17. (I am grateful to Ingo Herklotz for bringing this drawing to my attention and for suggesting the connection with the inscriptions.) The inscriptions are now installed in separate monuments in the intermediate northern side aisle; the one to Sergius IV designed by Borromini is illustrated in Torgil Magnuson, Rome in the Age vols. (Uppsala, 1982-6), 2:200.

of Bernini, 2

I].A.3. Tombs of Berardo Caracciolo and Riccardo Annibaldi. Two drawings executed in the first half of the seventeenth century for Cassiano del Pozzo depict the Caracciolo and Annibaldi tombs in their Clementine settings; Windsor, Royal Library, 11836, fol. 121, and no.

Albani 201, no. 11838, fol. 129.

279

Catalogue Ingo Herklotz, “Sepulcra” e “Monumenta” del medioevo: Studi sull’arte sepolcrale in Italia (Rome, 1985), 170-85, figs. 68, 74, published these drawings and established the correct identities of the deceased. Panvinio— Lauer, 438, recorded the original location of both tombs in the northernmost side aisle, near the altar of John the Evangelist and the portal that gave access to the Sala del Concilio. They remained in the same aisle, but were shifted to either side of the entrance to the Massimo Chapel; Baglione, Nove chiese, 119. In both cases the effigy was extracted from its original architectural frame and inserted within an elaborate niche consisting of a high base surmounted by a canopy. This canopy is formed with what appears to be polychrome marble (or a stucco imitation) to which curtains, presumably of stucco, are attached. They are swept aside to reveal Clement’s coat of arms, the effigy of the deceased, and an inscription plaque.

II.B. Sacristy of the Canons

olo. (“Liber decretorum capituli lateranen. ab anno 1588 per totum anno 1598,” ACL, K.XXIX, fol. 2411.)

On 28 May 1594, work was completed when the canons ordered Orsini to commission a bronze bust of Clement to be installed in the

sacristy “newly constructed”: Statuit Cap.lum tam pro huiusmodi animi grati etgand. Ecc.am n.stram demostrationi quam pro multis aliius beneficiis factis eidem dedicandum esse eius simulacrum eneum ponendumque

cf. the same text in ACL, K.XXXI, cerpt in Pressouyre, Cordier, 2: 456.)

Giustificazioni

di Tesoreria,

4711, 486r, 5354, O50r.

ed., San

Fulvio Orsini (d. 1600).

in Laterano,

between

152

fol. 62v, ex-

A completion date for construction in the late spring or summer of 1594 is supported by a final cost estimate of works executed by masons in the Quirinal palace “et la sacristia di [cancelled] a Sancto Giovanni laterano sino a di8. di Agosto 15947; ASR, Camerale- 1;

The sacristy of the Lateran basilica, located off the south side of the ambulatory that encircles the apse, was originally constructed in the fifteenth century by Eugenius IV; Rasponi, 68-70. Clement ordered that a new sacristy be built and that its vault be decorated with paintings. A passage that communicated between the apse of the basilica and this area, then obstructed, would be reopened. See Beggiao, 118; and the illustration in Pietrangeli, Giovanni

in sacristia p.

eund. S.m noviter aedificata cum ea inscribiptione condecenti ad et per suam eius memoria. culus regolis et exequutionis onus remisesrvent Rey. d. Fulvio Ursino Can.co et Vicario. (ACL, K.XXIX, fol. 432r;

Busta

21,

reg.

17, unnumbered folio. This is corroborated by the fact that beginning on 28 June 1594, the canons held their meetings in the “Sacristia nova’; ACLS K.XXIX; fols. 4515 4Gov, The structed

outer

sacristy

was

at the same

time.

apparently Rasponi,

con68-9,

says that it was used by the Beneficiati and the priests of the lower orders; he also notes that the altar of the Magdalen was built by

and 153. II.B.1. Construction.

An entry in the Liber

decretorum of the Lateran Canons provides an approximate date for the beginning of construction of the sacristy. On 11 July 1592, the canons

ordered

one

of their

members,

Fulvio Orsini, to take charge of the project. Evidently this entailed the demolition of parts of the old structure: Coniusserunt Rey. Fulvio Ursino quandam stantiam sitam in primo cortili seu atria prope sacristiam pro

fabricanda stabulo eo quod stabulum suum dictum prae[cidendum] est pro fabricanda nova sachristia magna et ordine S.mi d.omini nostra pp. Clementis Octavi quie stantia appellatur la stantiola del festai-

280

II.B.2. Bust of Clement the document quoted cated above the door the Beneficiati and the

VIII. The bust cited in in §II.B.1 is extant, lobetween the sacristy of sacristy of the canons;

Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:456—7, cat. no. 81, figs. 242-3. The inscription composed by Orsini

reads:

CLEMENTE

ET . CANONICI

/ OB

PAPAE.VIII/

. ACCEPTA

CAPITVLVM.

. BENEFICIA

D.D.

(Forcella, 8.127). Baglione reported that the bust was modeled by Giacomo Laurentiano and cast by Orazio Censore, but elsewhere he gave the model to Taddeo Landini and the work of casting it in bronze to Domenico Ferrerio; Vite, 59, 325, 326; cf. Nove chiese, 116. According to a document from the Lat-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran eran archive published by Pressouyre, Landini was paid for the bust on 2 April 1595.

*500 € 600: Opere restaurate e da restaurare; exhib: cat. (Rome: 1970), 2 1.

II.B.3. Frescoes. The vault and upper lunettes of the walls are decorated with illusionistic frescoes incorporating trompe l’oeil oculi, eight allegorical figures, and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. The center of the vault is treated as an opening into the heavens, where putti hold aloft the papal triregno and keys. It is probable that the decoration was executed in three stages, the first campaign carried out by Alessandro Alberti in 1594 following the completion of construction, later augmented by Cherubino and Giovanni Alberti, and subsequently by Agostino Ciampelli. Michel Angelo Gualandi, Memorie originali italiane risguardanti le belle arti, 6 vols. (Bologna, 1840-5), 6:62—3, attributed the ceiling frescoes to Giovanni Alberti and his brother Alessandro (d. 1596), and without citing his source published a payment to Alessandro dated September 1594. Baglione, Vite, 70, 132, reported that the sacristy was painted by Giovanni and Cherubino Alberti. A final payment to Cherubino dated 27 July 1602 was published by Abromson, “Alberti,” 532 nn. 9, 11, Partly on the basis of this document he rejected the veracity of Gualandi’s notice and dated the entire decoration of the vault to 1600-2. Hermann-Fiore, Disegni degli Alberti, 32, accepted Gualandi’s document and suggested that Cherubino may have painted only the lunettes ca. 1600. Since we now know that the sacristy was constructed between the summers of 1592 and 1594, and that the bust of Clement was executed in 1595, further credence accrues to Gualandi’s notice that the painted decoration was being executed in 1594. Additional frescoes on the end walls of the sacristy representing a miracle of Pope Clement I and his martyrdom were painted by Agostino Ciampelli; Baglione, Nove chiese, 115f; idem, Vite, 59, 320. These frescoes have been dated to 1602-5, by Simonetta Prosperi Valenti, “Un pittore fio-

II.B.4. Miscellaneous Works. Payments for minor works in the sacristy occur between 15o7 and 1602; Corbo, 66, 79. 181,129 5. Documents are not known for the walnut cabinets that line the walls, elaborately carved on the door valves with the coat of arms of Clement VIII and surmounted by bust-length images of Christ, the Virgin, and the twelve Apostles; Baglione, Vite, 59; Beggiao, 62 n. 74. The sacristy was restored in 1964; Walther Buchowiecki, Handbuch der Kirchen Roms, 3 vols. (Vienna, 1967-74), 1:84.

rentino a Roma e 1 suoi committenti,” Paragone 23, no. 265 (March 1972): 81-2, 93-4

n. 7; and Abromson, “Alberti,” 532. The bozzetti are in the convent of San Gregorio al Celio; Claudio Strinati, Quadri romani tra

II.C. High Altar

The main altar of the basilica was the focus of attention in the renovations developed by Clement at the Visitation in 1592. The fourteenth-century ciborium would be embellished, the confessio chapel restored and redecorated, and the relic of the Last Supper table transferred to this location. Il.C.1. Ciborium. The high-altar ciborium was constructed by Pope Urban V (1362-70) to house the head relics of Saints Peter and Paul; Monferini, “Ciborio,” 182-212. Clement decreed that an image of these two saints be placed within the metal grill of the upper range of the ciborium; an honorific canopy was to hang from the ceiling above the ciborium; the lower vault of the ciborium was to be gilded; and images of the calling and the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul were to be painted there. See Beggiao, 114. The earliest references to works executed at the high altar concern the restoration of the reliquary busts of Peter and Paul. A notice dated 13 May 1595 states: “Restitutio Lamenes argente deficientis expectore simulaere Petri et Pauli7; ACL) TF XV «fola rennin the following year some missing jewels were replaced: “Ricordo faccio io Fabritio Naro, come a di 30 di 8bre 1596 furono nette le teste sacre delli B.ti Pietro, e Paolo Ap.li, e remesse alcuna gioie erano da esse cascate”; ASV, Miscellanea, Armadio VII, vol. 41, fol. 639r. Baglione, Nove chiese, 123, reported that the ciborium was gilded by Clement VIII. 281

Catalogue The four eight-pointed stars that crown the corner turrets of the upper level recall the heraldry of the Aldobrandini family and may have been added by Clement. The image of Peter and Paul that Clement wished to hang within the grill of the ciborium was designed by Agostino Ciampelli in October 1598 (Corbo, 124, cf. 197, 234); payments for embroidering it appear between January and March 1599 (Corbo, 143, cf. 127, 247). This work no longer exists, but we know from the engraving by Maggi and Greuter (Fig. 34, present volume) that the saints were represented half-length with Paul on the left side. This follows the placement of the reliquary busts within the ciborium as well as the icon that Pope Sylvester showed to Constantine according to the tradition introduced in the Vita Silvestri. The Lateran claimed to possess this very image, and the embroidered hanging was certainly meant to recall its presence in the church. Indeed, John the Deacon associated the icon with the high altar; Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:338; cf. the relic list of Leo X, in Lauer, 299. PanvinioLauer, 435, located the icon below the high altar and simply said that it was painted “ante mille et trecentos annos.” According to Baglione, Vite, 78, the Florentine painter Giovanni Balducci (il Cosci) came to Rome during the pontificate of Clement VIII and executed the painted decoration of the high altar. Cosci probably arrived in 1594 to work at Santa Prassede for its newly appointed titular cardinal, the Florentine Alessandro de’ Medici, who was also in charge of the Lateran transept renovations at that time. Cosci’s work at the Lateran was probably complete when he left Rome for Naples in 1596, perhaps in the company of his patron, Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdi. Gesualdi, who became archbishop of Naples in that year and arrived in Naples on 2 April, entrusted Cosci with renovating the tribune of the Duomo (consecrated May 1597); see Silvana

Musella

Guida,

“Giovanni

Balducci

fra Roma e Napoli,” Prospettiva no. 31 (1982): 35-50, esp. 39; and D. F. Strazzullo, “Affreschi del pittore fiorentino Giovanni Balducci nell’antica abside del Duomo di Napoli,” Arte cristiana (1951): 131-3. Cosci’s frescoes in the lower vault of the Lateran ciborium survive. As per Clement’s 282

request, they represent the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, Christ delivering the keys to Peter, and the conversion of Paul. Above each scene an angel appears holding an object relevant to the event depicted; Baglione incorrectly identified them as virtues. The frescoes were restored in 1953 along with the rest of the ciborium; photographic documentation on record in the Archivio Fotografico Musei Vaticani, nos. XXVIII.6.160-70. Three oil paintings by Cosci, now dispersed, once formed the predella of the high altar on the side facing the tribune. The subjects (left to right) were Peter Baptizes the Centurian Cornelius, the Last Supper, and the Calling of Peter. These paintings and the frescoes in the vault of the ciborium were restored during the pontificate of Pius IX (1846-78), at which time the altar was stripped of later additions, including those of Glement VII see Diy “Laltare papale nella

basilica lateranense,” L’Album 18 (1851): 130-1; Filippo Martinucci, Imtorno le reparazioni eseguite all’altare papale lateranense e suo tabernacolo ... (Rome, 1854), 17; cf. Moroni, Dizionario, 75:52. Cosci’s paintings

are recorded in engravings published by Gerardi, 1:56—7, pls. 29, 34-6. II.C.2. Confessio Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist. According to Ugonio, Stationi, 41v, Pope Gregory the Great (,5go—-604) recorded that the tunic of John the Evangelist was preserved in this chapel. Pope Sergius II (844-7) transferred additional relics to this place and ornamented the chapel with plates of silver encrusted with gold; Liber pontificalis, 2:91, 102 nn. 13-14. The chapel was used to store the holy oils, which were consecrated at the Lateran on Holy Thursday by the pope and distributed to all other churches in the city; Panvinio—Lauer, 435; Sette chiese, 1:529; Rasponi, 49.

Severano,

By the late sixteenth century nothing of the once splendid decoration of this chapel remained. Ugonio recorded that one entered the chapel from the level of the nave by descending a wooden ladder; within the chapel was a bare altar (“altare nudo”); the walls were decorated with floral motifs (“tutta a simiglianza de fiorini”); and a lamb was painted in the center of the vault. A fresco above

the altar depicted the miracle of Christ’s ap-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran pearance when Sylvester consecrated the high altar with the holy oils; Ugonio, Stationi, 414; Ugonio-Lauer, 577; and Fig. 88 of the present volume. At the Visitation Clement ordered that the chapel be restored and redecorated with paintings, the subjects of which were not specified. Steps were to be constructed to facilitate the descent from the nave, and the outer wall was to be reveted with marble “for the just adornment of this holy place” (pro religiost loci congruo ornatu). Clement also wished that those relics with no certain identity then preserved in the chapel of Saint Thomas be transferred here. When all was completed the altar was to be reconsecrated in honor of Saint Sylvester. See Beggiao, 114-15. On 10 September 1594 the altar was reconsecrated to its original patron, John the Evangelist, recorded as per Clement’s decree on a tablet located above the altar and meant to be read from the level of the transept through a small opening (still in situ); Forcella, 8.123. No visual record survives of the paintings ordered by the pope. Rasponi, 49, noted their existence as well as gilded stuccoes (“opere albario inaurato, varisque insuper picturis”). Payment for minor works only are recorded between December 1597 and February 1598; Corbo, 119, 124, cf. 182,

183, 232, 234, and see p. 174 for a late payment dated 18 November 1599. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the chapel was redecorated with frescoes by Giovanni Battista Brughi (ca. 1660-1730), but nothing survives of these works; Gerardi, 1:49. During the reign of Pius IX, the entrance system to the confessio was rebuilt with the addition

Borrominis Umbau der Lateranbasilika,” Jahrbuch der preufischen Kunstsammlungen 42 (1921): 58, fig. 2. Additional drawings by Borromini of the high altar are preserved in BAV, Chigi P.VII.9; Paolo Portoghesi, “Saggi sul Borromini III: La vita di Borromini,” Quaderni dell’Istituto di Storia dell’Architettura nos. 27-9 (1958): 26-7, 46 n. 13, figs. 21-5. The entrance to the confessio is also depicted in a drawing by Felice della Greca; BAV, Chigi P.VII.9, fol. 10 (8). II.C.3. Relic of the Last Supper Table. In the course of the Visitation Clement examined the relics housed in the chapel of Saint Thomas. These included the Hebrew trophies and the Last Supper table; see Chapter 25 n.17, Clement ordered that the table be transferred to the high altar where it had been located in the Middle Ages: Sacram mensam ligneam super quam D.nus N.r Jesus Christus humani generis Salvator ultimam coenam cum suis Discipulis fecit, e Sacello S.ti Thomae, ubi nunc asservatur,

transferri, et in maiore altari,

ubi antiquitus erat collocata, mandavit. (Beggiao, 114.)

reponi, et adaptari

The relic was first mentioned in the earliest version of the text redacted by John the Deacon (Valentini-Zucchetti, 3:337) and was also recorded in the relic list of Nicholas IV (Lauer, 437), both times at the high altar. Following the fire of 1308, the relic was transferred to the chapel of Saint Thomas located in the east portico, which served as the papal vestry; de Blaauw, “Solitary Celebration,”

129-30. Sixteenth-century authors continued to record the relic in the Thomas chapel: Lui-

of an annular staircase, and the area in front

gi Contarino,

of the confessio was enlarged. In 1853, the tomb of Martin V was transferred from the level of the nave to the bottom of the new Stairs, see Chapter V51n, Mellini, “Descrittioni,” Barb. lat. 4318, fol. 84r, recorded that eight stairs descended to the confessio, and that the door to the chapel was of gray marble decorated with Clement’s name above and his heraldic stars at the sides. A drawing of the high altar by Borromini shows the steps, the marble revetment of the outer wall, and the inscription above the

santi, reliquie et statue di Roma...

L’antichita,

sito, chiese,

1569), 149; Serrano, De septem

siis, 68, and

Ugonio,

corpi

(Naples,

Urbis eccle-

Stationi, 48r. It re-

mained there until the chapel was demolished in 1647; Volker Hoffmann, “Die Fassade von San Giovanni in Laterano 313/14-1649,” Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 17 (1978): 42; see also Lauer, 591 (but read

door, CLEMENS PAPA VIII; BAV, Chigi G.II].70,

1647 for 1641); and Martinelli, as quoted in Chapter 4, n. 110. At that time the table and the Hebrew trophies were placed in a small room located in the ambulatory, near the entrance to the sacristy of the canons. For the

fol. 4, first published by Kurt Cassirer, “Zu

location of this room, see Alessandro Baldes-

283

Catalogue chi, Stato della SS. chiesa papale lateranense nel’anno 1723 (Rome, 1723), 122; and Giovanni Marangoni, I! divoto pellegrino guidato... per il giubileo dell’anno 1750... (Rome, 1749), 283. The disposition of the relics within the room is described in the records of the Visitation of the Lateran conducted in 1656, during the reign of Alexander VII; ASV, Sacra Congregazione della Visita Apostolica, vol. 98, fasc. 1, fol. 32v: P.o ingressus est parvum cubiculum, cuius parieti af-

fixa est Tabula, ad quam recubuisse fertur in ultima Caena D.N. Iesus Christus, in ea apparent plura veluti puncta argentea, qua, abstracto olim a barbaris argenteo tegumento, restasse dicuntur. Deinde ad aliud Cubiculum devenit in quo servatur Arca, ut aiunt, foederis, ligneo ornamento circumdata, parieti pariter affixa, et serico velo con-

tecta. Arcae huic proxima est capsula oblonga vitro coperta, in qua conspiciuntur virgae duae, quarum altera Moysis altera Aaron fuisse dicuntur.

In the 1860s, a chamber was constructed behind the sacrament altar of Clement VIII to communicate with the position formerly occupied by the silver relief of the Last Supper, and the actual relic was transferred to this place; documents is “le

cited in Lavin,

Unity, 126

II.D. Frescoes

Baglione, Vite, 319, reported that Agostino Ciampelli painted the frescoes of the four Evangelists located in the spandrels of the crossing arches as well as those of Zachariah and John the Baptist, which decorate the spandrels on the nave side. Like Cosci, Ciampelli probably came to Rome from Florence in 1594 to work for Alessandro de’ Medici at

ing related to the figures of Saints Mark and Luke. For engravings of all four frescoes and sensitive appreciations, see Gerardi, 1:43-4,

pls. 27-8, 2:43-4, 53-4, Pls. 32-3, 44-5.

As part of the work necessitated by the rebuilding of the tribune executed under Leo XIII (1878-1903) in the 1880s, the figures of Matthew and John were repainted after careful copies had been made; Mauro Ricci, La nuova absida lateranense ..., supplement to La Voce della Verita (Rome, 1886), 14. I.E. Transept

Clement took the first steps in the unification of the transept at the Visitation. In addition to a new ceiling, he ordered that the organ, which then occupied the south transept, be reinstalled above the north transept entrance. At the same time it was proposed to move the sacrament altar of Gregory XIII from the north ambulatory entrance to a new position

where it would be more visible to those entering the church, presumably meaning the south transept. It was during this phase of the renovations that the pavement was made leyel along the entire expanse of the cross axis. ILE... Getling (Fies.724, 25). Clement oxdered that the new ceiling be magnificently decorated and gilded in emulation of the ceiling in the nave. Its cost was to be paid from the income derived from the rings of deceased cardinals: Navis

Ecc.siae transversae laqueari permagnifice nobilitetur, auroque decoretur ut operis excellentia, et dignitate mediae navis laqueari omnino

respon-

deat. (Beggiao, 117.)

