Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome. (Part Two)

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Lenten Station is held at the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles on Friday of Ember Week in Lent.

The Apse in the Church of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.

Photo: August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Luc.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Melozzo da Forlì painted, on the Ceiling of the great Chapel, the Ascension of Our Lord. According to Giorgio Vasari, "the figure of Christ is so admirably foreshortened as to appear to pierce the vault; and, in the same manner, the Angels are seen sweeping through the field of air in two opposite directions." This painting was executed for Cardinal Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, about the year 1472. During the dramatic renovation of the Church, it was removed and placed in the Quirinal Palace in 1711, where it is still seen, bearing this inscription: "Opus Melotii Foroliviensis, qui summos fornices pingendi artem vel primus invenit vel illustravit". Several heads of the Apostles, which surrounded it, and were likewise cut away, were deposited in the Vatican palace.

The twelve Chapels in total, with three domed ones on each side, are adorned with marbles and fine paintings; the painting in the first Chapel, to the right, is by Nicola Lapiccola; and that in the next by Corrado Giaquinto. The Chapel of Saint Anthony contains eight fine marble Columns, and a painting by Benedetto Luti.

The first Chapel, on the right-hand side, is the Chapel of the Immaculate. It has a 15th-Century Madonna, donated by Cardinal Bessarion (1403–1472).

English: The Ceiling of the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.

Español: Roma. SS. Apostoli, bóveda. Baciccio, Caída de los ángeles rebeldes.

Photo: May 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: MiguelHermoso

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Chapel of the Crucifixion, on the right-hand side, is divided into a Nave and two Aisles. The eight Columns are from the 6th-Century Church. The tomb of Raffaele della Rovere (died 1477), brother of Pope Sixtus IV and father of Pope Julius II, is found in the Chapel on the left side of the Crypt. It was designed by Andrea Bregno.

The Confessio was constructed in 1837. During its construction, the relics of Saint James and Saint Philip, which were taken from the Catacombs in the 9th-Century to protect them from invaders, were rediscovered. The wall paintings are reproductions of ancient Catacomb paintings. An inscription explains that Pope Stephen IV walked barefoot in 886 A.D. from the Catacombs to the Church carrying the relics on his shoulders. The other Chapels were decorated 1876-1877.

Pope Clement XIV (1769–1774) is buried in the last Chapel on the left side, near the door of the Sacristy. His Neo-Classical tomb is by Antonio Canova, made in 1783-1787. Besides the statue of that Pope, there are two uncommonly fine figures of"Temperance" and "Clemency". This was the first major work that Canova did in Rome.

The High Altar, Santi Apostoli, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

(Wikimedia Commons)

Beyond the Sacristy is the Chapel of Saint Francis, painted by Giuseppe Chiari. On the Altar of the following Chapel, the second Chapel on the left has an Altarpiece from 1777 by Giuseppe Cades, depicting Saint Joseph of Cupertino. The two Columns of verde antico, green marble, are the largest known in that type of stone. The "Descent of the Cross", on the Altar of the last Chapel, is a famous work of Francesco Manno.

On the second Pillar, on the left side, is the epitaph of Cardinal Bessarion, and a 16th-Century portrait of him. His mortal remains were moved here in 1957.

For a short time, the Basilica housed the tomb of Michelangelo, before its transportation to the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze. Upon the death of James Francis Edward Stuart, his body lay in repose here in 1776 before he was buried with his wife at Saint Peter's Basilica.

THIS ENDS THE ARTICLE ON THE BASILICA OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES, ROME.