| San Pietro in Montorio | |
|---|---|
| Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio(in Italian) | |
 Façade | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| 41°53′19″N12°28′00″E / 41.8886°N 12.4666°E /41.8886; 12.4666 | |
| Location | Piazza di S. Pietro in Montorio 2,Rome |
| Country | Italy |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Tradition | Roman Rite |
| Website | Official website, unsafe |
| History | |
| Status | Titular church, national church |
| Dedication | Saint Peter |
| Consecrated | 1500 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Donato Bramante |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | 1481 |
| Administration | |
| District | Lazio |
| Clergy | |
| Cardinal protector | James Francis Stafford |
San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church inRome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard theTempietto, a small commemorativemartyrium ('martyry') built byDonato Bramante.
The Church of San Pietro in Montorio was built on the site of an earlier 9th-century church dedicated toSaint Peter on Rome'sJaniculum hill. It serves as a shrine, marking the supposed site of St. Peter'scrucifixion.[1]
In the 15th century, the ruins were given to the Amadistfriars, a reform branch of theFranciscans, founded by theBlessedAmadeus of Portugal, who served asconfessor toPope Sixtus IV from 1472. The church was rebuilt through the generous funding ofFerdinand andIsabella of Spain. It was consecrated in 1500 byPope Alexander VI.[2]
It is atitular church, whose current title holder, since 1 March 2008, isJames Francis Cardinal Stafford.
The church is decorated with artworks by prominent 16th- and 17th-century masters.
Until 1797,Raphael's final masterpiece, theTransfiguration, graced the high altar. At the start of the Napoleonic period, the altarpiece was expropriated by treaty by the French. it is now in the Vatican pinacoteca. The altar currently displays a copy byCammuccini ofGuido Reni'sCrucifixion of St. Peter (also now inVatican Museums). Although there is no grave marker, tradition has it thatBeatrice Cenci—executed in 1599 for the murder of her abusive father and made famous byPercy Bysshe Shelley, among others—is buried below the high altar.[2]
The first chapel on the right containsSebastiano del Piombo'sFlagellation andTransfiguration (1516–24).[2]Michelangelo, who had befriended Sebastiano in Rome, supplied figure drawings that were incorporated into theFlagellation.
The second chapel has a fresco byNiccolò Circignani (1554), some Renaissance frescoes from the school of Pinturicchio, and an allegorical sibyl and virtue attributed toBaldassare Peruzzi.
The fourth chapel has a ceiling fresco byGiorgio Vasari.
The ceiling of the fifth chapel contains another fresco, theConversion of St. Paul, by Vasari. The altarpiece is attributed toGiulio Mazzoni, while the funerary monument ofPope Julius III and Roberto Nobili are byBartolomeo Ammannati. Also buried in the chapel is Julius III's scandalous 'nephew', CardinalInnocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte.
The last chapel on the left contains aBaptism of Christ, attributed toDaniele da Volterra, and stucco-work and ceiling frescoes byGiulio Mazzoni.
A pupil ofAntoniazzo Romano frescoed the third chapel with theSaint Anne, Virgin, and Child.
Dirck van Baburen, a central figure of theDutch Caravaggisti, painted theEntombment for the Pietà Chapel, which is indebted toCaravaggio'sexample. Baburen worked with another Dutch artist,David de Haen in this chapel.[3] The two other paintings,The Mocking of Christ andThe Agony in the Garden are variously attributed to either or both of the artists.
The second chapel on the left, theRaimondi Chapel (1640), was designed byGian Lorenzo Bernini. It includesFrancesco Baratta'sSaint Francis in Ecstasy and sculptures byAndrea Bolgi and Niccolò Sale.
At the high altar are the tombs of four Irish noblemen:Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, his sonHugh O'Neill, 4th Baron Dungannon, and a tomb shared byRory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and his brotherCathbharr, both of them younger brothers ofRed Hugh O'Donnell.[4][5] At least eleven Irish exiles were interred at San Pietro in Montorio (including Tyrone's foster-brotherHenry Hovenden), though not all have commemorative slabs.[4]
In September 1607, following increased hostility from the English-led government, these Irish noblemen fled to Catholic Europe, accompanied with ninety followers, in what is known as theFlight of the Earls.[6] Tyrconnell and Cathbharr died in 1608; Dungannon died in 1609. They all died of fever, probablymalaria,[7][4] which was caught during an ill-fated holiday toOstia in July 1608.[4] Their tombs are covered with marble inscribed slabs with coloured borders, crests and shields.[7] The tombs are about 12 feet from the altar on the left-hand side and are normally covered by a carpet.
The Earl of Tyrone died in 1616 and was buried in the church with much less solemnity, likely as he left very little funds. The original simple tombstone was lost in 1849 during theUnification of Italy, but the inscription's text was copied: "D.O.M. Hugonis principis ONelli ossa" (Dedicated to God the Best and Greatest. The bones of Prince Hugh O'Neill). In 1989, CardinalTomás Ó Fiaich laid a new marble plaque with the same inscription in approximately the original place.[7][4]
The so-calledTempietto (lit. 'small temple') is a small commemorative tomb (martyrium) designed byDonato Bramante, possibly built as early as 1502 in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio. Commissioned byFerdinand and Isabella of Spain, theTempietto is considered a masterpiece ofHigh Renaissance Italian architecture.[8] It is intended to mark the exact spot of St Peter's crucifixion.
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