©2022 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Some of Rome’s major most beloved sights are what visitors aspire to lay their eyes on while visiting the Holy City…the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain, just to name a few.
Bursting with history, the city offers many museums, churches and ancient archeological sites which detail the city’s bygone times. Amongst these stand-out attractions, however, there are many hidden gems. While visitors certainly have their pick of other attractions on the way to each of these places, it may be hard to discern which are worthy of a peek inside and I make it my mission to find these hidden gems…many of them, churches.
Last spring, while plotting my route to the Domus Aureus, I spotted a church a few blocks from the Coliseum. I had planned to leave with plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and take some photos of the Coliseum, so I decided to add this detour and mark off another church from my list (yes, I am obsessed with seeing all churches in Rome!).
As I exited the Cavour metro station and marched up Oppian Hill, I became a bit confused. Although I was operating on little sleep, I could not figure out if this was my intended destination. The façade of the the supposed church was extremely plain and situated next to a university building. In fact, spotting students chatting and reading on the adjoined steps, I thought it to be an extension of the university edifice.
Fully expecting to interrupt a classroom full of scholars, engaged in a discussion on world politics, I marched up to the conventional brown door, set inside a narrow portico, and pushed it open.
No stern professor glared back at me for the abrupt interruption…
This was San Pietro in Vincoli, or St. Peter in Chains, the church that houses the restraints that bound St. Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem.
Formerly known as Basilica Eudoxiana, it was built on older foundations during a span of eight years, starting in 432. Consecrated in 439, it was to become the place that would house the shackles that kept St. Peter imprisoned.
The chains from Saint Peter’s Jerusalem confinement were passed from Iuvenalis, Bishop of Jerusalem, to Aelia Eudocia (consort of Valentinian II) and then given to her daughter, Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentinian III). They were then gifted, by the Empress, to Pope Leo I. Legend states that on August 1, when Pope Leo I compared them to the chains of St. Peter’s final imprisonment in the Rome’s Mamertime Prison, the two chains fused together prompting the pope to initiate the construction of a place where this miracle could be viewed by the faithful.
The church contains a main nave and two aisles and normally, I would first work my way through each aisle to see the side chapels. This time, I headed straight for the main altar. There was something special here that I needed to see.
Underneath the main altar, accessed by an open stairway, I found these important relics, housed in a reliquary in a lighted case and flanked by statues. Judging by todays standards and chains that I have seen used in various applications, these appear to be thin and quite flimsy. That being said, even with these restraining me, I probably could have not escaped imprisonment and I was moved knowing that these iron manacles once touched the flesh of Saint Peter.
My inquisitiveness satisfied, I moved on, focusing my attention on the other important aspect of San Pietro in Vincoli. While the basilica is more commonly known for the chains of Saint Peter, it is also very well known for being the home of Michelangelo’s statue of Moses which guards the tomb of Pope Julius II. Located on the right side of the church, the imposing funeral monument was originally intended to be part of a massive forty-seven foot statue. Instead, it became the centerpiece of the Pope’s tomb. There is much to analyze in the massive sculptural piece, however, take a hard look at Moses…he is depicted with horns, connoting “the radiance of the Lord”, a symbol that was common in early sacred art and easier to sculpt than rays of light.
Naturally, I proceeded to move through the two side aisles and the two side altars, inspecting the chapels and beautiful works displayed in each as well as glancing above at the 18th century coffered ceiling. This great work of art displays the Miracle of the Chains, by Giovanni Battista Parodi, depicting the healing of Saint Balbina by Pope Alexander as he touches the neck goiter with the chains that once bound Saint Peter.
Artistry decorating the basilica include a painting depicting the Liberation of St. Peter (Domenichino,1604), Deposition (Cristoforo Roncalli) on the altarpiece on the first chapel on the left, the tomb of Cardinal Nicholas of Kues and its relief, Cardinal Nicholas before St. Peter. Other notable tombs include the one of Florentine sculptor, Antonio del Pollaiuolo (left side of entrance) who added the figures of Romulus and Remus to the sculpture of the Capitoline Wolf, the tomb of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini and tombs once believe to be the seven Maccabean martyrs depicted in 2 Maccabees 7-14.
The third altar in the left aisle holds a beautiful mosaic of Saint Sebastian from the seventh century which depicts Saint Sebastian’s posthumous role in ceasing the plague in northern Italy in 680. Pay close attention to the frescoes as they illustrate skeletons and other images not often shown in Catholic churches.
As I exited the facility and walked around the peripheral, I was once again struck at its simplistic nature. Disguised by the activities of La Sapienza University next door, housed in the former associated convent, one might never know that they are walking past one of the most illustrious churches in the city.
Yes, on this day, I found one of the city’s hidden gems.
San Pietro in Vincoli
- https://www.sanpietroinvincoli.com/
- Address: Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli 4/a, Roma, Italy 00184
- Hours: Daily, 0800-1230 and 1500-1900
- Admission: free
- Getting There: By Metro, Cavour, Line B. By Bus, number 75, 84 and 117