On 6 September

1592,

a contract

was

con-

cluded with a group of carpenters for the ex-

Santa Prassede; see §II.C.1. Payments to Ciam-

ecution

pelli for unspecified works at the Lateran, dated between 2 November 1596 and 6 September 1597, are linked to these frescoes by

nave ceiling of Pius IV and to conform to a design by Taddeo Landini; ASR, Segretari e

Prosperi Valenti, “Pittore fiorentino,”

collo 368, fols. 438r—439v; excerpts in Lanciani, Scavi, 4:185-—-6. An initial payment of 300 scudi was disbursed on 7 October 1592; Protocollo 368, fol. 486r. For further payments see Abromson, “Alberti,” 532 n. 10, and Corbo, 47, 51, 53-4, 59. On 28 June 1594, a contract for gilding and painting the new ceiling was drawn up. This work was to be finished by February 1595 (“febraro

81-2,

93-4 n. 7; and Abromson, “Alberti,” 532 n. 14; ch Busta 1n¢4, tee. 2, fols, 27b, 25 ha). The first of these payments coincides with the completion of gilding the transept ceiling. Simonetta

Prosperi

Valenti,

“Ancora

su Ago-

stino Ciampelli disegnatore,” Antichita viva 12, no. 2 (1973): 17 n. 34, cited two drawings in the Uffizi (nos. 7185F—7186F) as be284

of the

Cancellieri

ceiling,

di R.C.A.,

to

Luca

be based

Calderini,

on

the

Proto-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran pross.o”); Protocollo 370, fols. 478r—480v, published by Bertolotti, Artisti bolognesi, 646. The date 1595 was originally visible on the pedestal of the relief of Saint John the Evangelist according to Mellini, “Descrittioni,” BAV, Barb. lat. 4318, fol. 72r—v: “e nella basi della statua di legno di S. Gio. Vangelista: MDXCV.” Some accounts were still being paid in 1596. For payments and other documents

relevant

to this work,

see Abromson,

“Alberti,” 532 n. 10, and Corbo, 23, 45, 46,

47,58.

The following volumes in ASR, Camerale I, contain additional payments for the years 1593-6. Especially interesting are the payments for gilding dated 1595-6, which appear in a saldo of works supervised by Giacomo della Porta, dated 15 November 1599, indicating that he was associated with the Lateran project during the first phase; Giustificazioni di Tesoreria, Busta 23, reg. 23, fols. 7— 8. The volume bears the title “1595 Conto Di M.ro Jacomo della Porta per diuerse spese fatte da lui per seruitio del Palazzo Ap.lico per la fabrica et altri lauori li anni 1595 et 1596 — sald.o.” See also Mandati Camerale, reg. 943, fols. 55v, 5Qr, 100r; reg. 945, fols. 14V, 18r, 29r; Tesoreria Generale, reg. 1576, fols. 75r, 88v; reg. 1577, fols. 78Vv, 7oOV, 85v, gor, 1176) teg. 1570, fol. gs; and Fabbriche, Busta 1533, fol. 78a. Additional information is provided by the following cost estimate, dated 6 January 1595, Which confirms that Alessandro de’ Medici (“Car.le fiorenza”) was in control of the transept project at this point. It also indicates that after the ceiling was constructed changes were made to allow more space for the central field. The “falso cupolo” must refer to the area where the bust of Christ appears surrounded by clouds: Per auer guasto il Cornicione che p.ma siera fatto et si lasiava il falso acanto il muro da poi che e stato fatto detto Cornicione di ordine de Monsig.ri Ill.mo Car.le fiorenza et del Architetto si e tornato e disfare et rifatto acanto il muro e dare il falso cupolo piu parte delli traui di detta soffitta ogni cosa insieme monta...

(ASR, Camerale

I, Giustificazioni di

Tesoreria, Busta 21, reg. 17, unnumbered folio at the end; a second sheet bears the same date and includes the materials that were used.)

Portions of the ceiling had to be rebuilt in connection with the installation of the organ

that was constructed in the second phase of the transept renovations; see an undated summary of work executed by the carpenter Giovanni Volpetta: Per hauer disfatto, e rifatto li quadri della soffitta per mettere |’ossat.ra che sostenta l’organo, e tirare le colone, rifatto tutto quello che si é€ guasto, con n.o 16 tauole di abeto pulite del m.re ins.e ... (Busta Ai tA, Wile, WO, Pe)

The ceiling was restored by Benedict XIII (1724-30) in 1727; Carlo Bricarelli, “I restauri al soffitto di S. Giovanni in Laterano,” Civilita’ cattolica ser, 18, voln 11, now 1 2755 (1903): 285-99. As part of the extensive works undertaken by Leo XIII in the 1880s, the “rinnovazione totale” of the ceiling was carried

out.

Ricci, Nuova

absida, 8, states

that “In questo soffitto Clementino, si riprodusse esattamente I|’antico disegno, pur essendovi stati rimessi in opera, dopo i debiti riattamenti, gli stessi ornati dell’antico soffitto.” The description of the ceiling by Mellini, “Descrittioni,” Barb. lat. 4318, fols. 71v—72Vv, suggests that what we see today respects the original design.

II.E.2. Leveling of the Pavement. At the beginning of Clement’s pontificate the transept was divided into three distinct areas; the cen-

tral portion that extended from the high altar to the beginning of the apse was raised three steps above the lateral spaces. This is shown on the Lateran Archive plan (see Fig. 5) and on two other plans, one by Leonardo Bufalini (1551) and the other by Francesco Contini; see, respectively, Frutaz, Piante, 2:no. 109,

10, pl. 199; and Severano, Sette chiese, plate between 534 and 535 (illustrated in Herklotz, Sepulcra, 93, fig. 18). The north transept served the public, the south transept was reserved for the clergy, and the central area was used by the pope when he celebrated Mass at the high altar; see Chapter 2. The project for unifying the pavement level is recorded by two contemporary sources. Flaminio Vacca’s report of 1 November 1594 is especially valuable for providing a terminus ante quem; “Memorie,” 4:47, no. 121 (separate pagination): Volendo Sua Santita in S. Gio. Laterano far abbassare un certo rialto innanzi al coro, ed all’ altare degli Apostoli, si scuoprirono tre nicchi assai grandi, uno 285

Catalogue accanto all’ altro, con alcuni muri 1 quali camminavano in squadra con la Chiesa. Per questo rispetto si potrebbe dire, che Costantino fabbricando San Giovanni si servisse de’fondamenti di altra fabbrica antica che vi fossi avanti. Il piano di detti nicchioni, dove camminavano gli antichi erano tutti di serpentini, e porfidi con altri mischj, sotto poi a questo trovarono altro pavimento circa sei palmi pit basso : bisogna che fosse edifizio antichissimo, e nobilissimo.

This project may also be referred to by Pietro Martire Felini, Trattato nuovo

delle cose ma-

ravigliose dell’alma citta di Roma... (Rome, 1610), 5-6: “Et Papa Clemente Otauo predetto ha ridotta in piano la Naue,....” Apparently it was in connection with this work that the bases of the columns that sustain the ciborium of the high altar were partly covered. This is indicated by a source that refers to the restoration of the high altar under Pius IX when all additions were removed; D., “Altare papale,” 130: Cosi, incominciando dalle quattro colonne, che tutta reggono la mole, tolto uno dei gradini aggiunti sotto Clemente VIII, s’ottenne che pit sopravanzassero al suolo, correggendo, quanto far si poteva, il danno recato alla sveltezza e proporzione di questa parte, quando dal Pontefice stesso fu rialzato il pavimento della nave traversa e le colonne vennero in esso per palmi quattro ricoperte.

II.E.3. Fifteenth-century Organ and Related Structures. In 1592, Clement ordered that the organ and choir loft complex, which then occupied the entire south transept, be dismantled, that the organ be moved to the inner facade of the north transept, and that a podium be constructed above it to communicate with the benediction loggia of Sixtus V, where the pope could observe the Divine Office without being seen by the people. In addition, the altar of the Beneficiati, which was dedicated to the Annunciate Virgin and located below the old organ, was to be transferred to another

place: Chorus superior ad organum erectus diiciatur, ipsumque organum supra lateralem Ecclesiae portam collocetur. Altare Beneficiatorum Beat.mae Virgini Annuntiatae dicatum, quod nunc organo subjacet, in alium commodiorem locum transferatur. Ex porticu benedictionum aperiatur aditus ad podiolum extruendum Summorum Pontificum commo-

286

ditati ut a conspectu popoli remoti possint cum eis libuerint, Divinis Officiis interesse. (Beggiao, 117.)

II.E.3.a. Organ. The organ was

apparently

constructed in 1427 by one Andrea di Francesco Pinelli; Lunelli, Orgelbau, 134; and idem, L’arte organaria, 2, citing an unpublished study by Raffaello Casimiri. It appears that the instrument was donated to the basilica by Antonio Martinez Chaves (d. 1447), archpriest of the Lateran, and included his tomb and an altar; see Hermann Egger, “Kardinal Antonio Martinez de Chaves und sein Grabmal in San Giovanni in Laterano,” Studi e testi 38 (1924): 415-31; and Michael Kuhlenthal, “Zwei Grabmaler des friihen Quattrocento in Rom: Kardinal Martinez de Chiavez und Papst Eugen IV.,” Roémisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte 16 (1976): 17-56. According to the avviso of 3 July 1596 (Supplementary Sources, no. 2), by that date the organ had been moved from the south transept. Testimony concerning the vandalization of the organ in Saint Peter’s, which was collected during July and August 1597, makes clear that the transfer was entrusted to the organaro Benvenuto Benvenuti; ASR, Tribunale Criminale del Governatore, Processi,

1957, vol. 306, fols. 11g0Vv, 11911, 1201V, 1210Vv,

cited

by Luccichenti,

“Luca

Blasi,”

119 n. 22. It is not known where the organ was placed at that time, but it may have been installed above the entrance to the transept as Clement had requested. On 29 July 1597, Luca Blasi reported to the tribunal that the old organ would be taken away and sold, indicating that it was still in the church. A decree of the Lateran canons dated 6 June 1508, records the order to move the “organum antiqum ad loco ubi bene visum”; ACL, K.XXXIII, fol. 110r. Between [August] 1598 and [March] 1599, three payments totaling 50 scudi for its transfer to the chapel of Saint Venantius in the baptistery were made to the organaro Giovanni Guglielmi; Reg. 1535, fols. 125, 137, 174, 228; cited by Corbo, 132, 137 (with the reference on fol. 125 mistakenly listed under Mido Guglielmo), and 199, 239, 245 for the collateral documents. See also Barbieri, “L’organo idraulico,” 13 n. 8; and Luccichenti, op. cit., 121 n. 28 (using the old pagination). Payments for the restoration of the instrument occur in January and

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran February 1599; Reg. 1535, fols. 206, 216; cf. Gorbo,sigd. 146. IL.E.3.b. Choir Loft. Giovanni

Paolo Mu-

cantio, master of ceremonies, recorded that the loft above the fifteenth-century organ pro-

vided a place where visiting dignitaries were able to observe the celebration at the high altar: Apud Organum ex quadam superiori Camera, quae habebat fenestram versus ecclesiam iuxta Exc.mi D.N. Antonii Columna, Magni Comestabilis Regni

Neapolitani spectavit Pontificem et Sacrum Collegium, ac huius Cappellae solemnitatem, et accidit ibi levi de causa fiat .... (BAV, Vat. lat. 12317, fol.

2714r; concerning the celebration of the feast of John the Baptist at the Lateran on 24 June 1592)

Clement evidently wished to recreate the original arrangement of organ and choir loft with the construction of a balcony on the inner transept facade. There is no evidence that this balcony was constructed, and when the decision was made to rebuild the organ on a monumental scale it was no longer possible.

II.E.3.c. Altar of the Virgin Annunciate. The altar of the Beneficiati of the Lateran, originally located below the old organ in the

south transept, was constructed in 1555 and included an image of the Annunciation painted by Marcello Venusti after a design by Michelangelo; Panvinio—Lauer, 439; Lauer, 593. As per Clement’s request, the altar was transferred to the extreme south aisle, near the sacrament altar; it is recorded in this position by Baglione, Nove chiese, 122-3; Vite, 21. The painting is now displayed in the sacristy

of the Beneficiati. II.E.4. Sacrament Altar of Gregory XIII. At the Visitation Clement examined the sacrament altar, he inquired whether the altar had been consecrated, whether the pyx was made of silver, if the Host was replaced on a weekly basis, and if it was carried with due reverence to the sick. He ordered that the inner part of the tabernacle be adorned and that the key to the tabernacle be suspended on a red silk cord kept separate from all others. Of the tabernacle’s two doors, the upper one was to be enlarged to form a circle, while the lower door would be decorated either with

the chalice and the Host or an image of Christ. The altarcloth was to be replaced and two tablets were to be fixed next to the altar, one with the antiphons and verses, and the

other with a record of the altar’s consecration. The pope also set forth rules for administering the sacrament and for bringing it to the sick. See Beggiao, 112. Agostino Valier, a member of the Visitation commission, reported that “A discussion was also had about transferring the altar of the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist, so that it might be located in a nobler place of the church where it would be exposed to the eyes of the ones entering the church, and that it would be preserved more magnificently as is most proper.” Tractatum est etiam de trasferendo altari S.ctissimi Sacramenti Eucharistiae, ut nobiliori in loco Ecclesiae poneretur, ubi ingredientium Ecclesiam oculis esset magis expositum, et magnificentius, ut maxime decet, custodiretur. (ASV, Armadio VII, vol. 4, fol. 7v; cf. Beggiao, 59.)

This notice should be considered along with the other changes the pope wanted to make in the transept, especially the transfer of the organ and choir loft from the south transept to the inner facade of the north entrance. The implication is that the sacrament altar would be moved to take the place of the organ. It is not known if the plan to transfer Gregory’s altar was ever carried out. II.F. Exterior of the Basilica

Several works either proposed or initiated by Clement VIII suggest that the pope was concerned to develop the urban setting of the Lateran that had so greatly occupied his predecessors. The east portico of the church was to be restored, the east piazza embellished with a fountain, and a road constructed to lead from the Lateran to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. It was presumably in connection with the general reordering of the urban setting that ancient lead pipes inscribed with names of members of the Lateran family were discovered in 1595 near the area where the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius formerly stood. According to Severano, Sette chiese, 1: 493, It was at the instigation of the Lateran

287

Catalogue canon

Fulvio

Orsini

that these pipes were

mounted on two marble plaques and _ installed within the ambulatory, near the sacristy. The plaques, which are now immured in the part of the ambulatory that houses the Museum, MON

are inscribed HAEC

TASPROi/ PE EGCLAREP?

illustrated

AN

VETVSTATIS

VED VG

in Pietrangeli, ed., San

in Laterano,

CAR,

Pe:

Giovanni

31.

II.F.1. East Portico. This structure was built in the late twelfth century and was demolished in the early eighteenth century to make way for the new facade. It was decorated with a series of narrative mosaics extolling the Lateran’s special dignities, confirmed by the honorific inscription DOGMATA PAPALIA. See Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 89-95. At the Visitation Clement ordered that the east portico be restored and that funds be provided by income derived from the rings of deceased cardinals. In addition, he ordered that the inscription be reinstalled: “Lapides marmorei in quibus incisa sunt carmina, dogmata papalia in frontispicio Ecclesiae, ubi antiquitus collocati erant reponantur.” See Beggiao,

117-18.

The

intention

to restore

the

portico was reiterated in the avviso of 3 July 1596 (Supplementary Sources, no. 2). It is unclear whether any work was actually carried out. Fragments of the inscription were used in the pavement of the baptistery chapel of John the Evangelist; they were discovered in the 1920s and are now displayed in the cloister; Giovanni Battista Giovenale, I! battistero lateranense nelle recente indagini della Pont. Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Studi di antichita

cristiana,

1 (Rome,

1929), 115-16;

Angelo Silvagni, ed., Monumenta epigraphica christiana saeculo XIII antiquiora quae in Italia finibus adhuc exstant ..., 1.2 (Vatican City, 1943), no. 1493, pl. 16, 5; and Josi, Chiostro, 14, no. 92. It is possible that these are the same fragments of the inscription formerly mounted on the medieval fa-

SECTION

If. BASILICA: SECOND

PHASE,

IL.F.2. Fountain for the East Piazza. The avviso of 3 July 1596 (Supplementary Sources, no. 2) records that three cardinals who were prominently associated with the Lateran were charged with constructing a fountain, apparently for the east piazza. This project, which was never executed, may have been a first attempt to treat this much neglected area of the Lateran that provided the initial approach to the basilica for those entering the city from the south, and for those whose goal was the Holy Door. During the later 1590s, Clement pursued major works in clearing this piazza; see §III.K.1.

II.F.3. Road to Link the Lateran with Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. According to the avviso of 1596 (see Supplementary Sources, no. 2) the same cardinals were given the responsibility to open a new road from the Lateran to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. This project revived a plan of Sixtus V; Schiffmann, Roma felix, 44. II.F.4. North Transept Doors. At the Visitation, Clement decreed that the doors to the

church be embellished with reliefs of Christ and the two Saint Johns; Beggiao, 118. The central door has two identical bust-length reliefs of Christ in the upper area (referring perhaps to the acheropita and the Volto Santo of the apse mosaic) and two full-length reliefs of the Saint Johns below. The lateral doors only have the two Saint Johns. These doors were

destroyed in the terrorist bombing of the Lateran in July 1993 (see Introduction).

1597-1600

IlI.A. Transept: Summary Chronology

The progress of the renovation and decoration of the transept can be followed rather 288

cade that were recorded in 1591 at the Vatican, where they were presumably to be employed as construction material; de Rossi, ed., Inscriptiones, 2:322—3.In the early eighteenth century a copy of the original inscription was installed on the new east facade of the church.

closely in the payment documents and avvisi. Regular disbursements for the second phase of the renovations began on 20 September 15973; Busta 1535, fol. 1 (the first payment is

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran for gilding the bronze columns). A papal chirograph dated 7 October 1597 provided 300

final polish toward the end of 1600. This is supported by a witness to the Holy Year cele-

scudi a week, doubled to 600 scudi on 21 October; Corbo, 28. Contemporary sources

bration; Bentivoglio, Memorie, ed. Panigada, 126: “Nell’istesso anno santo il papa quasi

make clear that Clement wanted the project completed in time for the Holy Year of 1600; Baglione, Vite, 59, 371, 374. A large inscription formerly located in the pavement just inside the transept entrance bore the date 1600 (see Fig. 51). Other inscriptions dated to 1598 and 1599 appear on the bronze ciborium of the sacrament altar and the organ. A completion date for the project in 1601 has sometimes been advanced, but the documents dating from that year mostly concern the final accounting and are not for work then being carried out or recently completed. The entrance wall with the organ and its casement were finished by spring 1599. Portions of the sculptural decoration were installed in July and September 1598, and the rest was completed in spring 1599. Concerning the sacrament altar, in spring 1598 the bronze columns were raised, and the entire structure was probably completed by the end of the year; at that time monumental clay models for bronze statues intended to stand on top of the pediment were brought to the church, presumably for a trial installation. Three of the marble statues representing Old Testament figures that flank the altar were transferred to the Lateran by December 1599. The sacrament tabernacle was being installed in Janua-

fino d’ornare la chiesa di San Giovanni.... ” The formal consecration of the sacrament altar is recorded by a hitherto unpublished inscription located on the upper molding of the altar table: CLEM . VIII . SOLEMNITER CONSECR. CVRAV. PROVT IN BULL. A. M. DCI. The papal bull in question, dated 12 February 1601, provides funds for four chaplains to serve at the altar, their appointment to be controlled in perpetuity by the Aldobrandini family; see Chapter 6, n. 8.

ry 1600.

Those portions of the project that were finished in the course of 1600 include the frescoes along the side walls (probably completed by February), the Last Supper relief (installed in April), the flanking angels (payments for installation between March and July), and the fresco of the Ascension of Christ (finished by August). An avviso of April 1600 records Clement’s order that funds be diverted from the transept to the Aldobrandini chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, “homai che Popera é in fine” (see Supplementary Sources, no. 6). The final element of the decoration to be completed was the nine marble reliefs of angels that line the side walls; although payments are incomplete, these works constitute

the only element of the ensemble that extended into 1601. Thus, the transept was substantially finished for the Holy Year, receiving its

III.B. Transept: Architectural Changes The architectural renovation of the transept during the first phase of work appears to have been modest. During the second phase major alterations were undertaken. On the eastern wall the arches leading to the intermediate aisles flanking the nave were lowered to conform to the height of those at the extreme north and south. In addition, the entrance to the ambulatory on the south side was rebuilt to conform to that on the north. The medieval windows at the upper level of the side walls were blocked and eight new ones cut through. The result of these changes was to create larger and more regular surfaces, and it is probable that they were done in tandem with planned fresco decoration. Baglione, Nove chiese, 111, identified the architect in charge of the renovations as Giacomo della Porta. For later references that repeat this attribution, see Tiberia, Giacomo della Porta, 48. An avviso dated 11 August 1601 confirms his responsibility; BAV, Urb.

lat. 1069, fols. 466v—467r, in Orbaan, Documenti, 47 n.

III.B.1. Arches on the Eastern Wall. The arches leading to the intermediate side aisles were lowered to conform to the height of the outermost arches to the north and south. For the relative heights of these arches before the Clementine

renovations,

434; and Krautheimer The original form of from two drawings, Heemskerck (Fig. 26,

see Panvinio—Lauer,

et al., Corpus, 5:67. the arches is known one by Marten van present volume) and

289

Catalogue the other

by Borromini

(Vienna,

Albertina,

no. IT Ag 381). Both drawings are discussed in ibid., 5:81, and figs. 68, 75; cf. fig. 79 for a reconstruction.

See also Malmstrom,

“Heemskerck,” 247-51. Panvinio—Lauer, 435, recorded that columns flanked all four arches leading to the side aisles; these columns are represented on the Archive plan (Fig. 5), but they do not appear in Borromini’s surveys and it is likely that they were removed during the Clementine renovations as Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:68, suggested. The width of the two intermediate arches average 541 cm, while those to the north and south measure approximately 559 cm.

IlI.B.2. Arches on eran Archive plan pel to the side of trances. The one

the Western Wall. The (see Fig. 5) shows one each of the ambulatory to the north contained

altar of the Presepio

(Panvinio—Lauer,

Latchaenthe 438;

now called Cappella del Crocefisso) and that to the south served as part of the sacristy. This latter area was rebuilt in the early seventeenth century by the Colonna family to serve as their mortuary chapel and as the choir; Baglione, Nove chiese, 114-15; cf. Corbo, 105.

