Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the roped-off left transept behind the
Pier of St Veronica
, the
Cappella della Madonna della Co-
lonna
takes its name from the image of the Madonna that once adorned the old basilica but
now stares out from Giacomo della Porta's marble altar. To its right, above the
tomb of St
Leo the Great
, is a particularly fine relief by the baroque sculptor Alessandro Algardi. Op-
posite it, under the next arch, is Bernini's last work in the basilica, the
monument to Alexander
VII
.
About halfway down the left aisle, the cupola of the
Cappella Clementina
is named after
Clement VIII (d 1605), who had Giacomo della Porta decorate it for the Jubilee of 1600.
Beneath the altar is the
tomb of St Gregory the Great
and, above it, a mosaic representing the
Miracolo di San Giorgio
(Miracle of St George), inspired by a work of Andrea Sacchi. To
the left is a classical
monument to Pope Pius VII
by Thorvaldsen.
In the next arch, Alessandro Algardi's 16th-century
monument to Leo XI
depicts the
bearded Medici pope seemingly weighed down by the weight of the job. Beyond it, the
richly decorated
Cappella del Coro
was created by Giovanni Battista Ricci to designs by Gi-
acomo della Porta; Bernini designed the elegant choir stalls. The
monument to Innocent VIII
by
Antonio Pollaiuolo (in the next aisle arch) is a recreation of a monument from the old ba-
silica.
Continuing back towards the front of the basilica, the
Cappella della Presentazione
contains
two of St Peter's most modern works: a black relief
monument to John XXIII
by Emilio Greco,
and a
monument to Benedict XV
by Pietro Canonica. Under the next arch are the so-called
Stu-
art monuments
. On the right is the monument to Clementina Sobieska, wife of James Stuart,
by Filippo Barigioni, and on the left is Canova's vaguely erotic monument to the last three
members of the Stuart clan, the pretenders to the English throne who died in exile in
Rome.
