A Georgia Girl in Germany

We went to San Pietro in Vincoli -- the Church of St. Peter in Chains -- on the Esquiline Hill and were greeted by a beautiful sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. Around 1505 Pope Julius II, an important patron of Michelangelo’s, commissioned the 30-year-old sculptor to design and execute the pope's sepluchre. However, Michelangelo was diverted from that task when he was tasked with painting the Sistine Chapel. When the pope died in 1513, Michelangelo worked to quickly finish the tomb. However, the tomb wasn’t completed until 1545, and then it was installed in San Pietro in Vincoli rather than in St. Peter’s Basilica as originally planned. It’s called the Tomb of Pope Julius II, even though his body actually rests at St. Peter’s.

What appears to be horns on Moses’ head are actually rays of divine light, much like a halo. There’s also a dent in Moses’ knee from when Michelangelo hurled his chisel at the statue...either from being self-critical of his work or as he screamed “Why don’t you talk?” while in awe of the life-like qualities that emerged from the marble as he worked.


While the San Pietro in Vincoli is a basilica best known for housing Michelangelo's Moses statue, it also houses the relic of chains that bound Saint Peter (above) while he was imprisoned in Jerusalem before he was martyred. However, the chains are almost anticlimactic in their presentation, especially after the magnificence of Michelangelo’s Moses. It was still pretty awe-inspiring to be so near something related to one of Jesus’ disciples. We were there on Christmas Eve, hence the nativity displayed in front of the chains.

According to legend, when Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentinian III) gifted the chains to Pope Leo I, he compared them to the chains of St. Peter's first imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison and the two chains miraculously fused together.

The basilica is also filled with other beautiful works of art. The paintings on the walls and the painted domed ceiling were very beautiful, with vivid colors.


Two things I like in just about every church or basilica are pipe organs and mosaics. San Pietro in Vincoli didn’t disappoint with either. The pipe organ was surrounded in beautiful gold, and I liked the rich blue tiles in this mosaic.

Labels: Italy, Travel