In Old St. Peter's Basilica, the papal tombs were the final resting places of the popes, most of which dated from the 5th to 16th centuries.
Along with the repeated translations from the ancient catacombs of Rome and two fourteenth century fires in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the rebuilding of St. Peter's is responsible for the destruction of approximately half of all papal tombs.
As a result, Donato Bramante, the chief architect of modern St. Peter's Basilica, has been remembered as "Mastro Ruinante" ("master wrecker").
[3] Very little is known about the placement and appearance of the original tombs: one of the most valuable accounts is that of church canon and historian Giacomo Grimaldi (a senator of Genoa and the father of Girolamo Grimaldi-Cavalleroni), who sketched the tombs as they were moved around the basilica on the way to their destruction;[4] Grimaldi's sketches record the shape and complexity of the early tombs, many of which were three-tiered.
[2] A few destroyed papal tombs are also detailed in the writings of Alphonsus Ciacconius.
A sketch by Giacomo Grimaldi of the interior of St. Peter's during its reconstruction, showing the temporary placement of some of the tombs
A map, circa 1590, by
Tiberio Alfarano
of the interior of Old Saint Peter's, noting the locations of the original chapels and tombs.
[
3
]
Algardi's
Fuga d'Attila
, above the altar containing the translated remains of Pope Leo I, "the Great"
The altar above the translated remains of Pope Gregory I, "the Great"
A drawing of the original tomb of Pope Leo III
The
atrium
of Old St. Peter's Basilica, a popular site for tombs
Drawing of papal tombs, from
De sacris aedificiis...
by
Giovanni Ciampini
(1693)
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
Drawing of papal tombs
An
early Christian sarcophagus
in which Pope Gregory V was buried after his tomb was discovered beneath the pavement during the demolition
The sarcophagus of Pope Adrian IV, which is extant in the Vatican Grottoes
Drawing of the tomb of Boniface VIII together with a shrine to Boniface IV
The extant sarcophagus of Boniface VIII
The nearly dumped sarcophagus of Urban VI
The remains of Pope Innocent VII were translated to a copy of the original sarcophagus.
The sarcophagus of Pope Nicholas V
The sarcophagus of Pope Paul II
The tomb of Pope Innocent VIII was the first to depict a live pontiff.