The width of the arches that pierce this side of the transept wall average 418 cm. I11.B.3. North Ambulatory Entrance. Panvinio—Lauer, 438, noted that this entrance was rather low. It was entirely rebuilt by Gregory XIII to serve for the sacrament chapel he constructed just within the ambulatory; see Chapter 1. At that time two columns were inserted to support the new arch. Payments indicate that the arch was rebuilt under Clement VIII, but in the same

form with columns

set in front of pilasters: (18 September 1599) Guglielmo Mido for “li lauori che fa di due capitello de marmo per le colonne dell’arco uicino la capella del crocifisso ... ” (Reg. 1536, fol. 64v.) (22 January 1600) Domenico Marchese for “lavori che fa delle due Pilastri dell’Arco dove era prima Altar uecchio del S.mo Sacram.to ... ” (Reg. 1536, fol. 105r.)

II.B.4. South Ambulatory Entrance. Figure 33 records the form the south entrance received under Clement VIII when it was outfitted with two freestanding columns to match

290

the ambulatory entrance to the north. The following documents are specifically identified for this area: (28 February 1599) Gratiano de Judici in part “per da far collat.ne alli sbiri et bere alli Carrettiere che condussono la Colonna gialla da S. Martino in Monti a San Giouanni per mettere all’arca secondo uicina all’altare del S.mo Sac.to ... ” (Reg. 1535, fol. 217.) (20 March 1599) Gratiano de Judici in part for the sum “pagati a Fran.co Segatore d’intaglio che haueua cominciato nella Colonna gialla di marmo condotto da S. Pietro in Vincola per mettere all’Arco tra il Choro grande et l’altare del S.mo SAIS) o oa ” (IRGa, TRAE, tll, Ban.)

Additional references to both ambulatory entrances appear in connection with the stucco decoration of the arches and new windows discussed in §§III.B.6, HI.C.1. Both entrances to the ambulatory were rebuilt during the renovations undertaken by Leo XIII. See Ricci, Nuova absida, g, “lunica modificazione introdotta nelle pareti fu l’adattamento degli ingressi agli ambulacri che prima mettevano nel portico Leoniano....”; and cf. plate between pp. 10 and 11. At that

time the columns were removed and the pilasters were reveted with polychrome marble to match

those of the other arches;

Kraut-

heimer et al., Corpus, 5:13. The tombs now in position within these arches were built by Leo XII for himself and for Innocent II (1198-1216),

whose

remains

he had trans-

ferred from Perugia; Montini, “Sepolcreto papale,” 267-8. The prior state of these areas is also indicated in drawings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1763-9); Manfred F. Fischer, “Die Umbauplane des Giovanni Battista Piranesi fur den Chor von S. Giovanni in Laterano,” Miunchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 19 (1968): 207-28; The Arthur M. Sackler Collection: Piranesi Drawings and Etchings at the Avery Architectural Library, exhib. cat. (New York, 1975). II.B.5. Windows in the Transept. The Gothic windows along the upper walls of the transept were closed during the Clementine renovations and eight new ones were opened. Baglione, Nove

chiese, 106, referred to these

as “alla moderna.” They are framed with pedimented aediculas and the architraves are

inscribed CLEMENS . VIII. P. M. Parts of the old-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran er windows

are still visible on the exterior;

Krautheimer

et al., Corpus, 5: figs. 8a, 8b,

gb, 10a, 10b, and pl. II. Additionally, a large

round window on the end wall of the south transept was closed; its location is defined by the pattern of brickwork visible on the exterior; ibid., 5: fig. ga. The glazier Giacomo Briossi (Biossi) was paid for glass and copper frames for the windows on 16 December 1597, 31 January, and 7 February 1598; Corbo, 118-19, cf. 181. I1.B.6. Windows within the Ambulatory Entrances. In the course of Gregory XIII’s renovation of the north ambulatory entrance, two windows were inserted to illuminate the new sacrament altar; ASR, Camerale I, Tesoreria segreta, reg. 1302, fol. 70a, dated 16 April 1575; Freiberg, “Gregory XIII,” 86, no. 36. These windows were apparently replaced in the Clementine project and similar ones were inserted in the south ambulatory entrance. Three additional payments to the glazier Biossi appear on 25 March, 20 May, and 12 August 1600; Corbo, 146, cf. 211, 231. Although the earlier cited references are generic, those of 1600

concern

two

“new”

win-

dows; the payment of 25 March specifies “due vetrate che vanno alle finestre nove fatte sotto li archi novi”; Reg. 1536, fol. 126v. It would seem that after the windows along the upper nave walls had been inserted in 15978, two additional windows were opened near the ambulatory entrances. The following payments, dated between 19 February and 22 April 1600, refer to this work: (19 February 1600) Gratiano de Judici in part for a “Carrettiero che porto la ferrata della finestra uicino alla cappella del Crucifisso ...” (Reg. 1536, fol. 116r.) (18 March 1600) Gratiano de Judici in part for “Ste-

fano Carrettiero ... per portar una ferrata da Roma a S. Giouanni per la finestra noua fatta doue era prima l’altar del S.mo Sacramento . .” (Reg. 1536, fol. 124r.) (22 April 1600) Gratiano de Judici in part for a Carrettiere who “porto i ferri dell’Inuitriate delli doi finestroni nuoui...” (Reg. 1536, fol. 133r.) (22 April 1600) Giovanni Battista Lucarello “per la ualuta di 12 tauole d’antano longhe per 12 con la sue trauerse inchiodate che ha dato a m.ro Vinc.o ferraro per fare il disegno delle formate e vetrate delle due finestre ...” (Reg. 1536, fol. 134V.)

The appearance of one of these windows, perhaps due to a later reworking, is recorded in a drawing now in the Royal Library, Windsor, A11, 10967, kindly brought to my attention by Augusto Roca De Amicis. Two drawings by Piranesi also depict windows in this position; literature cited in §III.B.4. III.C. Transept: Architectural Decoration I.C.1. Stucco Moldings of the Arches. The stucco decoration of the arches was executed in large part by Ambrogio Bonvicino beginning in June 1599. The first in the series of documents concerns “li due archi vicin’alPAltare del S.mo Sagramento”; Reg. 1536, fol. 1gr. For other less specific payments, see Corbo, 155. A payment dated 2g April 1600 indicates that this work continued into 1600: [To Angelo Pozzo and Giovanni Viadana] a buon conto di quello che deuono hauere per i lauori che fanno della stuccatura di doi archi alzati ultimam.te acanto l’altare del S.mo Sacram.to et uicino l’organo... (Reg. 1536, fol. 135v; see also fol. 1398v [6 May] for the same, and fols. 140v [13 May], 144Vv [27 May] for “lauori che fanno per la fabrica”)

IlI.C.2. Marble Revetment of the Lower Walls. Payments for the polychrome marble revetment of the lower walls and the pilasters of the arches are scattered throughout Registers 1535, 1536, and the majority are dated 1599-1600. An avviso of 23 July 1597 is the first notice that marble was being acquired for the transept (Supplementary Sources, no. 3). It records Clement’s visit to the Pantheon and the extensive repairs he ordered. Perhaps to explain the pope’s generosity, the author

adds that many pieces of the finest marble were extracted from the portico for use in the new chapel that was being constructed at the Lateran “with the most notable expense.” A payment to the canons of the Pantheon dated 25 January 1598 indicates that at least part of the funds necessary for the repairs to their church came from the sale of material for use at the Lateran: A SS.mi Can.ci della Ritonda m.ta a buon conto de marmi, quella Chiesa per seru.o della loro Camerlengo da spendersi Chiesa... (Reg. 1535, fol. 53,

scudi venicinquanta et metalli hauati da

fabr.a e per loro al per seru.o della loro cf. fol. 49)

291

Catalogue For additional purchases of marble and metal from the Pantheon in 1599, see Reg. 1536,

altar:

fol. 25v, and see also Corbo, 218.

ment is shown in a lithograph by Philippe Benoist published in Franz de Champagny, Rome dans sa grandeur: Vues, monuments anciens et modernes dessins d’apreés nature par Philippe Benoist et Félix Benoist..., 3 vols. (Rome, 1870), 2:plate facing p. 25. Additional restorations to the pave-

Lanciani,

Scavi, 4:185—93, collected a wealth of documentation regarding the other sources of the marble; cf. Corbo, 207. An avviso dated 15 May 1602 reports that a violent storm damaged one of the Lateran’s bell towers and that there was considerable water damage inside the church, including the organ case and the marble revetment of the lower walls; BAV, Urb. lat. 1070, fols. 284rvy, in Ermete

Rossi,

“Roma

ignorata,”

Roma

13 (1935): 136. One week later it is reported that repairs were underway; avviso dated 22 May 1602; BAV, Urb. lat. 1070, fol. 2q9v, in

ibid. IlI.C.3. Pavement. The pavement of the transept, also composed of polychrome marble, appears to have been installed in 1599-1600, judging from the payments in Registers 1535, 1536. The following document records that part of the marble was taken from the intermediate side aisle to the north: (27 March 1599) Gratiano de’ Giudici in part for money paid to “m.ro Paolo e Grillo muratori per 4 gior.te per uno che han.o lauorato q.a 7.na a cauar lastre di marmo della naue incontro l’altar uecchio del s.mo sacr.to per seruirsene nel pauim.to nouo... ” (Reg. 1535, fol. 225.)

Baglione,

Nove

chiese, 111,

noted

that the

pavement incorporated the heraldic emblems of the pope. In the engraving by Luigi Rossini (see Fig. 51, present volume), there is some indication of star forms in addition to the grand inscription dating the project to the Holy Year. Chacon, Vitae, 4:266, recorded the inscription as CLEMENS VIII. ANNO IVBILAEI MDC. A payment of 4 December 1599 covers inscriptions in the pavement: [To Antonio Rossi] per hauer fatto molti dissegni spartimenti et polueri delle Intagliate nell’Iscrittioni che sono fatti in diuersi luoghi del pauim.to et altri luoghi della fabrica... (Reg. 1536, fol. ger; Corbo,

173) The present pavement contains neither the pope’s emblems nor the inscription, and it is probable that when the high altar was restored by Pius IX the pavement was replaced; §I.E.2. An inscription of this pope is located in the pavement just behind the high

292

PIVS.

MDCCCLVIII.

IX.

PONTIFEX.

PONT.

EIVS.

MAX. XIII.

ANNO.

The

new

CHR. pave-

ment were undertaken in the 1880s; see Ric-

ci, Nuova absida, 8-9, 15: “I primi mesi del 1886 sono dedicati ... agli accomodi ed alla lucidatura del pavimento nella nave Clementina....”; “Anche il pavimento di questa nave é stato rimesso a nuovo e completamente restaurato in molte parti avariate e consumate....”; “Si restaurO eziandio il pavimento della nave Clementina seguendo le linee dell’antico disegno.”

III.D. Transept: Sculptural Decoration of the Lower Walls Ill.D.1. Angel Reliefs (Figs. 38-46). The nine reliefs situated on the lateral walls of the transept at the level of the arches were executed between August 1600 and July 1601. The sculptor Tommaso della Porta supplied Carrara marble for this purpose in July 1600; Reg. 1596) fols, 156V,.15 or 1OvE. On ag July payment was made “per dar bere a carrettieri che portono li marmi per far li angeli alli Scultori” (Reg. 1536, fol. 164r), and on 26 August the cost was paid of transferring the eight pieces of marble “da Casa di quelli della porta 4 Casa dello otto scultori che fan.o l’Angeli di basso rilieuo ...” (Reg. 1536, fol. 178r; Corbo, 153). The ninth piece of marble is not mentioned since della Porta was responsible for carving one of the angels. The reliefs are approximately equal in size; the one by Nicolo Cordier has been estimated at ca. 73 X 32 in. by Barry R. Harwood, “Nicolo Cordieri: His Activity in Rome 15921612,” Ph.D. diss. (Princeton University, 1979), 186.

Payment for the evaluation of the marble revetment surrounding the angels appears on 17 December 1600; Busta 26, reg. 7, fol. 8r (“incrostatura fatto attorno alli angioli),” and

the cost of the reliefs themselves was determined by Antonio Gentile and Stefano Maderno on 5 July 1601; this date is recorded

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran in excerpts from the stima in Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 370b (Harwood, “Cordieri,” 192). The prices of the reliefs ranged from 125 scudi (Egidio della Riviera) to 230 scudi (Camillo Mariani). Although nine sculptors are named in these documents, there is no indication of the specific relief they carved. The surviving payments are incomplete; only in the case of Cordier (§III.D.1.c) is the sum fixed in the stima fully represented. Baglione was not well informed about this aspect of the project. He identified ten sculptors as responsible for the angels, but only six of these actually participated; Nove chiese, rads Vite, 07,0715 1191s,

1207171,

3415

345, 348. Additional errors were introduced in the subsequent literature. The relevant documents and the attributional history are summarized

by Harwood,

“Cordieri,”

186-203;

see also Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:367—-8; and Catherine E. Fruhan, “Trends in Roman Sculpture Around 1600” (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1986). I discuss these reliefs as they would appear in a left-to-right sequence, first on the east transept wall (§§a-—c; see Figs. 38-40), and then on the west transept wall (§§d-i; see Figs. 41-6). Each relief is framed by a pedimented aedicula of polychrome marble decorated with bronze elements. The rear plane is reveted with black marble. The figures are carved in high relief, and portions of their bodies or wings overlap the frame. The physical presence of the figures is augmented by the treatment of the bases, in most cases carved to simulate earthly terrain. Two angels wear armor (see Figs. 39, 41, present volume), and the first of these sports the stole, the garment used by the priest when celebrating Mass and when handling the sacrament. The remaining angels are also garbed in liturgical dress, either the dalmatic or the tunicle (see Fig. 46), worn, respectively, by deacons and subdeacons. IlI.D.1.a. Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino) (Fig. 38). Valsoldo was paid a total of 85 scudi in three installments dated 12 August, g September, and 18 November 1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 171v, 183r, 192r (only the last two are cited in Corbo, 176, cf. 250). The payment of 18 November is repeated in ASR, Camerale I, Fabbriche, Reg. 1537, fol.

18r; Pressouyre, “Cordier,” 2:443. According to the stima, Valsoldo received 200 scudi for this work; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 152b, 370b. Riccoboni, Roma, 121, attributed this angel to Valsoldo (followed by Fruhan, “Trends,” 266-7) and incorrectly asserted that he was responsible for a second relief in the series (i.e., §IH.D.1.f), evidently due to a confusion with the two angels located below the organ. Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:fig. 305, tentatively proposed Camillo Mariani as the author of the relief, and Harwood, “Cordieri,” 194-5, suggested Ippolito Buzio. The lower half of the body faces forward while the torso and head twist toward the sacrament altar. The drapery consists of dynamic ropelike folds that are deeply carved in the area of the waist and the left leg. The sense of boundless virile energy is a characteristic feature of Valsoldo’s style and can be seen in the angels placed above the central portal of the transept entrance, which are documented works by this artist (see Fig. 59).

I1.D.1.b. Francesco Landini (Fig. 39). Payments to Landini occur on 12 August, 7 September, and 4 November 1600, totaling 85 scudi; Reg. 1536, fols. 169v, 182v, 189v, cited in Corbo, 165, cf. 223. According to the

stima, Landini received 160 scudi for this work; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 370b; cf. fol. 234a for a summary of payments. Riccoboni, Roma, 141, attributed this work to Stefano Maderno, who was incorrectly introduced as a participant in the project by Baglione, Vite, 345, perhaps due to the fact that he was partly responsible for evaluating the cost of the reliefs. Landini was suggested as the author of this angel by Donati, “Landini,” 160, followed by Harwood, “Cordieri,” 197; and Fruhan, “Trends,” 50 n. 20. With its arms crossed over the chest and head slightly inclined, the figure faces toward the sacrament altar. The drapery is defined by broad, heavy folds that sweep around the body lending it a sense of full threedimensionality, a characteristic that recalls Landini’s Solomon located below the organ (see Fig. 62).

II.D.1.c. Nicolo Cordier (Fig. 40). Cordier received payments on 19 August, 9 Septem-

29s

Catalogue ber, 1 November 1600 (Reg. 1536, fols. 172V, 182v, 189v), 12 June, and 10 July 1601 (Reg. 1537, fols. 31r, g2r). The last payment for go scudi completes the sum of 200 scudi, which is the value placed on the work in the stima of 5 July 1601; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 239a, 370b. These documents and the relevant collateral payments are quoted by Pressouyre, Cordier, 1:236-8, nos. 716; 2:367-8, cat. no. 1; see also Harwood, “Cordieri,”

200-3; and Corbo, 169, 221.

This relief was attributed to Cordier by Riccoboni, Roma, 112; Harwood, “Cordieri,” 193-4; Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:367-8, figs. 31, 35; and Fruhan, “Trends,” 288-9. The figure is presented in a frontal position, with movement implied by the rightward turn of the head, balanced by a sharp pull of the arms and the legs to the left. The drapery whips around the body to accentuate the sense of imminent motion. Other works by Cordier reveal the same preciosity and refined elegance in the carving; e.g., Charity on the tomb of Luisa Deti Aldobrandini in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, for which see Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:368, 379-80, cat. no. 5,

Ill.D.1.d. Ambrogio Bonvicino (Fig. 41). Payments to Bonvicino for one of the angels appear on 8 October and 16 December 1600, totaling 65 scudi; Reg. 1536, fols. 185v, 194v; Corbo, 155, cf. 220, 231. The payment of 16 December is repeated in Reg. 1537, fol. 21r. Given the symmetry of the payments to the other eight sculptors, and considering the omission of a payment in August 1600 in this case, it is probable that a disbursement for an angel dated 12 August to “M.ro Fabritio” concerns this relief; Reg. 1536, fol. 170r; Corbo, 161. The 20 scudi it represents would bring the sum paid to Bonvicino by the end of 1600 to 85 scudi, as was the case with five of the other sculptors. Alternatively, it is possible that a second sculptor participated in the early stages of carving the relief, but the name does not appear elsewhere in the accounts. According to the stima, Bonvicino’s angel was valued at 200 scu-

di; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 357a, 370b. This relief was attributed to Mariani by Riccoboni, Roma, 132, followed by Roger C.

294

“Camillo

of the Roman

Baroque”

(Ph.D.

diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 1979), 80-1, 196 n. 10. Harwood, “Cordieri,” 1967, suggested Valsoldo. Bonvicino was advanced by Fruhan, “Trends,” 136-7, and Sa-

bina Maniello Cardone, “Ambrogio Bonvicino: Contributo allo studio delle origini della scultura barocca a Roma,” Alma Roma 27, nos. 3-4 (1986): 99, 109-10 n. 11. The expressive qualities in the pose and drapery of this angel respond to the proximity of the sacrament altar toward which the figure rushes with hands clasped in prayer. The general character of the drapery, especially the way the garment billows out at the shoulders, recalls similar elements in Bonvicino’s angels that flank the Last Supper relief (see Figs. 118, 119). Other parallels include the layering of feathers on the wings and the thick mane of hair that frames the face.

IlI.D.1.e. Tommaso della Porta (Fig. 42). Della Porta received 85 scudi in three payments dated 12 August, 9 September, 16 December

1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 171v,

183r,

195r (repeated in Reg. 1537, fol. 21v); Corbo, 160; cf. 221, 236. A fourth payment

figs. 24, 74.

Burns,

Sculpture

Mariani:

Catalyst

of the

of

40 scudi is noted on 14 January 1601; Busta 1524,reg. 2, fol. 129b. The stima records the value of the work at 150 scudi; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 129b, 3'70b; cf. fol. 129a for a summary of payments. Riccoboni, Roma, 104, suggested Silla da Viggiti as the artist responsible for this angel, followed by Harwood, “Cordieri,” 196; and Fruhan,

“Trends,”

190-2.

Baglione,

Vite,

152, noted that Tommaso executed few works, and that he was principally involved in the trade of ancient sculpture, of which he

possessed an extensive collection. The hair and the neo-Attic drapery of the Lateran angel reveal a close affinity with the forms of ancient art and may have been executed by this little-known artist. I.D.1.f. Ippolito Buzio (Vig. 43). Buzio received three payments totaling 85 scudi on 12 August, g September, 11 November 1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 170r, 182v, 190v; Corbo, 157,172

(s.v. “Ricci”). The stima

evaluates

the work at 200 scudi; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 327a, 370b; cf. fol. 327a for a summary of payments.

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran Riccoboni, Roma, 128, suggested Buzio as author of this work, and was tentatively followed by Pressouyre, Cordier, 2:fig. 306, and Fruhan, “Trends,” 159. Harwood, “Cordieri,” 195, tentatively advanced Bonvicino as the artist responsible. With its head slightly lifted and gaze directed outward, the figure cuts a heroic stance as it turns toward the altar. A palm frond is supported by the forward arm, while the other crosses over the chest. The complicated posture of this angel and the particular treatment of the hair are matched by Buzio’s Prudence from the tomb of Silvestro Aldobrandini in Santa Maria sopra Minerva; Pressouyre, Cor-

dier, 2:440-1, cat. no. 63, figs. 320-1. IlI.D.1.g. Camillo Mariani (Fig. 44). Three payments to Mariani totaling 85 scudi were made on 12 August, [September], and 26 December 1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 169v, 182Vv, 193Vv (repeated in Reg. 1537, fol. 19v, cf. fol. 31v); Corbo,

167-8, cf. 242. The stima re-

cords the value of Mariani’s relief at 230 scudi, the highest price paid for any of the angels; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 238b, 370b, and cf. fol. 77a for a list of payments. Riccoboni, Roma, 121, fig. 159, attributed this relief to Valsoldo (cf. §IIH.D.1.a); Pres-

souyre, Cordier, 442, fig. 288, to “Valsoldino

(?);” and Antonio

Munoz,

“Stefano

Ma-

derno: Contributo allo studio della scultura barocca prima del Bernini,” Atti e memorie della R. Accademia di S. Luca, Annuario 3 (1913-15): 13, attributed it to Bonvicino. Mariani was suggested by Venturi, Storia dell’arte, 10.3:366, fig. 298, followed by Harwood, “Cordieri,” 194; and Fruhan, “Trends,” 373-4.

