Friday, January 11, 2013

San Pietro in Vincoli--Moses Statue




“that a true and pure work of sculpture, by definition, one that is cut, not cast or modeled should retain so much of the original form of the stone block and should so avoid projections and separation of parts that it would roll downhill of its own weight.” Michelangelo


Michelangelo’s Moses is depicted with horns on his head. He, like so many artists before him, were laboring under a misconception? This is believed to be because of the mistranslation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Latin by St Jerome. Moses is actually described as having "rays of the skin of his face", which Jerome in the Vulgate had translated as "horns". The mistake in translation is possible because the word "keren" in the Hebrew language can mean either "radiated (light)" or "grew horns".


The relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while imprisoned in Jerusalem , given to Pope Leo I by Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentinian III).




Tomb of Mariano Petro Vecchiarelli





Giovanni Battista Parodi The Miracle of the Chains, painted in 1706.

The nave has 20 ancient columns, dividing it into three aisles. The capitals are Doric, an order of architecture which is rare in Roman churches. Surprisingly, they have Ionic bases. Tradition claims that they were taken from the basilica where St Peter was condemned

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