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| “CHRISTIAN ROME”: The Visits |
| BASILICA S. PIETRO IN VINCOLI |
From USD$ 21 |
Duration: 2 hours
Beginning of Itinerary: Line A “St. Peter”, Stop
14 (Fori Imperiali) not on Sunday |
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| Ascend to the top of Oppio Hill and enjoy
a double experience of an encounter with a moving relic
of St. Peter and one of the greatest sculpture works of
Michelangelo: Moses. In the 5th century, Empress Eudossia,
during a trip to Constantinople, received as a gift the
chains that held St. Peter in Jerusalem. Eudossia sent
them her daughter Eudossia Minor in Rome who donated them
to Pope Leo. In Rome other chains had already been preserved,
those of the imprisonment of Peter in the Mamertino prison.
When the Pope made a comparison of the two sets of chains,
they miraculously fused together. In memory of this event,
the Church of St. Peter in Chains was erected in the year
442 A.D. Tour the main altar where the chains are preserved
in a small glass urn. Under the altar the Maccabees are
buried, seven heroic Hebrew brothers who, before Christ,
accepted martyrdom rather than renounce their faith in
front of the Hellenic king, strong in their belief in
resurrection. The Catholic Church, despite the fact that
they are Hebrews, an almost entirely singular case, recognizes
them as prophetic martyrs among its saints. See the beautiful
altars of the lateral naves and then the tomb of Julius
II with the famous statue of Moses, the work of Michelangelo.
The tomb of Julius II, commissioned in 1505, was one of
the most laborious artistic endeavors of Michelangelo.
The initial project called for the realization of a funeral
monument in pyramidal form rich with 40 statues. The project
was grounded thanks to the same pope. After the death
of Julius II in 1513, Michelangelo completed only Moses
and the Prisons. The tomb was finished by his students.
Finding oneself in front of just the strength and severity
of this Moses, who descending from Sinai sees the rebellion
of his people; ask yourself what the tomb of Julius II
would have been if it had been realized according to the
original plan. After the visit to the basilica through
a guided route, return to the top of Oppio Hill. Here,
from the high point of the square above admire the entire
area within the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the
Palatino and the Roman Forum. |
Tour departures: Every working day and holiday
from 9:00am to 2:00pm
Maximum number of participants: 25 people |
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