St. Peter in Chains is the English name of the church that contains a lighted and elegant box in an altar niche containing the chains that are beleived to have held Peter when he was imprisoned in Rome, but that was not my goal.
Michaelangelo's massive Moses was one of my top two mental wishes and it wasn't until the end of a busy week that we finally walked through the massive doors of San Pietro en Vicoli. We cut through ancient Roman alleys and found hidden staircases between streets. Arriving a half hour early we used stone benches on the porch to rest and I drew the arch capital at the gate. I knew Moses would be on the front right wall but there were many of us waiting, so I started on the back left, amazed at the number of grim reaper and skull themed art works that seemed contemporary. The crowd thinned near the front and I was disappointed by extensive renovation scaffolding hiding the 3 story wall of sculptures.
Michaelangelo was working on this tomb for Pope Julius II when he was summoned to paint the Sistine chapel. It is not as large or decorative as he had envisioned even though he kept returning to work on it. When Julius died the funding stopped and he wasn't buried here, and parts of Michaelangelo's plan were moved to other locations. Moses wore a dark shadow across his face from the steel pipe scaffold. This was a lovely, holy and dramatic space. I'll have to come back another time to see it all restored.
So many beautiful things. Each time I've been to Europe I've been affected by the antiquity and art. But, like your shots, half the stuff seems to be in restoration, renovation. What a daunting task, so many important things to preserve.
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