Façade of St. Peter's Basilica
Iosephus
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Construction of the Façade of St. Peter's Basilica
Paul V, Regnal Year 3 (1608)
Bronze, 56.8 mm Ø, 59.2 g
Obverse: Bust of Paul V facing right, bareheaded, wearing a decorative cope featuring a standing saint. Around, PAVLVS · V · BVRGHESIVS ROM · PONT · MAX · A · S · M · DC · VIII · PONT · III · . Beneath the bust, P · SANQVIRIC · .
Reverse: Frontal view of the façade of St. Peter's Basilica. Above, TEM · D · PETRI · - IN · VATICANO . Below, in exergue, ET · PORTAE · INFERI · NON / PRAEVALEBVNT .
Obverse Inscription:
PAULUS V BURGHESIUS ROM[ANUS] PONT[IFEX] MAX[IMUS] A[NNO] S[ALUTIS] M DC VIII PONT[IFICATUS] III
Paul V Borghese, Supreme Roman Pontiff, In the Year of Thanks 1608, the Third Year of His Pontificate
Reverse Inscriptions:
TEM[PLUM] D[IVI] PETRI IN VATICANO
The Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican
ET PORTAE INFERI NON PRAEVALEBUNT
And the Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail
Medalist: Paolo Sanquirico
Foundation medal for the façade of the new Saint Peter's Basilica. It is interesting that this piece was cast, as striking medals had in general superseded casting by this time, allowing for greater detail and larger emissions. It is possible that casting was chosen to connect this medal to the first foundation for the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which is also of the same size. Casting was also feasible as a relatively small amount of medals would be required for the foundation ceremony. The reverse illustrates the planned design for the façade by the architect Carlo Maderno. The exergual inscription on the reverse is taken from Matthew 16:18; Et ego dico tibi: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversum eam (And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it).
One of the first tasks Paul V undertook was to complete the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which had been under construction for over 100 years, the first foundation stone being laid in 1506. Carlo Maderno was appointed as the architect charged with completing the structure. The two main tasks included designnig an extension the nave of the church (forming a Latin cross instead of the Greek cross from Michelangelo's plans) and designing the façade for the grand structure. Unfortunately, the extension of the nave destroyed the view of the front of the church. Though the view on the medal might be correct from a purely orthographic projection, the actual view from in front of the basilica finds the two small side domes completely obscured and the large central dome nearly so. On February 10, 1608, the first stone of the façade was blessed by the pope and ceremoniously laid into place.
An extremely fine casting, the obverse a little soft, but with excellent detail on the reverse. Cast on a thin flan and darkly patinated, likely to be an original or contemporary cast. Plate medal for Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume IV by Adolfo Modesti.
Paul V, Regnal Year 3 (1608)
Bronze, 56.8 mm Ø, 59.2 g
Obverse: Bust of Paul V facing right, bareheaded, wearing a decorative cope featuring a standing saint. Around, PAVLVS · V · BVRGHESIVS ROM · PONT · MAX · A · S · M · DC · VIII · PONT · III · . Beneath the bust, P · SANQVIRIC · .
Reverse: Frontal view of the façade of St. Peter's Basilica. Above, TEM · D · PETRI · - IN · VATICANO . Below, in exergue, ET · PORTAE · INFERI · NON / PRAEVALEBVNT .
Obverse Inscription:
PAULUS V BURGHESIUS ROM[ANUS] PONT[IFEX] MAX[IMUS] A[NNO] S[ALUTIS] M DC VIII PONT[IFICATUS] III
Paul V Borghese, Supreme Roman Pontiff, In the Year of Thanks 1608, the Third Year of His Pontificate
Reverse Inscriptions:
TEM[PLUM] D[IVI] PETRI IN VATICANO
The Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican
ET PORTAE INFERI NON PRAEVALEBUNT
And the Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail
Medalist: Paolo Sanquirico
Foundation medal for the façade of the new Saint Peter's Basilica. It is interesting that this piece was cast, as striking medals had in general superseded casting by this time, allowing for greater detail and larger emissions. It is possible that casting was chosen to connect this medal to the first foundation for the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which is also of the same size. Casting was also feasible as a relatively small amount of medals would be required for the foundation ceremony. The reverse illustrates the planned design for the façade by the architect Carlo Maderno. The exergual inscription on the reverse is taken from Matthew 16:18; Et ego dico tibi: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversum eam (And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it).
One of the first tasks Paul V undertook was to complete the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which had been under construction for over 100 years, the first foundation stone being laid in 1506. Carlo Maderno was appointed as the architect charged with completing the structure. The two main tasks included designnig an extension the nave of the church (forming a Latin cross instead of the Greek cross from Michelangelo's plans) and designing the façade for the grand structure. Unfortunately, the extension of the nave destroyed the view of the front of the church. Though the view on the medal might be correct from a purely orthographic projection, the actual view from in front of the basilica finds the two small side domes completely obscured and the large central dome nearly so. On February 10, 1608, the first stone of the façade was blessed by the pope and ceremoniously laid into place.
An extremely fine casting, the obverse a little soft, but with excellent detail on the reverse. Cast on a thin flan and darkly patinated, likely to be an original or contemporary cast. Plate medal for Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume IV by Adolfo Modesti.
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Comments
Its interesting that so many medals featured St Peters from the foundation until fairly recently. I pick them up as they become available and have 8-10 so far of this "mini-set" but unfortunately not this type.
Incidently, a variety of the reverse exergue legend was used on the coinage as well. For instance, it is used on a piastra of Innocent XI also featuring the facade of St Peters.
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
<< <i>Its interesting that so many medals featured St Peters from the foundation until fairly recently. >>
That is something that has interested me also. As far as I can know, the new St. Peter's Basilica is the only structure in the world who's multi-century construction from the very beginning has been numismatically recorded so completely.
I believe there was an exhibition by the Vatican a few years ago to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the basilica which displayed the Vatican's collection of medals related to the construction. I'm currently working on acquiring the exhibition catalog from the Vatican, and am hoping to get to view some of their treasures illustrated within.
Virtus Collection - Renaissance and Baroque Medals
And slight changes are reflected which is even more fun.
The exhibit catalogue sounds very interesting. Please share the citation if you're successful in getting a copy. Thanks