The figure stands in a graceful posture, facing left. The position of the arms recalls Buzio’s angel that occupies a parallel position on the opposite side of the triumphal arch. The face is framed by luxuriant curls, the features are delicately described, and the head is slightly inclined. The drapery clings to the body and billows out as though responding to a breeze. These qualities produce a poignancy that is unique in the series. Both the style and the meditative mood are characteristic of Mariani’s work and can be seen in the monumental stucco figures he executed for San Bernardo alle Terme at approximate-

ly the same time; Venturi, op. cit., 10.3: figs. 290-8.

IlI.D.1.h. Egidio della Riviera (Fig. 45). Three payments to Egidio totaling 85 scudi are dated 12 August, [September], and 11 November 1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 168v, 182r, 190r; Corbo, 161, cf. 225, 2447. There is also

a payment dated 8 October 1600 for an angel, the Moses, and the associated narrative relief; another payment dated 11 February 1601 is for unspecified works “che a fatto”; Reg. 1536, fols. 185v, 195v, the latter repeated in Reg. 1537, fol. 22r. According to the

stima, Egidio received 125, scudi, the lowest sum paid for any of the reliefs; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 356b, 370b. Munoz, “Stefano Maderno,” 13, attributed this figure to Stefano Maderno; Riccoboni, Roma, 125, suggested Bonvicino, followed by Emilia Durini, “Ambrogio Bonvicino: Per la scultura lombarda dell’ultimo Cinquecento in Roma,” Arte lombarda 3, no. 2 (1958): 101. Harwood, “Cordieri,” 1097; and Fru-

han, “Trends,” 48-9 n. 20, both advanced Tommaso della Porta as its author. In pose and gesture this angel is related to Landini’s relief on the opposite wall of the transept. Both angels face forward with their heads slightly inclined and their arms crossed over the chest, but while Landini’s figure strides forcefully ahead with the drapery billowing around the body and arms firmly interlocked, Egidio’s angel lacks all tension and force. Movement is suggested by the forward tilt of the head and the advanced left leg, but a sense of stasis is produced by the rigid drapery folds, the frontal position of the torso, and the way the arms are symmetrically crossed over the chest. The net result of these features is that the figure seems to possess no inner will; it moves in a puppetlike fashion as though propelled by an external force. This quality, along with the distinctive treatment of hair and drapery, are features found in Egidio’s Moses (see Fig. 111). The gesture and position of the head of this angel are recalled by the kneeling figure to the right of center in the middleground of Egidio’s relief representing the Gathering of the Manna (Fig. 115). II.D.1.1. Silla da Viggiu (Fig. 46). Silla received 105 scudi in four payments dated 12

295

Catalogue August, 9 September, 8 October, 11 November 1600; Reg. 1536, fols. 168v, 182v, 185Vv, 19or, all but the first cited in Corbo, 166, cf. 241. In a summary of the documents relevant to this figure, dated 7 July 1601, the relief is valued at 200 scudi; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 61b, cf. fol. 61a, for a list of payments; and see also Busta 1537, fol. 31v, where the same sum is mentioned (cited by Harwood, “Cordieri,” 1G2). Riccoboni, Roma, 102, suggested Egidio della Riviera as the artist responsible for this relief, and was tentatively followed by Harwood, “Cordieri,” 196; and Fruhan, “Trends,” 49 n. 20. A reference by Baglione, Vite, 113, to the angel “a canto all’Organo a man manca” as the work of Camillo Mariani may refer to this work. Silla also executed for the transept the statue of Aaron and the associated relief (see Figs. 109, 113). In these works the drapery falls in parallel folds that cling to the bodies; the figures are supernally graceful; and their movements and facial features evoke an interior emotional state. All these qualities are also present in this angel, who balances on the toes of one foot and arches backward as though in a swoon. IlI.D.2. Crosses (Figs. 29, 30; Plate III). On the east wall of the transept, located at the level of the angels, are two additional reliefs enclosed in pedimented aediculae. They are situated between the Triumphal Entry of Constantine and Constantine’s Dream (to the south) and between the Discovery of Pope Sylvester and Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine (to the north). In both cases the crosses are formed with giallo antico and are set into a background of dark marble. The crosses have trilobe terminations. Affixed to the reliefs are rays at the center of the cross, a seraph below and the dove of the Holy Spirit above, all wrought in bronze. For the meaning of these reliefs, see Chapter 4, n. 21. The only document that specifically mentions these heavenly crosses is a summary of the work of Orazio Censore who was responsible for casting the bronze portions (notarized g January 1601): e piu per due colombe coli suoi razzi atorno, che stanno sopra le Croci di marmo giallo (Busta 27, reg. 19b, n.p.)

296

I.E. Transept: Organ

(Figs. 52, 61-2; Plate IV)

I.E.1. Instrument. The organ commissioned by Clement VIII was constructed by the Perugian, Luca Blasi (Biagi) (ca. 1545-1608). From the testimony Blasi presented on 29 July 1597 to the tribunal charged with investigating the vandalization of the organ in the Cappella Gregoriana of Saint Peter’s, we learn that construction of a new organ for the Lateran was then underway: La professione mia é di fare l’organista cioé de accomodarli et farli da nouo, che adesso lauoro al organo di san Giouanni laterano et lauoro anco al organo di Monte cauallo che hormai e al fine che vi haueua da mettere l’ultimo registero che ce lo messi quel di che il papa ando a san Marco.... Sig.re il lauoriero che io fo a San Giouanni lo faccio tutto da nuouo che é un organo grande che nessuno ce ne é di questa grandezza che si fa le canne zampogne et trombe et ogni cosa da nouo et il vecchio si levera via et si vendera.

ASR, Tribunale Criminale del Governatore, Processi, 1597, vol. 306, fols. 1204v, 12051; excerpts in Antonio Bertolotti, Artisti veneti in Roma nei secoli XV, XVI e XVII: Studi e

ricerche negli archivi romani (Bologna, 1884), 533 cf. Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,” 120, A total of 1,600.70 scudi was disbursed to Blasi between 25 October 1597 and 18 February 1601, including minor sums for supplies. (Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,”

120, report-

ed the sum as 1,602.70 scudi.) Separate payments for supplies were also made between 21

February

and g May

1598; Reg. 1535,

fols. 59, 67, 73, 77. The relevant documents in Registers 1535, 1536 are indexed by Corbo, 116, 155, to which the following additions are necessary: Reg. 1535, add fols. 53, 151, 186, 196, 210; Reg. 1536, add fol. gor. The collateral documents are cited in Corbo, 181,195, 211, 220, 231; and cf. ASR, Came-

rale I, Fabbriche, Registers 1537, 1539, 1540 for repetitions of payments recorded elsewhere. It is likely that the organ was finished late in 1599. Blasi received weekly payments until February 1600, whereas only six disbursements were made to him during the following twelve months. The payment of 20 scudi

on 26 August 1600, “a buon conto di quello che deue hauere per i lauori che ha fatto et

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran fa accommodar li ultimi registri dell’organo nuouo,” may have been for work previously completed despite the wording of the text; Reg. 1536, fol’ 176rs cf. Barbieri, “L’organo idraulico,” 13 n. 8. A completion date of 1599 is also indicated by inscription plaques once mounted on the organ that recorded Blasi’s name and that year. They are first mentioned in 1723 by Baldeschi, Chiesa papale lateranense, 89; and thereafter by Nibby, Roma nell’anno 1838, 2.1:259; and Jeremiah Donovan, Rome Ancient and Modern and Its Environs, 4 vols. (Rome, 1842-4), 1:252. Raffaele Casimiri, “Il restauro dell’organo monumentale di Clemente VIII al Laterano,”

Bollettino

ceciliano

29 (1934): 28, reported that “tuttora si leggono nella targhe dorati ai lati dello istrumento: ‘Lucas Blasii Perusinus fecit Anno D. MDXCIX.’” In 1939 they were no longer visible; idem, “L’organaro Luca Blasi Perugino (1600), inventore anche d’organi ad acqua,”

Note darchivio per la storia musicale 16 (1939): 11 n. 2. Evidently the inscriptions were removed during the extensive restoration of the organ carried out during 1934-6. That Blasi should have been honored by haying his name inscribed on the instrument is unusual, although Clement’s appreciation of the work is indicated by a contemporary notice that the pope granted him a knighthood for his achievement; see Chapter 3, n. 9. The plaques presently mounted above the lateral bays of the organ case are inscribed CLEMENS. VIII /PONT: MAX: (left) and ANNO: DOMINI/ MDXCVIII (right). One of the plaques, but not the text of its inscription, is mentioned in a summary of the work of Giovanni Battista Montano in Busta 25, reg. g, unpaginated folio between fols. 6 and 7. According to a letter dated 20 October 1600, the pope visited the Lateran to test the organ: “a S. Giovanni ascese nell’organo nuovo, volse sentire tutti i registri, et dono la mancia a tutti.” Arnaldo Morelli, “Musica a Roma negli anni santi dal 1600 al 1700,” in Roma sancta, ed. Fagiolo and Madonna, 191. Restorations of the organ carried out since the eighteenth century have substantially altered the mechanism, but we know that originally it comprised a wind chest with sixty-six pipes, had fifteen registers, and was operated by a single keyboard. Technical information

and notices concerning the restorations are provided in Luccichenti, “Luca Blasi,” 121-2; see also Raffaele Casimiri, “Restauro dell’organo,” 28; and Colamarino and Luccichenti, “l’organo,” 19-26. The nineteenth-century restoration is discussed in Z., “Il celebre organo della chiesa lateranense, attualmente restaurato,” Album 19 (1852-3): 1-2. The instrument was again restored in 1990-1. IH.E.2. Organ Case. Baglione reported that the organ case was designed and executed by the Milanese sculptor and architect Giovanni Battista Montano (1534-1621); Nove chiese, 105-6; Vite, 60, 111-12. According to the accounts in Registers 1535, 1536, Montano was paid in weekly installments between 20 September 1597 and 23 October 1599. The documents

are indexed

in Corbo,

137, 169,

to which the following corrections are necessary: Reg. 1535, add fols. 49, 137, and for fol. 45 read 46; Reg. 1536, add fol. 28v and for fol. 49r read 49v. See also the collateral documents cited in Corbo, 188, 201, 215, 243. The total sum represented in these records is 1,415.40 scudi, but in the final accounts it is stated that by 19 September 1599 Montano had received 1,573.90 scudi; Busta 25, reg. 9, fols. 7r-11r. An evaluation of the value of Montano’s work carried out by Alessandro Castaldi and Ambrogio Bonadini and dated 20 June 1599 indicates that the case was finished by that time; Busta 25, reg. 9, unnumbered folios between fols. 6 and 7, including a description of each element of the structure. Payment for the evaluation appears under the date 6 June 1599; Reg. 1535, fol. 261; Corbo, 112. Their estimate of 2,531 scudi is substantially lower than the bill of 3,953 scudi presented by the artist; Busta 25, reg. 9, fols. 4v—6r. Selections from these documents were published by Bertolotti, Artisti lombardi, 1:344—-7. For the gilding of the case, see Corbo, 145, 174. As the result of a violent storm in May 1602, there was extensive water damage to the church, including the organ case and portions of the marble revetment; see §III.C.2. IIL.F. Transept: Entrance

Wall

(Figs. 28, 52)

IfL.F.1. Structure. Baglione provided a detailed description of the lower zone of the en-

297

Catalogue trance wall, but he did not name the architect responsible for its design; Nove chiese, 105—6; Vite, 60. Since this area is integrally linked

to the organ case, and since both zones are further unified by the iconography of the decoration, they must have been conceived together and perhaps by the same artist, Giovanni Battista Montano. Beginning on 20 September

1597,

pay-

ments for the entrance wall appear in Registers 1535, 1536, most regularly in the name of the scalpellino Francesco Albano; Corbo, 111, 151, cf. 179, 193, 225 (including references to the balustrade in front of the sacrament altar, the transept pavement, and the revetment of the walls). Also mentioned in these records is Marchionne Cremona (or Carmona) (Corbo, 120-1, cf. 182) and Matteo Castello (Corbo, 121, 157, cf. 182, 196). The two ancient columns composed of giallo antico marble that flank the central portal of the transept entrance were transferred from the east portico of the basilica. On 21 October 1597 Clement VIII ordered that a granite column be moved from the fabbrica of Saint Peter’s to the “Portico vecchio” of the Lateran to replace “una colonna di giallo, che sta in d.o Portico, et si deve leveare per metterla sotto l’Organo di detta chiesa rincontro alla Capella del S.mo Sacramento. ...” Archivio della Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro, Primo Piano, Serie Prima, vol. 163, fasc. g, fol. 43r. That the second giallo antico column also came from the east portico is proved by a final payment dated [May] 1598 for the transfer of both the Saint Peter’s col-

The column brought from Santa Croce came from a vineyard located in the vicinity of the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme that was owned by one Ginevra di Ceccone. This is indicated by the final payment to her for a granite column that “ha seruito per metter al portico uecchio in loco d’una di marmo giallo leuata per metter sotto l’organo nouo....”; Reg. 1535, fol. 97. Additional documents concerning this column are dated 3 January 1598 (Reg. 1535, fol. 48; Corbo, 129; Lanciani, Scavi, 4:187) and 3 June 1598 (Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 57; Corbo, 238). These sources correct the notion introduced in the eighteenth century that one of the giallo antico columns was extracted from the Arch of Constantine for use at the Lateran; this was reported for the first time by Ridolfino Venuti, Accurata e succinta descrizione topografica delle antichita di Roma...,

repeated others.

2 vols. in 1 (Rome,

by Lanciani, A variant

1763), 1:12—-13;

Scavi, 4:187-8;

and

of this idea, advanced

in

1732, claimed that one of the columns from the Lateran’s recently demolished east portico had come

from the Arch of Constantine;

Herklotz, “Fassadenportikus,” 41-2 n. 42. Of the eight columns that decorate the Arch of Constantine, seven are of giallo antico; the

eighth one, located on the extreme right of the north side, is a replacement composed of white marble. The original giallo antico shaft in this position was already lacking when Giovanni Antonio Dosio sketched the monument in the 1560s (Uffizi, no. 2531 A); Alfonso Bartoli, I monumenti antichi di Ro-

to the

ma nei disegni degli Uffizi di Firenze, 6 vols. (Rome, 1914-22), 5:pl. 426, fig. 776; Franco

A gio: Trauersaro detto il Prete buffalaro scudi dieci di moneta che sono per compim.to di scudi 45. simili che seli pagano per sua merce di hauer tirato con le buffale alli mesi passati una Colona di granito da S-ta, Groceset Unaida ow b.rerportate alo, Glow per mettere sotto il portico uecchio di detta chiesa in luogo delle due di marmo giallo posto sotto l’organo nouo.... (Reg. 1535, fol. 86; Corbo, 146, cf. 205.

Borsi, Cristina Acidini, Fiammetta Mannu Pisani, Gabriele Morolli, Giovanni Antonio

umn and another portico:

This document

from

“S.ta Croce,”

was referred to by Lanciani, Scavi,

4:188, who misinterpreted its meaning.)

The first payment for the transfer of these columns is recorded on 15 November 1597; Corbo, 146, cf. 185, 249. By February 1598, the giallo antico columns were being repaired; Reg. 1535, fols. 57, 58.

298

Dosio: Roma antica e i disegni di architettura agli Uffizi (Rome, 1976), 38-9, no. 10. See also Etienne Duperac’s engraving of 1575, in the series “I vestigi dell’antichita di Roma.” (My thanks to Gianni Ponti for signaling the importance of these graphic records of the Arch.)

Although the sources cited above are mistaken in identifying one of the columns beneath the organ as from the Arch of Constantine, they reflect some knowledge of the Clementine

project,

since

excavations

were

indeed carried out at the Arch in 1597-8 to

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran extract marble for use in the transept, as the following documents prove. Of special interest is the third item, which concerns a large slab of marble that would serve for the architrave below the organ. (11 October 1597) Payment to Gratiano de’ Giudici for sums paid to three “muratore et altri ch’hanno cauato all’arco di Cost.no... ” (Reg. 1535, fol. 14.)

(31 January 1598) A M.o Scilla Longhi scultore scudi diece di m.ta per mercede per hauere restaurata una testa di marmo trouata all’arco di Costant.o mentre si Cauauano i marmi per seru.o della fab.a ... (Reg. 1535, fol. 53; in Corbo, 134, cf. 186; Lanciani, Scavi, 4:187.)

(JJune] 1598) A M.ro Francesco Albano scarpellino scudi vintisei, et b. 10 di moneta che sono per tanti che ha pagato a diuersi scarpellini suoi lauoratori che ha fatto lauorare giornate 87. dal p.° di Decembre 97 fin alli 16. di Gennaro 98. all’arco di Costant.o a tagliar il massiccio di muro, et marmi cherano sotto al lastrone grande di marmo che s’é fatto cauare da detto arco per |’architraue grande sotto l’organo nouo che poi detta lastra s’€ spezzata, et di detta opere ve n’é lista fatta dal soprastante dell’opere della fabrica ... (Reg. 1535, fol. 98.)

III.F.2. Angels above the Central Portal (Fig. 59). The two marble angels above the entrance were executed by Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino). Payments for these figures begin on 6 December 1597 and continue into 1599; after 13 October 1598, they are coupled with a clay model for the figure of John the Evangelist to stand above the bronze ciborium of the sacrament altar (§III.H.4.a); Corbo, 146-7, 176, cf. 191, 205, 250. According to a document of g September 1601, the value of these figures was established at 550 scudi; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 152b. By September 1598, they had been transported to the Lateran: A Biago Carattiere scudi sette di moneta per sua merce che di hauer condotto due marmo da casa del Valsoledo scultore a S. poste acanto l’arme di N.S. sotto organo (Reg. 1535, fol. 141; Corbo, 116.)

Matteo (Corbo,

che sono figure di Giouanni nouo ...

Castello carved the papal stemma 121), and it was set in place during

[July] 1598: A Gratiano del Jud.e scudi 13. & 52. m.ta per sua mercede di q.ta settimana quando li mesi |’armo di

marmo del Papa sopra la porta sotto organo... (Reg. 1535, fol. 107.)

III.F.3. Old Testament Figures. Baglione described the two half-length figures located above the lateral portals, but he incorrectly attributed both to Bonvicino and identified one of them as the Old Testament king Hezekiah; Nove chiese, 106; Vite, 171. These errors were corrected by Donati, “Landini,”

158-60. The identity of the Solomon had already been asserted by Rasponi, 40. A stima dated 16 August 1601 evaluates the price of both the David and the Solomon at 350 scudi each; ASR, Tribunale del Governatore di Roma, Miscellanea artisti, Busta 2,fasc. 82; published by Bertolotti, Artisti bolognesi, 204;

idem, Artisti lombardi, 2:105—-6, 215. III.F.3.a. David (Fig. 61). Payments to Ambrogio Bonvicino for this figure, his first work in marble according to Baglione, begin on 15 April 1598 and continue until May 1599, always grouped with other works; Corbo, 11718,155. The sculpture is identified as “Davide” in all but a few cases when it is called “Salomone” and “Melchisedech.” Payments for the marble itself appear between April and September 1598; Corbo, 121, 138, cf. 16S. 190,299.

IlI.F.3.b. Solomon (Fig. 62). Payments to Francesco Landini were disbursed between [May] 1598 and 25 September 1599. The sculpture is identified as Solomon in all but two

cases

(“Danielle,”

“Davide”),

and

the

sculptor’s name is variously spelled. The relevant documents from Registers 1535, 1536 are cited in Corbo; 194 (“Baldini?),. 1938 (Laldinn eis2 Balcing )a165e( bandia

ni”). For Reg. 1536, add fol. 49v. The last payment to Landini is dated 25 September

1599; It is identified as a resto following the evaluation of the work, which fixes its cost at

300 scudi (the actual payments total 305, scudi): Ill S.re Gio: Vacc.e piacera a N.S. di pag.e a M.o franc.o Landino scultore scudi 20 di m.ta che sono per compim.to di scudi 300. simili che é stata stimata da periti la statua di marmo di Salomone che lui ha fatto di marmo della fab.a posta sotto l’organo nuouo ... (Reg. 1536, fol. 67v).

