San Pietro in Vincoli is a fifth century church built to house the chains (
vincoli) with which Saint Peter was bound in Jerusalem. The chains were given to
Pope Leo I, who compared them to St. Peter's chains from the
Mamertine Prison. The two chains miraculously fused together. The church has been rebuilt several times but has the original Doric columns in the nave.
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| Nave |
The ceiling fresco is the Miracle of the Chains by
Giovanni Battista Parodi in 1705.
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| Miracle of the Chains fresco |
The reliquary with the chains is right under the main altar, where they also set up the most modest nativity scene we saw in any Roman church (our Roman visit was back in early January 2014).
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| Main altar |
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| J by the chains and the nativity |
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| The nativity |
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| The chains |
The church is also known for
Michelangelo's
Tomb of Pope Julius II. The original plan was for a vast tomb with over 40 statues, but other projects (like
St. Peter's Basilica and
The Last Judgement in the
Sistine Chapel) got in the way. Michelangelo did sculpt an amazing statue of Moses as part of the tomb.
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| Front view of Tomb of Pope Julius II |
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| Moses looking at you |
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| Moses |
The statue is famous for the fineness of its working and for the two horns on Moses's head. In Hebrew, the words for "beams of light" and "horns" are very close, and naturally it's easier to sculpt horns than beams of light.
Several other grim but fascinating tombs line the church's interior walls.
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| Tomb with skeletons |
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| Tomb of Cardinal Aldobrandini |
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| Mosaic of St. Sebastian |
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| More decorations at the back of the church |
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