Catalogus sacrarum Reliquiarum almae Vaticanae Basilicae

Name of text: Catalogus sacrarum Reliquiarum almae Vaticanae Basilicae
Author of text: Giacomo Grimaldi
Date of text: 17th century
Date of person in text: lived early 17th century
Name of structure in text: Vatican, Oratory of S. Maria in Turri
Type of structure in text: chapel
Date of structure in text Constructed by Paul I (757-67), rest. by Innocent II (1130-43)
Century of structure 1: 8 AD
Century of structure 2: 12 AD
Country in text: Italy
Region in text: Lazio
City in text: Rome
Specific place of mosaic in text:
Description of mosaic in text:

Christ in the centre of a starry circle, holds book in left hand, right hand raised in blessing.  On each side three angels rush towards him.  Two pairs of nimbed figures below, each offering up a crown.    

Mosaic date in text: 8 AD
Tesserae silver mentioned in text? No
Tesserae gold mentioned in text? No
Colour descriptions in text:
Bibliography:

Grimaldi, Giacomo, Catalogus sacrarum Reliquiarum almae Vaticanae Basilicae, fol. 68, quoted in Eugene Muntz, ‘The Lost Mosaics of Rome IV to IX Century’, The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, 2.3 (1886), 295-313, see p. 301

URLs:
Comments:

Chapel constructed by Paul I (757-67) who did mosaics, and restored by Innocent II (1130-43). Diary of Antonio di Pietro tells us that the entire left side fell under the pontificate of John XXIII (1410-19). Muntz says facade destroyed in 1610. Church demolished at the end of the 17th C. Mosaic adorned the upper part of the façade and appears in drawings that accompany the mss. of the antiquarian Giacomo Grimaldi (lived early 17th C), apostolic notary and archivist of the basilica of S. Peter.

Previous Next