299

Catalogue I.F.4. Reliefs of Musical Instruments (Figs. 61, 62). The reliefs of musical instruments lo-

cated above the figures of David and Solomon were carved by Matteo Castello. They are mentioned in payments dated 11 April 1598 (“instromenti, festoni et altri lauori di marmo per serui.o dell’organo nouo”; Reg. 1535, fol. 71) and 27 March 1599 (“sei strumenti intagliati in marmo posti sotto detto organo”; ibid., fol. 234; Corbo, 121). Ill.G. Transept: Frescoes

(Figs. 29-32,

47-50, 65, 71, 74, 78, 80, 85, 89, 91, 122; Plates III, V, VI, VII)

IlI.G.1. Chronology. Payments totaling 9,000 scudi for the frescoes were made exclusively to Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino, superintendent of this aspect of the transept’s decoration. An initial payment of 1,000 scudi was made on 1 May 1599, and the majority of funds was disbursed in weekly installments of 200 scudi between 24 July 1599 and 12 February 1600. Thereafter a reduction occurs both in the amount and frequency of payments until the last one, dated 26 November 1600. The decrease in activity reflected in this sequence is confirmed by an avviso of 12 April 1600 recording Clement’s order that funds be diverted from the Lateran project to the Aldobrandini chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Supplementary Sources, no. 6). The documents from Reg. 1536 are cited in Corbo, 158-9; and Abromson, Painting in Rome, 337-8, nos. 49-50. For the collateral documents, see ibid., 339-40, nos. 52—3; and Corbo, 196, 212, 221, 254. See also a papal chirograph dated 16 July 1599 allocating 600 scudi per week for the painters; Corbo, 29. Materials used to erect the scaffolding for the painters — wood, ropes, and ladders — are first mentioned in May 1599, indicating a general date for the inception of work on the frescoes. The first payment for these materials is dated 16 May 1599: A m.o Tomasso Guerra scudi venticinque m.ta sono

a buon conto di q.llo deue hauere per cinquanta arcareccie di p. 25. m. 27 l’una che ha dato a m.o Angelo Pozzo per fare i Ponti per li Pittori della Naue nanzi l’altare del S.mo Sacram.to ... (Reg. 1535, fol. 252.)

For the period 16 May to 24 July 1599, see Abromson, Painting in Rome, 49-50 0. 34.

300

Other payments relevant to the scaffolding appear in Reg, 1596, folsss Vala. deve ts

23V, 261, 316, 34V, 36r, 381, 4OV, 45V, 50V, 57Vs BON, 1106; see also Corbo, s.vv. Agostino funaro,” “Battista falegname,” “Orazio b) Chianti,” and “Tomasso Guerra,” esp. 111,

ILA, 129, 1511 hos 1 G4: A disbursement dated 14 January 1601 has been cited as the terminus ante quem for the completion of the frescoes; Réttgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 36; Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 120 n. g; and others. This repeats a payment of 26 November 1600, as was noted by Abromson, Painting in Rome, 55 n.

51, 340, no. 54, who published another document dated 17 April 1601 and proposed this as an alternative completion date. Although it concerns the transfer of funds for various papal projects and states that part of this money be used “per pagar quali artisti et altri pittori chi hanno lavorato o dato robe per la fabrica di San Gio Laterano e che piu restano ...,7 this forms part of the final general accounting of the transept decoration that took place in 1601. Baglione reported that Clement intended to

decorate the entire church, but due to Arpino’s slow pace in executing the commission, the plan was never carried out; Vite, 60, 371,

374. This is surely exaggerated. The pope’s plan to continue the decoration of the basilica is confirmed by an avviso dated 25 September 1602, BAV, Urb. lat. 1070, fols. 55 9r—v; published with variations in Ermete Rossi, “Roma

ignorata,” Roma

Domenica S. Giovanni

mattina

13 (1935): 34:

N. S.re al solito sene

Laterano, et dopo

haver

ando

a

fatto le scale

sante ando a dir messa all’altar maggiore ... sene ando poi al Palazzo Lateranense a vedere et fece soccedere nell’Architettura in luogo del Porta un’altro che chiamano Adriano da Ivorsia che li nella propria chiesa ne bacio il piede al Papa mentre fu a vedere la capella che tutt.a fa fare ampliare, et illuminare nella med.ma Chiesa.

Carel Van Mander, who knew Arpino in Rome, records that after having finished the commission Clement raised Arpino to the rank of Cavaliere of San Pietro, after which the artist fell ill. Once recovered, he undertook the fresco of the Ascension of Christ located above the altar. See Carel van Mander, Het Schilder-Boeck ... (Haarlem, 1604),

189v—190r;

Helen Noé, Carel van

Mander

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran en Italié (’s-Gravenhage, 1954), 282-3; and the translation in Maurice Maes, “Apppunti di Carel van Mander su vari pittori italiani suoi contemporanei,” Roma 9g (1931): 200-1; quoted by Rottgen, Cavalier d’Arpino, 182g. This chronology would reconcile the documentary evidence with Baglione’s account that the project was not finished in time for the Anno Santo (Vite, 374). In any case, Arpino was absent from Rome between September 1600 and March 1601, when he accompanied Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini to France, and it is unlikely that he left the decoration incomplete at that time. The trip was reported by van Mander and Baglione; Rottgen, op. cit., 38, 183, 186.

IlI.G.2. Authorship. See Scheme (p. 83) for the authorship of each fresco. Except for Pope Sylvester Baptizes Constantine, which is identified as the work of Pomarancio in Cherubini, Cose meravigliose [1609], 6, the artists who worked at the Lateran were first named in a guide to the paintings in Rome, written ca. 1620, but published in 1638; Gaspare Celio, Memoria delli nomi dell’artefici delle pitture che sono in alcune chiese, facciate, e palazzi di Roma (Naples, 1638), facsimile ed. by Emma Zocca (Milan, 1967), 29-30. In 1639, Baglione, whose own contribution to the Lateran fresco cycle was omit-

ted from Celio’s compilation, published his Nove chiese, 106-10, and assigned responsibility for all the frescoes, including the figures of Apostles and Doctors of the Church. His references in the Vite, 89, 117, 147, 149; 190, 359, 401, are more descriptive, but they contain no new information except regarding the incidental decoration: Paul Brill worked on the landscape portions of the main frescoes; Cesare Rossetti painted “ornamenti” (presumably the borders of the frescoes and those of the Apostles and the Doctors of the Church); Francesco Zucchi executed the garlands that frame these figures; Avanzino Nucci and Arpino himself were responsible for the putti above the windows. For these works, see Baglione, Vite, 102, 194, 196, 200, 371. IlI.G.3. Apostles. Ten Apostles were depicted at the window level of the transept walls during this stage of the decoration. The series is completed by Ciampelli’s Matthew and

John the Evangelist, which were painted in 1597 in the spandrels of the triumphal arch on the side toward the apse; see §II.D. Baglione identified one of the figures as Saint Barnabas, who is not one of the Twelve even though he is sometimes referred to as an Apostle; cf. R. Ward Bissell, Orazio Gentileschi and the Poetic Tradition in Caravaggesque Painting (University Park, Pa., 1981), 137-8, cat. no. 5, concerning Gentileschi’s Saint Jude-Thaddeus and Ricci’s Saint Barnabas. The figure in question is located immediately to the left of the organ as we face it, standing with one foot raised on a stone block above which the tip of a spear is visible. These are the attributes of Saint Matthias who succeeded Judas, and they refer to the means of his martyrdom; LCI, 6:602—7, s.v. “Mattia” (Gregor Martin Lechner). Baglione’s reference to Barnabas can be explained by a tradition that equated the two saints. This idea originated in the Clementine Recognitions 1.60, a text of the third century whose author was commonly identified as Pope Clement I. It purports to be an autobiographical account of Clement’s sojourn in Jerusalem, where Barnabas/Matthias introduced him to Saint Peter. The identification of this fresco either as Barnabas or Matthias would exclude James the Less from the Apostolic group. The membership of the Lateran series, as well as certain formal elements of the figures, seem to have been influenced by Marcantonio Raimondi’s engravings of the Apostles, which are generally thought to follow Raphael’s designs; Konrad Oberhuber, ed., The Works of Marcantonio Raimondi and His School, The Illustrated Bartsch, 26 (New York, 1978), pls. 65-76. These engravings reproduce frescoes painted by Raphael’s shop in the Sala dei Palafrenieri of the Vatican palace. One or two of the figures were repainted under Pius IV by Taddeo Zuccari, and the entire series was restored under Gregory XII; Christoph Luitpold Frommel, Baldassare

Peruzzi

als

Maler

und

Zeichner,

Beiheft zum Romisches Jahrbuch fiir Kunstgeschichte, 11 (Vienna, 1967-8), 88 n. 395. The Lateran Apostles are by no means copies of these images, but the psychic states of the figures, details of their dress, and their relationship to their attributes derive from this source. James the Less is omitted from that

301

Catalogue series and Matthias is included, as at the Lateran.

IlI.G.4. Ascension of Christ. This fresco was recorded as an autograph work by Arpino in 1609 by Cherubini, Cose meravigliose, 6, and again ca. 1620 by Celio, Memoria, 2930. Baglione also noted this fact and praised the work, calling attention to the over-lifesize scale of the figures, intended to compensate for the distance at which they would be seen; Nove

chiese, 110-11;

Vite, 371.

Pay-

ments to Arpino for this work were presumably included in the general disbursements made to him for all the frescoes. An avviso dated 19 August 1600 records Clement’s visit to the Lateran to see the completed fresco, and also indicates that in addition to payment Clement raised Arpino to the status of Cavaliere (and did not simply give him a horse as is often said); BAV, Urb. lat. 1068, fol. 538r, in Orbaan, Documenti, 184 n. 1: Dom.ca il Papa ando alle 4 chiese, et a San Laterano miro le belliss.e pitture della Assunt.e da Gioseppe d’Artino, a cui oltra la mercede S. dono un Cavall.to [= Cavallierotto] et una d’oro.

Gio: fatte B.ne taza

On Arpino’s knighthood, see also the testimony of van Mander cited in §III.G.1, and

see also Chapter 4, n. 11. Although this notice provides a firm terminus ante quem, the fresco may have been finished before that date. Clement visited the four Patriarchal basilicas every week during the Holy Year (Chapter

6, nn. 47-8), and thus the account

might bring together events that had taken place in successive weeks. Il.G.5. Restorations. The first known restoration of the frescoes dates from the pontificate of Clement XI (1700-21); recorded in the edition of Ottavio Panciroli’s guide to Rome prepared by Francesco Posterla, Roma sacra e moderna... (Rome, 1725), 52: “tutte queste pitture gia fatte per ordine di Clement VIII. ritrovandosi in cattivo essere sono state ripulite sotto il Ponteficato di Clemente XI.” A second, more radical, restoration was carried out under Leo XIII in the 1880s; Ricci, Nuova absida, 8-9, 14, and plate between pp. 10 and 11. Luigi Fontana restored the frescoes

302

“alcune delle quali, danneggiatissime, si dovettero quasi del tutto refare.” The ones most affected (“quasi del tutto rifatti a nuovo”) were those abutting the apse, which was entirely rebuilt at that time: the Consecration of the High Altar, the Apparition of Christ at the Lateran, and at the window level Saints James Major and Philip, as well as the spandrel frescoes of John the Evangelist and Matthew. Preceding demolition of the wall a drawing of the main narratives was made, in addition to a bozzetto of all the paintings and ornaments, so that the colors, shading, and gilding could be reproduced as accurately as possible. The rest of the decoration was also restored “sempre conservando in alterata Yantica intonazione, per modo

che, pur non

distinguendosi il nuovo dal vecchio ... ” IIl.H. Transept: Sacrament Altar

(Figs. 98, 134; Plate II)

III.H.1. Structure of the Bronze Ciborium. Baglione named Pier Paolo Olivieri as the architect of the altar, and praised it extravagantly (“che a riguardarlo induce stupore”); Nove chiese, 111-12,

114; Vite, 59-60, 76. Olivie-

ri’s role as architect at the Lateran, in addition

to that of sculptor (§II.H.8.d), is supported by a payment dated 30 November 1597: E adid.oaM. Pietro paolo Architetto scudi cento a bon conto di q.llo doveva havere per sua mercede per il tempo che ha servito et servira per Architetto alla fab.ca sud.a... (Busta 25, reg. 3, fol. 21r.)

The inscription on the frieze of the pediment dates the work to the seventh year of Clement’s reign, 1598; CLEMENS. VIII. P.M. ANNO. vil. The documentary evidence confirms this date as regards the completion of the structure, while the sculptural decoration and the sacrament tabernacle were installed either late in 1599 or early in 1600. In September 1597 when payments for the expanded Lateran renovations began, work was underway on the gilding of the columns, the casting and gilding of the new capitals, and the assembly of the components of the pediment. According to Baglione, Vite, 325, Orazio Censore was responsible for the re-

pair of two of the ancient bronze columns; Liverani, “Colonne,”

n. 7, sees documentary

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran support for the repair of only one shaft. Three new capitals to accompany the sole surviving ancient one, located to the left rear,

and the bronze portions of the pediment were also cast by Censore; see the index of payments in Corbo, 122, and the summary of Censore’s work in Busta 27, reg. 19 a,b. Liverani, op. cit., analyzed the antique portions of the structure and provided the following measurements: shafts, 7.07 m high; capital, 99 cm high. The battled bend of the Aldobrandini coat of arms was used to decorate the volutes of the new capitals, and all four were embellished with eight-pointed stars, also part of the family’s heraldry. Each capital was also decorated with four phoenixes emerging from flames that were painted red. An undated summary of the works of Marchionne Cremona indicates that he was responsible for the models: Per haver fatto un’modello di Cera d’una Palomba,

et una stella, che ha servito per gettare quelle di metallo per mettergli sopra di Capitelli sopra le Colonne di metallo. (Busta 25, reg. 21, fol. gr.)

These models were also cast by Censore; see the summary of his work in Busta 27, reg. 1a, tol. sv, and in Bustalis 245 reg. 2, fol: 287b, cited in Corbo, 233-4 (old pagination, fol. 28g9b). The capitals are noted in Eugen von Mercklin, Antike Figuralkapitelle (Berlin, 1962), 296, no. 717, fig. 1347. According to Baglione, Censore was responsible for casting the four bases of the columns; this

work is mentioned under the date 1 November 1597; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. oga (“per la gettatura de capitelli et base di bronzo”) and in Busta 27, reg. 19a, fol. gr. They were closely modeled on the originals, one of which appears in an early sixteenth-century drawing in the Codex Coner; T. Ashby, Jr., “Sixteenth-Century Drawings of Roman Buildings Attributed to Andreas Coner,” Papers of the British School at Rome 2 (1904): 67, pl. 194, oec also Wilgen, “Fastigium,” 26-7; and for a thorough analysis of the ancient portions of the columns, see Liverani, “Colonne.” By January 1598, one of the new capitals had been transported to the Lateran; Corbo,

119. The columns were raised on their pedestals in the course of the spring. Materials

for this purpose were paid for on 7 March 1598 (“stoppa di canape che ha dato per coprire le collonne di bronzo dorate per tirarle su i pedestalli”; Reg. 1535, fol. 61, in Corbo, 115, cf.

131,

181).

Between

February

and April 1598, travertine and marble were acquired for the concrete that fills the columns, increasing their strength to support the superstructure;

Corbo,

112, 126, cf. 180,

186, 228, 236. The capitals themselves were filled with a stone core; Liverani, “Colonne.”

An avviso dated 14 March 1598 records that one

of the columns

had been raised; BAV,

Urb. lat. 1066, fols. 296v—297r, in Pastor, 24:477 n. 1; and Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma 8 (1930): 65:

S.S.ta sollecita che sia finita la nuova Capella in San Gio. Laterano per il Sant.mo Sacramento ove si transferi domenica per vederne la riuscita, restando sodisfatta si dell’Architettura, come della vaghezza,

che gia si vede, con tutto che non si sia anco drizzata senon una di quelle colonne di bronzo tutta dorata.

Payments for the gilding of the columns and capitals are cited in Corbo, 113, 131, 13%, 164, 166, cf. 180, 186, 187, 190, 230; this renewed antique gilding that is recorded in the twelfth century and again in the early sixteenth century; Nilgen, “Fastigium,” 19— 20, 23 n. 56. Although payments for materials, casting, and gilding often appear late in the sequence of documents, they are concentrated in spring 1598. It was planned that the structure be substantially completed by the feast of All Saints, 1 November 1598, when the pope was expected to return from Ferrara after an extended absence from the city; avviso dated 18 August 1598; BAV, Urb. lat. 1066, fol. 627r, in Ermete Rossi, “Roma ignorata,” Roma 12 (1934): 40. The pediment is composed of a wooden core with the cornices overlaid with bronze and the frieze framed with copper; see, e.g., Corboseai 25 11235127, PAG jcla loyanoie That the pediment was in place by fall 1598 is indicated by payments in December for the “colore azzurro” applied to the frieze and for the letters of the inscription; Corbo, 138, 143,cf. 231. Also in December full-scale clay models of the three statues intended to decorate the pediment were transported to the Lateran; see §III.H.4.

3°35

Catalogue Two

notices concerning

Clement’s

visit to

see the altar on 3 January 1599 (Supplementary Sources, nos. 4-5), his criticisms of it, and possible corrections that were proposed, are discussed in Chapter 2. I.H.2. Ceiling of the Ciborium. The gilded, wooden ceiling is decorated with reliefs of the four Evangelists, the dove of the Holy Spirit, and the eucharistic chalice. These were carved by Giovanni Volpetta, according to a summary of his work dated 7 April 1601: Per la soffitta della cappella del Sant.mo Sacramento nel quadro di mezzo lon. p. 27. 2/3 lar. p. 21. con 5. quadri grandi, e 4. piccoli con doi falzetti nelli 4. quadri grandi, ui sono li quattro Evangelista di rilievo, nel mezzo un circolo di nuuole, e spirito santo e raggi di rilieuo con raggi e calici, e patena, hostia, e panni di rilieuo, stelle, cartelle nelli altri quadri piccoli ins.e 9.60 con 5. p. 81 a scudi 22. la canna mon. (Busta 25, reg. 11, fol. ir.)

See also Baglione, Nove chiese, 112; and for the gilding of the ceiling, see Corbo, 145, 174. Ill.H.3. Painting of God the Father in the Tympanum of the Pediment (Fig. 122; Plate II). Between 13 September 1598 and 4 April 1599, Cristoforo Roncalli (il Pomarancio) was paid a total of 70 scudi for the bust-length image of God the Father located in the tympanum of the pediment. The documents cited in Corbo, 135, 143-4, cf. 212, 246, are published by Abromson, Painting in Rome, 336-7, nos. 45-8; see also Kirwin, “Roncalli,” 402-4, cat. no. XX.A; and Ileana Chiappini di Sorio, Cristoforo Roncalli detto il Pomarancio

110-11,

no.

34, pl. 161.1.

(Bergamo,

Baglione twice mentioned

1983),

the

painting; Nove

chiese, 112; Vite, 290.

This painting recalls the medieval mosaic of Christ that adorns the tympanum of the Lateran’s east facade. See Baglione, Nove chiese, 126; Ciampini, De sacris aedificiis, 22,pl. 2, fig. 9g; and Dietmar Popp, “Eine unbekannte Ansicht der mittelalterlichen Fassade

von

S. Giovanni

in Laterano,”

Romi-

sches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana 26 (1990): 35-7.

the commemorative

medals issued in 1599;

see Chapter 5, n. 77, and Figs. 120, 121. Ac-

cording to the documents quoted below, clay models of the Risen Christ and the two Saint Johns were executed during autumn 1598 by Ambrogio Bonvicino, Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsoldino), and Camillo Mariani. They were brought to the Lateran in December, presumably for a trial installation in time for the pope’s visit on 3 January 1599 (see

Chapter 2, n. 34). The intention to cast them in bronze was noted in the payments, e.g., Reg. 1535, fols. 196 (“da gettarsi di metallo”), 210 (“da gettare”), 211 bronzo”).

(“da gittarsi di

Payment for the transfer of the figures to the Lateran was made on 19 December 1598. The colossal scale of the figures is indicated by the number of porters that were required: A Lorenzo facchino scudi quattro b. 80 m.ta per quello deve hauere ai 12 facchini portato la figura del Ch. resurgente fatto da Ambrosio scultore a S. Gio. Lat.no per metter sopra il frontespicio dell’altare del S.mo Sac.to... A Pedrone et Lorenzo facchini scudi venti m.ta che sono per quello deue hauere condimessi loro compagni al n.° di 24. per ulaggio portato in doi uiaggi da Roma al S. Gio. li figure di S. Gio: Batt.a et S. Gio: Euang.ta di creta fatta dal Valsoldo e da m.o Camillo scultori posti sopra il frontespicio dell’altare del S.mo Sac.to ... (Both payments in Reg. 1535, fol. 185; Corbo, 135, 140, cf. 241, 245.)

The wording of the second document proves that the two Saints were installed in their intended positions. This is also indicated by the fact that pedestals and three tin diadems were made for them by Giovanni Volpetta, as was noted in the summary of his work dated 7 April 1601: Per hauer fatto tre piedestalli per le figure di creta che si mettono sopra il frontespicio con la latta di tre diademe per d.te statue ... (Busta 25, reg. 11, fol wr.)

The diadems as well as metal banners appear in a final payment to the coppersmith Francesco Biacca dated 16 May 1599 “per bandiere e diademe per le statue sopra detto Altare”; Reg. 1535, fol. 254; Corbo, 116. In the end, it was decided to substitute the fresco of

the Ascension for these figures; see §III.G.4. IIl.H.4. Models of Statues to Stand above the Ciborium, Three freestanding statues are represented above the pediment of the altar on

394

II.H.4.a. Saint John the Evangelist. Payments to Giovanni Antonio Valsoldo (Valsol-

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran dino) for the statue of John the Evangelist are recorded between 3 October 1598 and 23 October 1599; Corbo, 146-7, 176, 250. These payments include a marble relief of an angel for the side walls, and the two angels that support the papal coat of arms below the organ; see §§III.D.1.a, HI.F.2. Corbo identified four payments exclusively with the angels below the organ that were partly for this figure; Reg. 1695. fals.152, 156, 150, 260. Lue statue is identified with varying degrees of precision. It is first mentioned as “un modello di figura di S. Gio. Euangelista da metter sopra il frontespizio dell’altare del S.mo Sacr.to” (Reg. 1535, fol. 144), but is also referred to as “un modello di una statua” (ibid., fol. 169). The total amount received by the artist, 100 scudi, is recorded in an evalua-

tion presented to the Camera Apostolica on 23 August 1601; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fol. 1524. Ill.H.4.b. Saint John the Baptist. Camillo Mariani was paid a total of 60 scudi for the figure of John the Baptist between 5 December 1598 and 27 March 1599; Corbo, 136. The statue is also identified in these documents as the Evangelist. No evaluation has come to light, and it is unclear whether the sum reflected in these payments represents the total amount received by the artist. Ill.H.4.c. Risen

Christ.

Payments

to Am-

brogio Bonvicino for the figure of Christ are difficult to isolate since he was extremely active in the transept project and disbursements to him tend to be less precise. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify five payments that refer to this statue, dated between

10

October

1598 and 27 March 1599; Reg. 1535, fols. 149, 157, 172-3, 210, 228; Corbo, 117-18.

Ill.H.5. Balustrade. The balustrade is composed of a rich variety of polychrome marble. The balusters are divided by ten panels decorated with the following motifs: the papal coat of arms; the battled bend and star; the phoenix emerging from a nest of flames; star alone; and star with trilobe cross. Payments for the balustrade begin in October 1598 and continue into 1600, with the major activity occurring in the autumn and winter of 1598; Corbo,

111, 113, 120, 123,

134, 136, 140. An undated summary of the works executed by Marchionne Cremona, which was settled in August 1601, indicates his responsibility for carving these reliefs: Per la stella con li due rastelli, et uno ripieno di breccia commessi con stucco a fuoco con suoi listelli con una fenice, et un’arme di N.S.re et una Croce,

et una stella doppia insieme, lustrature,

e commessa-

ra. (Busta 25, reg. 21, fol. 11.)

III.H.6. Inner Aedicula. The inner aedicula is formed with four columns of verde antico marble, arranged with the central two projected forward in emulation of the form of the bronze ciborium. The inner surface of the niche is reveted in darkly colored marble and is decorated with Aldobrandini heraldry. The columns were probably taken from the structure located in the south side aisle of the basilica, which Clement had ordered to be dismantled at the Visitation of 1592; see §II.A;

and Beggiao, 117. Panvinio recorded that twenty columns of “viridi Tiberiaco” sheltered the altars in this area; Krautheimer et al., Corpus, 5:68. The colonnades that separated the two aisles on each side of the nave were also formed with verde antico shafts, and these were later used by Borromini for the sculpture niches in the nave; Panvinio, De praecipuis basilicis, 149; Krautheimer et al.; op. cit., 5:67—8. I.H.7. Sacrament Tabernacle (Figs. 104-6). Both the structure and ornament of the sacrament tabernacle are identified by Baglione as the work of Pompeo Targone; Nove chiese, 112-13; Vite, 60, 329-30. The actual work was executed by the goldsmith Curzio Vanni; payments in his name appear between 25 January 1598 and 18 June 1600. For much of that time weekly disbursements of 50 scudi were made exclusively for the tabernacle, but beginning in February 1600 they range in amount from 200 to 600 scudi and include the Last Supper relief (§III.H.g) and “altri lavori,” making it difficult to determine the total cost of the tabernacle. A contemporary source fixes its value at 12,000 crowns; Louis Ponnelle and Louis Bordet, St. Philip Neri and the Roman Society of His Times (1515—

1595), trans. with intro. by Ralph Francis Kerr (London, 1979), 569. The relevant payments cited in Corbo, 147, 176, require the

325

Catalogue following emendations: Reg. 1535, for fols. 52, 151 read 53, 152, and fol. 170 concerns plates of silver for the tabernacle, not the Last Supper relief; Reg. 1536, add fols. gor, 113Vv, whereas fols. 108r, 195Vv, 1571, 1751, 1914 concern the Last Supper relief exclusively. See also the collateral documents indexed in Corbo,

191, 20%, 217, 226, 250.

The cost of transporting the tabernacle to the Lateran was paid on 27 December 1599 (the citation

in Corbo,

171,

concerns

the

transfer of the Last Supper relief; cf. 216): Piacera a N.S. pagare a Pietro facchino scudi venti di moneta che sono per haver portato il Tabernacolo a San Gio: Laterano Insieme con altri suoi Compagni... (Reg. 1536, fol. 98r.)

The installation of the tabernacle was carried out

by Pompeo

Targone

in January

1600,

and it is only in connection with this aspect of the commission that his name appears in the documents. On 15 January 1600, the droghiere Bastiano Mascarone was paid for candles and torches to allow Targone to work “day and night” on the tabernacle; Reg. 1536, fol. 101r. The following document of 22 April 1600 is more explicit about the work involved. Since it is unlikely that four months were necessary to install the tabernacle, this payment probably records the final accounting for the supplies Mascarone provided:

a M.o Bastiano Massarone Drog.ro ... per la valuta di libre 40 di cera bianca oltre le libre 30 che se li pagano a mesi passati che in tutto sono stati libbre 70 che ha dato 4 m.o Pompeo Targone in candele e torcie per lauorare giorno e notte ad accommodare il Tabernacolo sul’altare del s.mo Sacram.to comesi uede per suo ric.to e fed. del sagrestano di S. Gio: .. . (Reg. 1536, fol. 134r; Corbo, 168, 174.)

See also the undated summary of the work of the carpenter Giovanni Volpetti, which also mentions Targone’s involvement:

count of the decoration of the tabernacle, but there were at least two reliefs wrought in silver set against a blue background: “quadretti a due a due l’uno sopra I’altro, un Calice colla pantena, coll’altra ... angelo del Cielo... in cima del Columbo”; “di mezzo relievo, mezza a oro in campo azzurro.” The three scenes represented in silver relief visible today at the lowest level of the tabernacle concern Christ’s Passion, the Flagellation, the Ecce Homo, and the Pieta (located on the sportello). The composition of the Pieta is related to a painting by Annibale Carracci (Naples, Museo di Capodimonte; ca. 1599-1600); Donald Posner, Annibale Carracci: A Study in the Reform of Italian Painting around 1590, 2 vols. (London, 1971), 1:52, no. 119; 2:fig. 119a. The relief of the Flagellation is similar to a composition associated with Guglielmo della Porta; Ulrich Middeldorf, “In the Wake of Guglielmo della Porta,” Connoisseur 194, no. 780 (February, 1977): 80, fig. 8; Timothy Schroeder, “Decorative Arts of the Renaissance,” Apollo 124 (November 1986): 408, fig. 3. The gilded bronze statuettes in the middle zone of the tabernacle represent (from the left) Peter, Mark, Matthew, John, Luke, and Paul. They resemble works associ-

ated with Targone; of Enoch below the

Cesare Targone, son of Pompeo Middeldorf, 75-6. For the figures and Elijah located at the level just Resurrected Christ, see Chapter 5,

n. 56.

IH.H.8. Old Testament Statues and Narrative Reliefs. In September 1597, marble was brought to Rome from Carrara for the statues that flank the altar and the reliefs located above them; Corbo, 140, 189, cf. 132. The four sculptors received initial payments in January 1598, and these payments continued to be made at regular intervals through October 1599. Although scattered payments oc-

Per hauer fare il solaro in casa del Targona quando si colo il Tabernacolo lon. p. 12. lar. g... (Busta 25, reg. 11, fol. 5r.)

cur after that date, at least three of the statues were completed by autumn 1599, when the expense of transferring them to the Lateran was paid:

The expenses of evaluating the cost of the tabernacle were paid on go April and 11 July 1600; Corbo, 152, 157, 170. The manuscript by Mellini, “Descrittioni,” Barb. lat. 4318, fols. 75v—76r, is too damaged in this section to provide a clear ac-

(6 November 1599) per far condurre il trassino a Casa di m.o Nicolo fiammengo per far condur la statua di marmo che lui ha fatto di Melchisedech .. . (Reg. 1536, fol. 84r.) (25 December 1599) per dar bevere alli Carrettieri, et Muratori che condussero et tirano, l’opra delle

306

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran due statue di marmo fol. gov.)

di Aron et Elia (Reg. 1536,

Aaron’s thurible and Melchisedech’s chalice, wrought in metal, were paid for in January 1600, as was the cost of their gilding; Corbo, VOOM 7b. According to undated excerpts from the evaluation of these works, each sculptor received 700 scudi for his statue and 450 scudi for the relief, except for Silla da Viggit, who was paid 500 scudi for his relief; Busta 1524, reg. 2, fols. 61b (Silla), 235b (Olivieri), 356b (Nicolo Pippi and Egidio della Riviera). The sums reflected in the surviving payments vary. Ill.H.8.a. Aaron (Figs. 109, 113). Payments to Silla da Viggit dated between January 1598 and August 1600 are indexed in Corbo, 134, 165-6, to which the following adjustments are necessary: Reg. 1535, add fol. 208, and for fol. 164 read 165; Reg. 1536, add fol. 68r. The amount represented by these payments is 1,150 scudi. The collateral documents

are

cited

by Corbo,

186, 200,

214, 223, 241. See also Baglione, Nove chie32, Tae

VG,

NAO:

II.H.8.b. Melchisedech (Figs. 110, 114). Payments to Nicolo Pippi dated between January 1598 and December 1599 are indexed in Corbo, 141, 169, to which the following corrections should be made: Reg. 1535, add fol. 109 (mistakenly listed under Egidio della Riviera); Reg. 1536, add fol. 81v. The payment dated 25 December 1599 was disbursed to Nicolo’s heirs; Reg. 1536, fol. g8r. These payments total 1,050 scudi. For the collateral documents,

see

Corbo,

189, 203, 216, 246.

A late payment in the amount of 100 scudi to Nicolo’s son, Carlo, dated 8 November

1604,

was published incorrectly by Orbaan, Documenti, 312 N.: A Carlo Pippi figlio et Herede di Nic.o Pippi fiam.o scultore per resto di scudi 1200. che e stato dichiarato credito della cam.ra per lauori fatti nella Capp.a di S. Gio: Laterano (ASR, Tesoreria Generale, Introito e esito della Depositeria Generale, Reg. 1588, fol. g5v.)

Baglione, Nove chiese, 113, identified the work as by Egidio della Riviera, but he corrected this error in the Vite, 67.

IlI.H.8.c. Moses (Figs. 111, 115). Payments

to Egidio della Riviera dated between January 1598 and February 1601, cited in Corbo, 142,161, should be emended as follows: Reg. 1535, fol. 109 pertains to Nicolo Pippi; Reg. 1536, for fol. 184v read 185v. The total amount represented in these payments is 1,200 scudi. The collateral documents are indexed

by Corbo,

190, 204, 216, 225,247,

Baglione, Nove chiese, 113, identified the statue as the work

of Flaminio

Vacca,

but cf.

Vite, 69, with the correct attribution.

Il].H.8.d. Elijah (Figs. 112,116). Payments

to Pier Paolo Olivieri are recorded between January 1598 and November 1600; Corbo, 138, 169. Following Olivieri’s death on 6 July 1599 (Chapter 5, n. 4), both the statue and the relief were completed by Camillo Mariani. Beginning on 24 July 1599, disbursements are recorded

to Olivieri’s

heirs, and in two

cases itis stated that the funds were to be paid to Mariani; Corbo, 167, 169. The total sum represented in these documents is 1,300 scudi. For the collateral documents, see Corbo, 188, 202, 215, 224, 244. This sculpture was identified by Baglione, Nove chiese, 113, as the work of Mariani, but cf. Vite, 76, 113-

ie, Ill.H.g. Last Supper Relief. Baglione twice mentioned this work by Curzio Vanni, noting that it was made of silver and decorated with precious stones; he also called attention to the fact that the figures were worked in high relief; Nove chiese, 113; Vite, 60. The first document associated with this commission is a papal chirograph dated December 1598, providing 1,000 scudi to Curzio Vanni “a conto della cena d’argento e tabernacolo”; Corbo, 29. Regular payments to Vanni occur between January and Novem-

ber 1600, often coupled with disbursements for the sacrament tabernacle; Corbo, 176, 205, 217, 226; and cf. §III.H.7. Additional

payments

are recorded in ASR, Camerale

I,

Tesoreria Generale, Introito e esito della Depositeria Generale, Reg. 1584, fols. 136, 148v for February and April 1600, both in the

amount of 1,500 scudi. A papal chirograph dated 21 July 1600, allocates 2,660 scudi for final payment to Vanni; Corbo, 31-2. Subsequent chirographs dated 1601 are cited by

3o7

Catalogue Corbo, 35. The value of the relief was reported by Rasponi, 59, as “duodecim millium aureorum”; see also Chacon,

Vitae, 4:266.

An avviso dated 22 April 1600 records the installation of the relief at the altar, and announces that it contained 1,000 pounds of silver; see Supplementary Sources, no. 6. The cost of transporting the relief to the Lateran was paid on 2 May 1600 (Corbo, 171, incorrectly associated this payment with the transport of the sacrament tabernacle, but cf. 216): a m.o Curcio Vanni orefice di N.S. et per lui a Pietro fachino V.di trenta di m.ta quali seli fanno pagare per hauer portato la cena de argento che a fatto deto m.o Curtio per laltare del S.mo sacr.o, da casa sua a palazzo, et da palazzo a S. Gio: LateraNO. (Regs 1586) tole 1317.)

The relief was reduced to coinage in 1798, during the French occupation of Rome. Its loss is recorded in the diary of Cardinal Giuseppe Antonio Sala, who provided a detailed account of the spoliation of Roman churches. According to an entry dated 3 March, the authorities decided to leave the relief in place, although the weight of the silver it contained had been calculated. On 13 June 1798, Sala reported that it was removed from the Lateran. He mistakenly, but significantly, associated the work with the silver statues of Contantine’s fastigium, plundered by the Goths during the sack of Rome in 410 (Liber pontificalis, 1:233); Giuseppe Antonio Sala, Diario romano, scritti 1882-8), 1:76, 258:

(3 March 1798) Continua li Commissar) Romani con maggior rigore, Francesi. Alla Basilica tentati

di lasciare

varij, 4 vols.

(Rome,

lo spoglio delle Chiese, e lo eseguiscono per lo piu di quello lo farebbero li di $. Giovanni si sono con-

li Busti, che racchiudono

le

teste de’SS. Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, unitamente alli Reliquarj esistenti nella Tribuna, e al bassorilievo dell’ultima cena sull’ Altare del Sagramento, il quale pesa undicimila oncie. (13 June 1798) Anco la Basilica Lateranense ha dovuto sogiacere all’intero spoglio delle argentarie, compreso ancora il gruppo antichissimo dell’ultima Cena, che i Goti lasciarono intatto nel

sacchegio di detta Basilica.

The appearance of the relief can be reconstructed on the basis of drawings and later reflections, for which see Chapter 5. For graphic depictions of the relief, see Lavin, Unity, 125-6 n. 2, to which should be added

308

Fig. 117 of the present volume. The visual record is supplemented by two descriptions of the Lateran that date to the pontificate of Alexander VII; “Relatione della parrochia laterana,” ACL, FF.XV, fol. 35.4: il cenacolo ivi accluso con la mensa ove fu istituto il S.mo Sacram.to, N.S. a sedere con li 12

Apostoli,

nella statura d’un huomo, la mensa apparicchiata con mantile coperta, e pendente, pane, coltelli, bacile tutto d’argento massiccio, che viene coperta d’una porta di rame indorata a caditoia con l’iscrittione SACRVM CONVIVIVM. et gli fan cimiero doi rastelli indorati rintorti a serpe in cima.

The second description is more specific concerning the text inscribed on the cover; Mellint, “Descrittiony, BAW. Barb, lat. 4918; fols. 75r-v: “negli sportelli di bronzo dorato si legge in quattro linea: “O Sacrum Convivium/In Quo Christus Summitur / Recolitur Memoria / Passionis Eius.” This cover is also noted by Gerardi, 2:47, pl. 37; Nibby, Roma, 2.1:258; and is visible in Fig. 99 of the present volume. The following documents confirm that both the cover and the inscription were original components of the ensemble:

(19 December 1598) A Pietro Bussa banchero scudi vintiduoi b. 72, m.ta per la valuta di due oncie d’oro fino che ha dato questa 7.ma fatte battere e date all’indoratori per indorare la cataratta di metallo che copre la Cena sopra l’altare del S.mo Sacitoman (Repel on tole. Gorbo.l To. ch. 231.) (27 March 1599) A m.o Marcant.o de Rossi scudi tre di m.ta che sono per sua mercede per hauer disegnato et fatto spolueri et assistato all’ inscrittioni fatte alla piastra n.anzi la Cena et sotto lorg.o uecchio et altre fate in opere della fab.a (Reg. 1535, fol. 223; Corbo, 143, 173.)

Misura e stima of Biagio Lugaresi notarized 19 January 1601 and 16 May 1601: Per la indorat.ra di setti piastri e mezza servono alla Cataratta della Cena

di metallo

Per haver accomodato la mita della Cataratta (Busta 28, reg. 6.)

The words “a caditoia” and “cataratta” used in these sources indicate that the cover had the form of a grill. In the 1860s a new relief modeled on Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper was

installed, and a chamber

was constructed

directly behind the relief to house the relic of the table believed to have been used by

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran Christ

and

the Apostles;

documents

cited in

Lavin, Unity, 126 n. 4. Before that time, however, the table relic was never physically associated with the relief, despite the claim made in the first description quoted above; it remained in the chapel of Saint Thomas until 1647, when it was transferred to a small room in the ambulatory near the sacristy; see CiI.C.3.

IIl.H.10. Angels Flanking the Last Supper Relief (Figs. 118, 119). The bodies of these figures are formed with rosso antico whereas the limbs are composed of gilded bronze. The models were made by Ambrogio Bonvicino, and the bronze portions were cast by Orazio Censore; Baglione, Vite, 171, 325, cf. Nove chiese, 113, where the models are in-

correctly given to Camillo Mariani. Payments to Bonvicino for the models begin on 13 December 1597 and continue into 1599, often grouped with other works and identified as “modelli”; Corbo, 116-17, 155, cf. 181, 211, 231. The last explicit mention of them occurs on 27 March 1599; Reg. 1535, fol. 235. Orazio Censore was paid for casting the metal portions of the figures in February, July, and December 1599; Reg. 1535, fol. 216 (Corbo, 122); Reg. 1536, fols. 35v, ggv. From January to May 1600, they were chased and gilded; Corbo, 166-7. Payments relating to the installation of the angels at the altar occur between March and July 1600: (18 March) 4. zaccolette di marmo che fa per mettere sotto li Angeli di Metallo (Reg. 1536, fol. 124Vv; Corbo,

168.)

(3 June) per dare beve alli muratori quando calocono li Angeli di metallo al luogo ordinato dall’Architetto della fab.ca (Reg. 1536, fol. 144Vv.) (15 July) per la valuta di libre 192 di ferro, lavorato, chiodato seruito per attaccarli Angeli di metallo in opera che sono a canto la cena d’argento sop.a Paltare del S.mo Sacramento (Reg. 1536, fol. 1571; Corbo, 155.)

It is probable that the angels were set in place in April, at the time the Last Supper relief was mounted; §III.H.g. The likelihood of this is supported by an evaluation of Orazio Censore’s work dated 19 March 1600, which is also important for indicating that the figures originally held torches:

E pit per haver fatte doi figure grande di Metallo cioe doi Angiolli con le sue Alle con la manufattura di cera e di haver gettate di Mettallo e manufatta e fatte a tutte sue spese di fatura quali servono sopra il tabernacollo per tenere le torcie dinanzi ala storia dargento importano di fattura — 2650 scudi (Busta 27, reg. 19a, fol. 4v.)

Il].H.11. Phoenix Reliefs (Fig. 135). Below each of the Old Testament statues is a large marble relief of a phoenix perched on a flaming nest and gazing toward a radiant sun. The rear plane of the relief is reveted in black marble. An undated summary of the work executed by Marchionne Cremona for the Lateran, which was settled in August 1601, indicates his participation in this aspect of the project: Per haver fatto una pietra scorniciata di marmo gentile, e fattorvi dentro una Palomba, con il nido, et fiamme, et un sole con li suoi razzi la q.ale per haver trovato il marmo brutto si lascio imperfet(A oo o (UKE Bis, tele, al, sol, wie.)

Ill.H.12. Cherubim. Four cherubim, one placed above each of the historical reliefs, were sculpted between December 1597 and

March 1598; payments for their transfer to the Lateran were made on 21 and 29 March; Corbo, 113, 180. Francesco Landini and Angelo Landini each executed one cherub; Corbo, 133, 137 (“Laldini”), 186, 200. Adriano Schiratti carved two cherubs; Corbo, 144, cf. 190, 248. One of these was completed by Domenico dell’Oro and the other was restored by the same; Corbo, 126, cf. 198, 236 (in the last reference Corbo substituted “Mariani” for “M.r adriano”). A fifth cherub was sculpted by Camillo Mariani for the tympanum of the inner aedicula of the altars Corbo,1 96, cl1 87-0200, 242. Final payment for this sculpture and two marble clouds was made in [June] 1598: 7 scudi che sono per compim.to di scudi 62. ... che si li pagano per sua mercede di un cherubino et due nuovolie di marmo che ha fatto di marmo per la fabrica posti nel timpano sotto il frontespicio dellaltare del sant.mo sacramento (Reg. 1535, fols. 102-3.)

A sixth cherub, smaller than the others, is inserted in the space between the niche that encloses the sacrament tabernacle and the

329

Catalogue soffit of the aedicula. There are no documents for this work.

Ill.H.13. Garlands with Symbols of the Old Testament Figures (Figs. 99, 134). At the level of the pilaster capitals four additional reliefs depict objects that relate to the Old Testament figures and to the Lateran’s relic treasure; see Chapter 5, n. 65. At least two of these reliefs, and perhaps all of them, were carved by Marchionne Cremona; the following is an excerpt from an evaluation of his work dated 1597: Per haver fatta due festoni pieni di frutti et comessi, et sopra di incensieri d’Aaron, et Elia un spada, et Fiamme di fuoco . . . (Busta 25, reg. 21, fol. 1v.)

Ill.H.14. Arma Christi (Fig. 99). The two vertical strips that flank the central niche on the rear wall of the altar bear images of the instruments of Christ’s Passion, worked in polychrome marble inlay. Documents are not known for this work. See Chapter 5, n. 48.

III.I. Project to Move the High Altar Two

avvisi concerning

Clement’s

visit to the

Lateran in January 1599 record his dissatisfaction at seeing the bronze ciborium of the sacrament altar, “since with little or no symmetry of architecture it turned out low and dwarfed.” It is probable that the pope objected to the way the ciborium obstructed the view of the new sacrament altar when viewed from the transept entrance. In response, Clement ordered that the high altar be transferred into the tribune. This plan was never executed. See Supplementary Sources, nos. 4—5, and discussion in Chapter 2.

seventeenth century”); and finally in Kirwin,

“Baldacchino,” 148-50, fig. 4. Kirwin identified the design with a structure that was built at the high altar of Saint Peter’s in 1594. Lavin, “Baldachin,” 407-9, has shown that this identification is untenable. A careful reading of the documents along with a close examination of the figures represented on the lambrequins of the canopy suggested to him that it was developed in tandem with Clement’s plan to transfer the Lateran’s high altar. The seven half-length figures represented on the canopy are arranged around the Deesis at the center: Christ flanked by the Virgin to the left and John the Baptist to the right. Moving toward the sides, John the Evangelist and his brother, James Major, appear on the intermediary fields, while Peter and Paul close the series at the ends. Reference is thus made to the relics of both Saint Johns preserved in the confessio chapel (and by extension to the dedication of the church),

as well as to the head relics of Peter and Paul in the upper range of the ciborium. As Lavin observed, this hierarchical ordering of the figures would be inexplicable at Saint Peter’s insofar as it favors the two Johns over Peter and Paul. Further to the importance of James Major at the Lateran, see Chapter 5. Inthe drawing the altar is not placed within the space defined

by the baldachin,

as might

be expected, but is located at the perimeter. In this area the structure is enlarged to accommodate

the altar, raised on a series of stairs

and sheltered by an awninglike extension of the canopy. Thus, the entire space defined by the baldachin proper is left empty, whether for the display of relics or for the seating of high-ranking clerics and visiting dignitaries remains unclear.

IIl.J. Project for a Baldachin A drawing in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (inv. no. THC 2003; see Fig. 141) records a project for a baldachin that can be dated to the pontificate of Clement VIII by the presence of Aldobrandini heraldry. The drawing was first published by Kirwin, “Roncalli,” 409, 497-8 n. 339; Chappell and Kirwin, “Petrine Triumph,” 127 n. 64 (where it is associated with Giovanni Guerra; however, it is also said to be a tracing from the original and “may date to the second half of the 310

Ili.K. Exterior of the Basilica

II.K.1. East Piazza. The initial works Clement ordered on the east portico, the road to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and a projected fountain in the east piazza (§II.F.1-3), indicate that he intended to create a more fitting approach to the basilica from this direction. This plan was pursued in the later 1590s. Panciroli,

Tesori

nascosti, 1625, ed., 140, re-

cords that Clement “all’vltimo auanti la porta maggiore spianando molte ruine aperse vna

Works Commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran gran piazza.” Payments dated between 3 July 1599 and 4 March 1600 concern leveling the terrain; Reg. 1536, fols. 158, 20r, 29V, 30r, A Tm Ot O ta OO VanMvicn 7/4 bonOlen OWeLOoLs 84v, 87r, 951, 97r, 106r, 107v, 121r. Additional property was acquired from one Gerardo Raidetto (or Ragncetto) to extend the area of the piazza. See the payments in Reg. 1536, fols. 72r, 75v, 76r, 7Qv, 82v, dated from 10 October to 14 November 1599 and totaling 200 scudi, but cf. a document dated 15 March 1600, recorded in ibid. fol. 120r, where the pope allocated 600 scudi for this purpose. A selection of these documents is indexed by Corbo, 152,162,164, 172, cf. 213,

216, 22m. see also Lanciani, Scavs, 4:192. IlI.K.2. North Transept Towers (Plate I). In 1599 Clement had metal banners mounted

on the pinnacles of both towers; these are perforated so that light shines through, revealing the form of his heraldic emblems. One of these banners is mentioned in a document of 16 May 1599; Corbo, 116. In May 1602, a violent storm severely damaged one of the towers, which was subsequently restored; see

§I1I.C.2. Baglione, Nove chiese, 104, referred to this work.

III.K.3. Benediction Loggia of Sixtus V. The fresco of a pope, enthroned and blessing, located in the center of the upper range of the loggia, may have been intended to represent Pope Sylvester I. Domenico Fontana had inserted in this space a large window to light

the transept, which replaced a smaller window shown in early views of the facade; see Chapter 1, n. 115. The window must have been walled in during the renovations of Clement VII when the new organ was installed on the inner face of this wall. A small doorway located below the fresco gives access to the mechanism of the organ and is inscribed CLEMENS VIII. P. M. The papal emblems painted on the lower portions of the fresco are those of Sixtus V; Madonna, ed., Roma di Sisto V, 122, figs. 1-2. Clement honored Sixtus’s memory in a similar manner at Saint Peter’s, where he had his predecessor’s name and not his own placed around the lantern on the interior of the dome; Pastor, 24:

470-1.

311

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ABBREVIATIONS

ACL ASR ASV BAV Beggiao

Bullariumromanum

Bullarum basilicae vaticanae

Bullarumromanorum

pontificum Cyl, Corbo

DBI Fontana

Archivio Capitolare Lateranense. Archivio di Stato, Rome. Archivio Segreto Vaticano. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Beggiao, Diego. La visita pastorale di Clemente VIII (15921605): Aspetti di riforma post-tridentina a Roma. Rome, 1978. Bullarum, diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum romanorum pontificum, Taurinensis editio, 24 vols. N.p., 1857-72 (2 supp. vols., 1867-85). Collectionis bullarum sacrosanctae basilicae vaticanae.... 3 vols. Rome, 1747-52. Bullarum privilegiorum ac diplomatum romanorum pontificum.... Ed. Caroli Coquelines, 14 vols. in 28. Rome, 173 O-0 2), Corpus inscriptionum latinarum. Berlin, 1863- . Corbo, Anna Maria. Fonti per la storia artistica al tempo di Clemente VIII. Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Archivio di Stato di Roma, 85. Rome, 1975. Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Rome, 1960- . Fontana, Domenico. Della trasportatione dell’obelisco vaticano et delle fabriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto V. 2 vols. (vol. 1, 1st ed., Rome,

Forcella

iNY A

1590; 2d ed., with addition of vol. 2,

Naples, 1603-4) [2d ed. cited]. Forcella, Vincenzo, ed. Iscrizioni delle chiese e d’altri edificii di Roma dal secolo XI fino ai giorni nostri. 14 vols. Rome, 1869-84.

Gerardi

Gerardi, Filippo. La patriarcale basilica lateranense illustrata per cura di Agostino Valentini.... 2 vols. in 1. Rome,

ICCD

Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione. Lauer, Philippe. Le palais de Latran: Etude historique et archéologique. Paris, 1911. Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie. 8 vols. Rome, 1968-

1892-4. Lauer

LCI

FiO)

o23

Abbreviations

Liber pontificalis

Duchesne, L. M. O., ed. Le Liber pontificalis: Texte, introduction et commentaire. 2 vols. Paris, 1886-g2. Also vol. 3,

PG

ed. Cyrille Vogel, Additions et corrections. Paris, 1957. Migne, J. P., ed. Patrologiae cursus completus ..., series

JRE,

graeca. 161 vols. Paris, 1857-1903. Migne, J. P., ed. Patrologiae cursus

completus

...,

series

latina. 221 vols. Paris, 1844-55. Panvinio—Lauer Pastor

Pauly—Wissowa

Rasponi

Rohault de Fleury Ugonio—Lauer Valentini—Zucchetti

Panvinio,

Onofrio.

“De

sacrosancta

basilica, baptisterio

quattuor. Rome, 1656. Rohault de Fleury, Georges. Le Latran au moyen age. 2 vols. Paris, 1877. Ugonio, Pompeo. [Various manuscripts in the series BAV, Barberini latino.] In Lauer, 576-81. Valentini, Roberto, and Giuseppe Zucchetti, eds. Codice to-

pografico della citta di Roma.... 4 vols. Rome, 1940-53.

314

et

patriarchio lateranensi, libri quatuor.” In Lauer, 410-go. von Pastor, Ludwig. The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages. 5th ed., 34 vols. St. Louis, Mo., 1923At: Pauly’s Real-Encyclopddie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. New ed., ed. Georg Wissowa, et al. 43 vols. Stuttgart, 1894-1972. 15 suppl. vols. Stuttgart, 1903-78. Rasponi, Cesare. De basilica et patriarchio lateranensi libri

SER

Abromson,

Morton

GRE»

C. “Clement

VIII’s

Pa-

tronage of the Brothers Alberti.” Art Bulletin 60 (1978): 531-47. Painting in Rome during the Papacy of Clement VIII (1592-1605): A Documented Study. New York, 1981. Gli affreschi del Cavalier d’Arpino in Campidoglio: Analisi di un’opera attraverso il restauro. Exhib. cat. Rome, 1980. Alfarano, Tiberio. De basilicae vaticanae, antiquissima et nova structura, ed. Michele

Cerrati.

Studi e testi 26.

Rome,

1914. Antonazzi, lemica

con

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Rome, 1985. Apollonj Ghetti, B. M., A. Ferrua, E. Josi, and E. Kirschbaum. Esplorazioni sotto la confessione di San Pietro in Vaticano

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Argan, Giulio Carlo. “II ripristino di San Giovanni in Laterano.” In idem, Studi e note dal Bramante al Canova, pp. 219-37. Rome, 1970. Baglione, Giovanni. Le nove chiese di Roma

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Index

Unless otherwise indicated all monuments listed are located in Rome. For works commissioned by Clement VIII at the Lateran, see also the index to the Catalogue on pp. 271-2. Actium, 134 Aedicula Concordia, 137 Aix-en-Provence, Musée Granet, 250n83 Alberti, Alessandro, 281 Alberti, Cherubino, 281 Alberti, Giovanni, 276, 281 Alberti, Leon Battista, 268n58 Aldobrandini, Gian Francesco, 258n42 Aldobrandini, Ippolito, Cardinal, see Clement VIII Aldobrandini, Pietro, Cardinal, 162, 301 Aldobrandini, Silvestro, 164, 171 Alexander III, Pope, 11 Alexander VI, Pope, 8-9, 252n99 Alexander VII, Pope, 267n53, 268n62 Alexander Severus, 243n13 Algardi, Alessandro, 148, 268n61 altar, consecration of, 231n102 Anastasius IV, Pope, 275 Anno Santo, see Holy Year Antoniano, Silvio, Cardinal, 162, 178, 258n39 Apollo, 72, 73, 77 Arch of Augustus, 72-3 Arch of Constantine, 72, 84, 188, 217n27, 247n50, 298-9

Arch of Titus, 235n141 Aristotle, 103 Arma Christi, 139, 199n45, 211n18, 247n46, 310 Arpino, Giuseppe Cesari d’ (il Cavaliere d’Arpino), 227n58, 258n39g Frascati, Villa Aldobrandini, 162 Rome Lateran baptistery, 277 Lateran basilica, 82-4, 149, 151-8 passim, 236-

70159, 300-2

Palazzo dei Conservatori, 224n36 San Lorenzo in Damaso, 241n183 Santa Prassede, 249n70

Assisi, San Francesco, 56 Augustine, Saint, 189

Augustus, 90, 134, 136-7, 243n13 Baglione, Giovanni, 82

Lateran basilica, 115-22, 243n16 Santa Maria dell’Orto, 120 Balducci, Giovanni, see il Cosci baptism (see also Constantine the Great; Jesus Christ), 18-19, 229n81 Baronius, Cesare, Cardinal, 58, 87, 122, 162, 179, 258n39 and the “Donation of Constantine,’ 5) 234n126, 234n128 Bartolini da Citta di Castello, Matteo, 196n28 Bellarmino, Roberto, Cardinal, 162, 178 Bellori, Giovanni Pietro, 83

Benedict XIV, Pope, 232n110, 285 Bernini, Gianlorenzo (see also Saint Peter’s, cross-

ing), 148, 188, 267n54 Besancon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, 116-17 Bethlehem, church of the Nativity, 239n174 Blasi, Luca, 68, 296-7 Bolgi, Andrea, 268n61 Bologna, Palazzina della Viola, 81 Boniface VIII, Pope, see Lateran, benediction loggia Bonvicino, Ambrogio Lateran baptistery, 277 Lateran basilica, angel, 294, 295 angels flanking the Last Supper relief, 309 David, 299 Resurrrected Christ (model), 304, 305 stucco decoration, 291 Borromeo, Carlo, Bishop of Milan and Saint, 212n43, 213n48, 247n52

327

Index Borromini, Francesco

drawings of the Lateran of arches, 289-90 after Bramante, 252n99 of entrance to confessio, 283

of the high altar, 268n62 of inscription mount,

279

of nave, 59 (Fig. 37) and Hebrew relics, 232n110 renovation of Lateran nave, 185-8, 305 works in the Lateran under Alexander VII,

26753

Bramante, Donato, 8, 154, 178, 179 Breviary, 124, 231n104, 231n106, 253n107, 262ng

Brill, Paul, 82, 301 bronze, 134-5 Buzio, Ippolito, 293, 294-5 Callixtus II, Pope, 178

Callixtus III, Pope, 251n89 Capitoline Hill, 8, 9, 85, 87, 126, 167 Capriani da Volterra, Francesco, see Volterra, Francesco Capriani da

Carracci, Annibale, 83-4, 306 Celestine V, Pope, 96 Censore, Orazio, 277, 280, 296, 309

Cesari d’Arpino, Giuseppe, see Arpino Cesari, Bernardino, 82, 83, 84-90, 122 charity, 114-15, 168, 174

Charlemagne, 116 Chiesa Nuova, see Santa Maria in Vallicella chrism, 19, 102, 112, 231n104 Christ, see Jesus Christ Christmas, 79, 170 Ciampelli, Agostino, 277, 281, 282, 284 Circus Maximus, 32, 33 clemency, 163, 174 Clement I, Pope, 164-6, 173-4, 256n21, 281, 301 Clement VI, Pope, 232n113, 236n158 Clement VII, Pope, 9, 164 Clement VIII, Pope (see also Holy Year of 1600),

37-8, 52, 92, 161-76, 185, 204n80, 261-2n2 and Clement I, 165-6, 263n16 and Constantine, 171 and Coptic church, 166 Eucharist, veneration of, 163, 166, 167

heraldry, 50, 128, 303 honored, 167-8, 185, 280 and the Lateran baptistery, 37-8, 275-8 and Oratorians, 58, 161-2 phoenix emblem of, 171-6 piety of, 170 and Ruthenian church, 166, 258n42 and Saint Peter’s, 177-9 and Turks, 167, 258n42 Visitation of churches, 37, 166, 272 Clement XI, Pope, 188, 302 Commodi, Andrea, 276 concord, 71-2, 138-9, 163, 165 Confirmation, 18, 19-20 Constantine the Great (see also Arch of Constantine; Constantine the Great, depictions of life;

Vita Silvestri)

328

and Augustus, 77-8, 90 baptism of, 18-19 Capitoline Hill, 238n167 and Charlemagne, 116 and Clement VIII, 171 coins and medals of, 176 and concord, 71-2, 90, 139, 189 construction of the Lateran basilica, 104 of Saint Peter’s, 104 “Donation of Constantine” (Constitutum Constantini), 86, 104, 116 donations to the Lateran, 22, 55, 122, 134, 138 entry into Rome, 84, 238n167 and Gregory XIII, 22 icon of Saints Peter and Paul, 282 and indulgences for the Lateran, 23 and peace, 84-5 and the phoenix, 175-6 piety of, 90 relics possessed by, 217n27 sacra rappresentazione of life, 87, 125 Solomon, compared to, 123 and tomb of Saint Peter, 178 Virgin Mary, devotion to, 19, 120 Constantine the Great, depictions of life (see also Lateran basilica, transept, frescoes), 81, 240-1n182 Comincia el tractato ... (Dati), 107, 228-—9n77 Lyber historianum romanorum, 230n88 Bologna ephemeral decoration for the coronation of Charles V, 237n162 Palazzina della Viola, 81, 87 Florence, Santa Croce, 223n28 Nonantola, Abbazia di San Silvestro, 81-2, 87-8,

234n127 Pisa Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, lintel from San Silvestro, Pisa, 223n28 San Piero a Grado, 225n43, 230n88, 231n102 Rome Lateran, benediction loggia of Boniface VIII, LOBLateran basilica: benediction loggia of Sixtus V, 32, 91, 100, 207nN115, 228n76, 229n78; east portico, 207n115, 235n133 Lateran palace, 28-30, 229n78 Old Saint Peter’s, 225n43, 230n88 Santi Quattro Coronati, 223n28, 225n42 Santa Petronilla, 229n86

Vatican palace: Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, 104, 220-1n5; Sala di Costantino, 81, 100, 104, 116, 127, 223n28

Villa Montalto, 220n5, 222n19, 225n43, 230n8Q, 234n127

Siena, Sant’ Agostino, 229n78 Tivoli, San Silvestro, 223n28 Verona, Santa Maria in Organo,

Constantinople,

224n32

19, 70, 127, 197n33

Constans I, 176

Constantius II, 33, 176, 208n119 Cordier, Nicolo, 292, 293-4

Index coronation, imperial, 92, 102

Cortona, Pietro da, 240-1n182, 266n48 il Cosci (Giovanni Balducci), 276, 282, 284

Council of Trent, 14, 37, 126-7, 251n85 Cremona, Duomo,

236n150

curtain (see also tapestry), 240n175 Dati, Giuliano, 23, 107

Decretals, 233n115 della Greca, Felice, 283 della Porta, Giacomo

and il Gest, 133 and the Lateran transept, 42, 68, 130, 279, 285, 289 and Saint Peter’s, 178, 179, 242n6 della Porta, Giovanni Battista, 201n70, 277 della Porta, Guglielmo, 306

della Porta, Tommaso, 277, 292, 294, 295 della Riviera, Egidio, 293, 295, 296, 307 Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, 214n61 Dioscuri, 97 directional symbolism in churches, 124 Dominican order, 14 “Donation of Constantine,” see Constantine the Great Duquesnoy, Francesco, 268n61 Durandus, Guilelmus, 104 Easter, 18, 22, 24, 34-6, 275

Egypt, 345 90

EI Escorial, Monastery of San Lorenzo, 92 Este, Alfonso II d’, duke of Ferrara, 167

Este, Cesare d’, 167 Eucharist altars dedicated to, 130 baldachins used to shelter, 264n29 Canon of the Mass, 78 Corpus Domini feast, 126-7, 148 decorations to honor, 62, 127, 128, 129 eschatalogical nature of, 158 Forty Hours Devotion to, 129, 166

dedication of the Holy Sepulcher, 189 of the Lateran basilica, 104, 124, 189, 231n104, 231n106, 251n89, 253n107 of Saint Peter’s, 104, 182, 189, 262ng of the Temple of Jerusalem, 135, 189 Holy Thursday, 148 of Peter and Paul, 178 of Sylvester I, 86, 124, 170 of the Transfiguration of Christ, 152 Ferrara, 167 Florence Badia, 253n105 Ognissanti, 243n12 San Lorenzo, 198n45 Santo Spirito, 217n27, 247n50 Fontana, Domenico, 23, 32, 180, 311 Fontana, Prospero, 81, 88

Forum of Nerva, 178, 243n13 Forum Romanum

(Roman Forum), 41

foundation stone, theme of, 104-7 France, peace with Spain, 167 Franciscan order (see also Assisi), 14 Frascati, Villa Aldobrandini, 162 Gentileschi, Orazio, 301 il Gesu, 133 Giberti, Giovanni Matteo, Bishop of Verona, 212n43 Giulio Romano, 81, 268n58 Gran (Hungary), 167 Gregory I (the Great), Pope, 282 Gregory XI, Pope, 7, 11 Gregory XIII, Pope, 16-23 and Saint Peter’s, 43, 54, 179, 209n129, 242n6, 262ng; see also Vatican palace, Galleria delle Carte Geografiche Gregory XV, Pope, 264n32, 265n35 Gregory Nazianzus, Saint, 263n16 Greuter, Matthias, see Maggi, Giovanni Guerra, Giovanni,

25

and the Lateran, 22, 31, 41, 42, 115, 156

linear perspective as metaphor of, 129 lights to signal the presence of, 148 monstrances for, 249n73 phoenix as symbol of, 174 piety toward of Clement VIII, 163, 166, 167 of Gregory XIII, 20 and presence of Christ in heaven, 250-1n85 in procession, 167 relics from the Mass at Bolsena, 70, 72 and reservation with relics, 52 tabernacles for, 22, 54, 129, 139-42, 158, 217n27 triumph of, 126-7, 167 Unde et memores, 151 Eugenius IV, Pope, 7, 211n31, 280

Fabriano, Gentile da, 56

Farinati, Paolo, 224n32 feast of Bernardino da Siena, 252ng5 of Corpus Domini, 126-7, 148

Helena, Saint, 20, 134, 235n142, 269n68 Henry IV, King of France, 38, 166, 168

Hilarus, Pope, 276 Horozco y Covarruvias, Juan de, 174-5

hieroglyphs, 33-4 Hippolytus, Saint, 167, 277 Holy Door (Porta Santa), 8, 154

Holy Stairs (Scala Santa), see Lateran Holy Year (Anno Santo), 16, 63, 78-9, 114, 152-6,

of of of of of of of

170 1300, 16, 252n100 1350, 232n113 1475, 8 1500, 8, 154 1575, 16-18, 22-3, 154, 170 1585, 202n82 1600, 63, 78-80, 168-71, 189-90, 2809; see also Lateran basilica, transept

of 1625, 182, 184

of 1650, 185 Honorius III, Pope, 231n108

320

Index illusionism, 28, 50, 56-8, 127-8, 129, 156-8 indulgence, 16, 23, 26, 34, 78-9

Innocent Innocent Innocent Innocent

III, Pope, 14 VIII, Pope, 194n12 IX, Pope, 164 X, Pope, 185-8, 267n54, 268n62

Jacobus de Voragine, 86 Jerome, Saint, 20 Jerusalem Christ’s death, site of, 114, 134 descent of Heavenly, 158 Holy Sepulcher, 142, 189, 199n46, 2139n51, 23940n174

praetorium of Pontius Pilate, stairs, 20 Jerusalem, Temple of (see also Lateran basilica, relics; Lateran basilica, and Temple of Jerusalem)

appearance of God at, 233n119 Ark of the Covenant, 112, 115, 121, 128

columns, 76-7, 134-6, 184 Gates, 135-6, 252ng6 curtains, 128-9 Holy of Holies (Sancta Sanctorum), 22, 30, 128-9 and the lapis primarius, 230ng1 organs, 218n31 Portico of Solomon, 135-6 Renaissance depictions of, 136 vessels, 120-2 Jesus Christ (see also Eucharist) appearance of, in Lateran basilica, 113-15, 157, 282-3 Ascension of, 151-8; see also Lateran basilica,

transept, sacrament altar baptism of, 101-2 family of, 150, 156-7 and harmony, 67, 219n38 Incarnation of, 218n32 and phoenix, 173-4 relics of, 22, 39, 150, 247n47, 268n58 Resurrection of, 142, 151 Transfiguration of, 152 John the Deacon, 195n25 Josephus, 136 Julius II, Pope, 9 Julius IL], Pope, 10, 242n2 Kircher, Athanasius, 78 Lactantius, 175

Landini, Angelo, 309 Landini, Francesco, 293, 295, 299, 309 Landini, Taddeo, 39, 277, 280, 284-5 Lateran (see also Lateran baptistery; Lateran basilica; Lateran palace) antiquities at, 8, 9 Archive plan, 16, 195n23 benediction loggia of Boniface VIII, 13, 24, 31, 68-70, 105-7, 197n33, 206n11 of Sixtus V, 23, 24, 31-2, 180, 311; see also Constantine the Great, depictions of life lead pipes, 287 monastery, 7

332

obelisk, 31, 32-4, 36 piazza east, 12, 42, 288, 310-1

north, 12, 17, 23, 31 Scala Santa (Holy Stairs) medieval, 20, 23, 170 of Sixtus V, 30-1, 254n4 Lateran baptistery (San Giovanni in Fonte), 275-8

basalt tub, 18

bronze doors, 14-15, 276 chapel of John the Baptist, 37-8, 276 of John the Evangelist, 37-8, 276-8 of Rufina and Seconda, 37, 275-6 of Venantius, 18, 38, 278, 286 Lateran basilica (San Giovanni in Laterano) (see also feast, dedication; Lateran basilica, transept)

altar of the Apostles (high altar), 8-9, 36, 38, 42, 523, 181, 268n62, 281-4; and Ark of the Covenant, 112; and the Last Supper table, 38, 188, 269n63; as relic of the early Church, 52, 112, 124; and relics of Peter and Paul, 39, 52, 188; restoration of, 286 of the canons, 233n118 of the Holy Cross, 277 of Mary Magdalen, 211n31 of the Presepio, 290 of the Virgin Annunciate, 286, 287 Apostles associated with, 268—gn62 apse, mosaic decoration of, 39, 113-14, 115, 173, 253n106 ceiling, nave, 12, 15-16, 39, 199N45, 199N47 chapel of the Colonna family, 290 of John the Evangelist (confessio), 38, 268gn62, 282-3; decoration of, 110-12, 114, 115, 282-3; and holy oils, 232n111, 282; as model for confessio of Saint Peter’s, 181;

restoration of, 283 of the sacrament (Gregory XIII), 20-2, 38, 39, 54, 67, 149, 201n68, 255n8, 287, 291 of Thomas, 210n7, 232n110, 283 choir loft, 12, 38, 287 Christ, appearance of, 113-15, 157, 282-3 church councils at, 9, 22 and concord, 103, 139 confessio, see Lateran basilica, chapel, of John the Evangelist Constantine’s basilica, decoration of, 55-6, 123, 186 Constantine’s gifts to, 116, 240n174; see also

Lateran basilica, fastigium entrances to, 12-13, 39-41, 241n187; see also Lateran basilica, portico; Lateran basilica, transept, facade and portals Eucharist, reservation at, 22; see also Eucharist

fastigium, 55, 120, 138, 181, 308 as Heavenly Jerusalem, 158 icon of Peter and Paul, 282

indulgences at, 22-3 nave and side aisles (see also Lateran basilica, ceiling, nave), 12, 38, 41-2, 186-8, 278-80

Index organ, fifteenth century,

12, 38, 39, 42, 286-7

papal burials at, 192-3n5 portico (east), 8-9, 12, 38, 42, 235n133, 304, 287,

288

relics, 37, 39; see also Lateran basilica, apse of the Apostles, 268n62 of Christ, 22, 39, 150, 247N47 of earth from Calvary, 134 examined by Clement VIII, 210n7 exhibited at Easter, 209n130, 211n31 of John the Baptist, 39, 150 of John the Evangelist, 39, 277 of Last Supper table, 22, 38, 148, 188, 283,

308-9

of Peter and Paul, 8, 39, 52, 188, 281

from the Temple of Jerusalem, 22, 30, 112, 121-2, 193N7, 210N7, 232nN110, 235n144, 248n65 of Zacariah, 39 sacraments at, 18-23, 231n107 sacristy, 22, 164-5, 280-1 and Saint Peter’s, 7, 8, 10, 11-12, 179, 180, 181-5 Station days, 34-6, 148 and Temple of Jerusalem, 30, 121-2, 142, 186, 205N101, 232N111, 233n119 tiara given by Constantine to Pope Sylvester I, 211n31 titles of, 7, 22, 39, 53, 55, 149, 234N131, 241n187, 310 tomb of Annibaldi, Riccardo, 279-80 of Arpino, Giuseppe Cesari d’, 84 of Caracciolo, Berardo, 279-80 of Chaves, Antonio Martinez, 286 of Innocent III, 290 of Leo XIII, 290 of Martin V, 7 transept, see separate entry

urban siting of, 12-13, 39-41 Visitations of, 37-8, 166, 247n47, 249N75, 255n8, 284 Volto Santo (Holy Face of Christ), see Lateran

basilica, apse Lateran basilica, transept, 43-50, 210n8 angels, 58, 214n61, 292-6 Apostles, 50, 58, 23770159, 301-2 baldachin project, 181, 310 ceiling, 38, 284-5 and Clement VIII, meaning for, 161-76 passim columns bronze, 134, 136, 184, 288-9, 302-3 giallo antico, 298-9

contemporary costumes in, 90, 92, 100, 103, 114 disposition of, 124 documents for, 300 iconographic program, 161 and mixing of realities, 125 and portraits, 100, 10g, 125, 237n160

restoration of, 108, 113, 302 as tapestries, 128 and the theater, go, 92-3, 98, 100, 103, 114,

125 and the triumph, 125-6 typological pairing of, 122-3 as unified cycle, 82, 122,124 high altar, project to transfer, 52-3, 310 and Holy Year of 1600, 63, 78-9, 114, 152-4, 176, 189-g0, 289, 292

as independent church, 63 and influence on Lateran nave program, on Saint Peter’s, 181-5

186-8

as nave clementina, 220n48 organ, 42, 67-80, 219n34, 296-7 pavement, 63, 292 physical unity of, 163 sacrament altar, 51, 130-58; see also Arma Christi; Lateran basilica, transept, columns, bronze angels flanking the Last Supper, 148, 309 Ascension of Christ, 45, 149, 151-8, 237159,

253N105, 302 balustrade of, 305 bull concerning, 162-3, 255-6nn8-9 chaplaincies at, 162-3 ciborium of, 130-9, 302-4 as high altar, 53

lamps, 148, 249n75 Last Supper, 145-9, 305-6, 307-9 medals in honor of, 149

narrative reliefs with Old Testament scenes,

145-6, 306-7

paschal mystery at, 151 and phoenix, 171-5, 309 project to erect statues above the ciborium,

149-51

sacrament tabernacle, 139-42, 305-6 statues of Hebrew priests, 62, 142-5, 306-7 Trinity, 139

used by Clement VIII, 255n8 Lateran palace medieval, 8, 9, 12, 23, 24-5, 229n85 acheropita, 156, 158, 206n106 bronze doors, 14-15, 276, 278 puerta tarpea,

252n97

crosses, 50, 222n21, 296

Sala del Concilio of Leo III, 13

David and Solomon, 43, 50,'73-6 Doctors of the Church, 50, 58

Sancta Sanctorum (chapel of Saint Lawrence),

documents, 273-4 entrance wall, 297-300 facade and portals, 9, 12-16, 31-2, 180, 288, 292, 311 frescoes, narrative, 50, 56-62, 82-129 passim authorship of, 83, 301 and Breviary lessons, 124

9, 23, 30, 209N5

Triclinium of Leo III, 23 of Sixtus V, 23-5 fresco decoration, 25-30, 100, 121, 138,

205N100, 254n4 Leo X, Pope, 9, 81, 127 Leo XIII, Pope, 284, 285, 292, 302

Ligorio, Pirro, 1g6nn28-9

Gon

Index Maderno, Carlo, 179, 185, 267n54 Maderno, Stefano, 292, 293, 295 Maggi, Giovanni (and Matthias Greuter), 212n41, 282 Mantua, 268n58 marble, polychrome, 20, 53-5, 56, 179, 291-2 Marcus Aurelius, 8, 9, 85, 218n31 Mariani, Camillo, 265n40, 293, 294, 295, 304, 305, 307; 309 Martin V, Pope, 7, 56-7, 243n12

Martinelli, Fiorvante, 232n110 Maximilian, Archduke, 163 Medici, Alessandro de’, Cardinal (later Pope Leo XI)

and the Lateran baptistery, 38, 272, 285 and the Lateran transept, 276 and Santa Prassede, 58, 236n150, 282, 284 Medici, Ferdinando I de’, Duke, g2 Meleghino, Jacopo, 195n20 Menghini, Nicolo, 222n16

Michelangelo, 101, 133, 218n31 Mino da Fiesole, 230ng2 Mochi, Francesco, 265n40, 268n61 Montano, Giovanni Battista, 68, 297 Moses, 34, 78, 112, 121 music, 78-80 Muziano, Girolamo, 226n54

Petrarch, 89 phoenix, 171-6, 219n34, 309 pietas, 87, go Pippi, Nicolo, 306, 307 Piranesi, Giovanni Battista, 290, 291 Pisa, San Piero a Grado, see Constantine the Great,

depictions of life Pisanello, 56 Pius IV, Pope, 10-16, 198n28, 242n2, 279

Pius V, Pope, 12-16, 124, 163, 258n36 Pius IX, Pope, 251n89, 282, 283, 286, 292 Plato, 88 Pollaiuolo, Antonio, 244n29 il Pomarancio (Cristoforo Roncalli), 82, g8—103,304 Pontificale romanum, 104, 110, 116 pope, succession of, 164 Porta Santa, see Holy Door possesso, 24, 68 Prudentius, 19 Publius Optatianus Porphyrius, 71-2

Raphael, 237n159, 301 engraving after, 249n70 Santa Maria del Popolo, Chigi chapel, 53-4 tapestries designed by, 127, 152 Vatican palace, 81, 91, 100, 114, 116, 125, 127,

231n100, 301 Naples, Duomo,

212n36, 282

narrative cycles, disposition of, 124 Nebbia, Cesare, 25, 82, 90-3, 226n54 Neri, Saint Filippo (and the Oratory), 58, 161 Nettuno (place), 41 Nicaea, second Council of, 56, 123, 267n56

Nicholas IV, Pope, 14, 203n87 Nicholas V, Pope, 8, 198n42 Nogari, Paris, 82, 93-8, 103-7, 119-15, 226n54 Nonantola, Abbazia di San Silvestro, see

Constantine the Great, depictions of life Nucci, Avanzino,

301

Olivieri, Pier Paolo, 130, 142-5, 265n40, 302, 307 organ, 67, 68, 70, 78-80

Orsini, Fulvio, 224n34, 254n7, 261n66, 280, 288 Orvieto, Duomo, 70, 72 Oxford, Ashmolean Museum,

116-20

Palazzo Barberini, 266n48 Palazzo Farnese, 84 Palazzo Laterano, see Lateran palace Palazzo del Quirinale, 68 Palazzo Vaticano, see Vatican palace Paleotti, Gabriele, Bishop of Bologna, 239n171 Pantheon, 42, 54-5, 291-2 Panzera, Battista, 249n12

Passover, 36 Paul, Saint, 86, 128

Paul III, Pope, 9, 97, 195n20, 242n2 Paul IV, Pope, 10, 242n2 Paul V, Pope, 179-81, 185, 267n53 penance, 20 Pentecost,

18

perspective, see illusionism Peter, Pope, 25, 86, 178

332

Vatican Pinacoteca, 152 Villa Farnesina, 127

reception of emperor by pope, 120 regalia imperial, 92, 100, 102, 120

papal, 50, 100, 120, 229n80 Ricci, Giovanni Battista, 82, 108-12, 301 roads (Rome), 12, 17, 23, 42, 288 Roncalli, Cristoforo, see il Pomarancio Rossetti, Cesare, 301

Rubens, Peter Paul, 240n182 Rudolf I, Holy Roman Emperor, 163 sacrament altar, see Eucharist; Lateran basilica,

transept Saint Peter’s (see also Vatican palace), 7, 12, 15-16, 36, 56, 82, 177-88 passim altar of Pope Callixtus II, 178 of Pope Sylvester I, 178, 180 benediction loggia, 32, z0gn129 capella papalis, 178, 180 chapel of Santa Petronilla, 229n86 chaplaincies (Barberini), 266n44 columns, spiral, 76-7, 180, 184 confessio, 180, 265n36 crossing, influenced by Lateran sacrament altar, 182-4, 248n60, 265n37 crypt chapel (Cappella Clementina), 178 dome, decoration of, 178-9 facade inscription, 263-4n22 grottoes, 262n4, 266n44 high altar, 178, 180-1, 262n5 indulgences granted by Urban VIII, 265n36 inscription concerning Peter’s primacy, 179 nave (Constantinian),

179

Index navi piccole, 162, 179 oratory of Pope Anacletus, 180

tapestry, 126-7

organ,

Targone, Cesare, 306 Targone, Pompeo, 305-6 Tempesta, Antonio, 276, 277

286

papal throne, 180 portico, design associated with Michelangelo, 133 rebuilding in the Renaissance, 8, 9, 14, 177 reception of emperor at, 120 relics of Clement I, 256n21, 263n16 of Andrew, 264n25 of Longinus (lance), 264n25 of Peter and Paul, 178, 188

of the True Cross, 265n41 of Veronica (veil), 264n25 tomb(s)

of popes at, 193-4n5 of Saint Peter, 178 of Urban VIII, 185 towers, 180

San Cesareo, 58, 260n55 San Clemente, 263n16 San Gregorio Magno, chapel of Santa Barbara, 261n2 San Marco, 155 San Paolo fuori le Mura, 15-16, 17, 56, 82 San Pietro in Vaticano, see Saint Peter’s

Sangallo the Younger, Antonio da, 92 Santa Cecilia in Trastevere,

211n28, 261n2 Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, 243n18, 248n58 Santa Maria in Aracoeli, 84 Santa Maria Maggiore, 36, 198nn44-5, 230ng2 chapel of Paul V, 185, 262n2 of Sixtus V, 54, 141, 163, 254n4 Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Aldobrandini chapel, 261n2, 289, 300 Santa Maria dell’Orto, 120 Santa Maria del Popolo, 208n122, 261n2 Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova), 261-2ne2 Santa Maria della Vittoria, Cornaro chapel, 249n69,

265n37

Santa Prassede, 58, 236n150, 282, 284

Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo al Laterano, 158 Santi Apostoli, 251ng2 Santi Cosma e Damiano, 251ngo Santi Nereo ed Achilleo, 58, 251n92 Santori, Giulio Antonio, Cardinal, 164, 204n94 Scala Santa (Holy Stairs), see Lateran, Scala Santa Schiratti, Adriano, 309 Sergius II, Pope, 282 Sergius IV, Pope, 279 Sfondrato, Paolo Emilio, Cardinal, 178

Siena, Santa Maria della Scala, 70, 72, 217n27 Sigismund, prince of Poland, 163 Sixtus IV, Pope, 8, 57, 203n87, 237n162, 262n5 Sixtus V, Pope, 23-36, 209n131, 242n2, 288, 311

Soratte, Mount, 95

Spain, peace with France, 167 Station day celebrations, 34-6, 148 Stella, Giacomo, 276 Sylvester I, Pope (see also feast, of Sylvester I), 812, 85-116 passim, 178, 180, 189, 311

Sylvester II, Pope, 279

fictive, 50, 127-8

Temple of Concord, 136-7, 246n44 Temple of the Deified Augustus, 136-7 Temple of Janus, 134 Temple of Jerusalem, see Jerusalem, Temple of Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, 230ng1 Temple of Vesta, 89 Tertullian, 78 theatrical allusions in sixteenth-century art (see also Lateran basilica, transept, frescoes), 125 Tibaldi, Pellegrino, 225n49 Tiberius, 136-7 Titus, 126, 128, 134 Traditio legis, 152

Trinity, 139 triumph, ancient, 125, 167, 225n41 triumphal entry, Renaissance, 62, 239n171 Turk, 167 typology in narrative cycles, 122-3, 186

Urban IV, Pope, 249n71 Urban V, Pope, 231n103, 281 Urban VIII, Pope, 182-4, 185, 186, 264n33, 267n53

Vacca, Flaminio, 285-6, 307 Valadier, Luigi, 276 Valentinian III, 138 Valsoldo, Giovanni Antonio (Valsoldino), 278, 293,

294, 295, 299, 304-5

van Heemskerck, Marten, 9, 229n86, 289 Vanni, Curzio, 305-7 Vatican Hill, 104 Vatican palace (see also Raphael), 8, 30

Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, 96, 104, 226n54 library of Sixtus V, Salone Sistino, 24, 231n100 passage to crypt of Saint Peter’s, 178 Sala Clementina, 164, 266n48 Sala di Concistoro, 260n55 Sala di Costantino, 100, 104, 127

Sala dei Palafrenieri, 301 Sistine chapel, 57 Verona, Santa Maria in Organo, 224n32 Vespasian, 229n87, 230n91

Vesta, cult of, 89-90 Viggiu, Silla da, 81-2, 87-8, 294, 295-6, 299, 307 Villa Farnesina, 127 Villa Montalto, 220n5 Villamena, Francesco, 167-8 Visitation of churches by bishops (see also Clement VIII, Visitation of churches), 37, 166

Vita Silvestri, 85-102 passim, 124 Vitruvius, 92-3, 98 Volterra, Daniele da, 198n44 Volterra, Francesco Capriani da, 199n53, 20170,

211n22 Zuccari, Taddeo, 301 Zucchi, Francesco, 301

333

SCHEELE MEMORIAL LIBRARY

NA 5620 .S4 F74 1995 Freiberg, Jack. The Lateran in 1600

DATE DUE

Concordia College Library Bronxville, NY

10708

Jack Freiberg is Associate Professor of Art History at Florida State University. A scholar of Italian baroque art, he has con-

tributed articles on a variety of topics to the Burlington Magazine, Studies in the History of Art, and Zeitschrift fiir Kunstgeschicte.

Books of Related Interest FEDERICO BORROMEO AND THE AMBROSIANA: Art Patronage and Reform in SeventeenthCentury Milan, by Pamela Jones

A ROYAL PASSION: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture, by Robert Berger ART AND PATRONAGE IN THE CAROLINE COURTS, edited by David Howarth

Jacket illustrations:

Front cover: North transept piazza of San Giovanni in Laterano. Photo: Nardini Editore, Fiesole.

Back cover: Southeast wall of the transept of San Giovanni in Laterano with Tumphal Entry of Constantine (Bernardino Cesari) and Constantine's Dream of Peter and Paul (Cesare Nebbia). Photo: Musei Vaticani Archivio Fotografico. Jacket design by Dennis M. Arnold Printed in the United States of America

O = a41?

ISBN 0-521-46057-3

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9 °780521°460576