A wide flight of steps, at the foot of which are statues of St. Peter by De Fabris, and St. Paul by Tadolini, lead by fine entrances to the Vestibule, which is 468 feet long, 66 feet high, and 50 feet wide. Closing it on the right is a statue of Constantine by Bernini—on the left that of Charlemagne by Cornacchini. Over the principal entrance (facing the door of the church) is the celebrated Mosaic of the Navicella, executed 1298, by Giotto, and his pupil, Pietro Cavallini.
"For the ancient basilica of St. Peter, Giotto executed his celebrated mosaic of the Navicella, which has an allegorical foundation. It represents a ship, with the disciples, on an agitated sea; the winds, personified as demons, storm against it; above appear the Fathers of the Old Testament speaking comfort to the sufferers. According to the early Christian symbolization, the ship denoted the Church. Nearer, and on the right, in a firm attitude, stands Christ, the Rock of the Church, raising Peter from the waves. Opposite sits a fisherman in tranquil expectation, denoting the hope of the believer. The mosaic has frequently changed its place, and has undergone so many restorations, that the composition alone can be attributed to Giotto. The fisherman and the figures hovering in the air are, in their present form, the work of Marcello Provenzale."—Kugler, i. 127.
"This mosaic is ill placed and ill seen for an especial reason. Early converts from paganism retained the heathen custom of turning round to venerate the sun before entering a church, so that in the old basilica, as here, the mosaic was thus placed to give a fitting object of worship. The learned Cardinal Baronius never, for a single day, during the space of thirty years, failed to bow before this symbol of the primitive Church, tossed on the stormy sea of persecution and of sin, saying, 'Lord, save me from the waves of sin as thou didst Peter from the waves of the sea.' "—Mrs. Elliot's Historical Pictures.
The magnificent central door of bronze is a remnant from the old basilica, and was made in the time of Eugenius IV., 1431—39, by Antonio Filarete, and Simone, brother of Donatello. The bas-reliefs of the compartments represent the martyrdoms of SS. Peter and Paul, and the principal events in the reign of Eugenius,—the Council of Florence, the Coronation of Sigismund, emperor of Germany, &c. The bas-reliefs of the framework are entirely mythological; Ganymede, Leda and her Swan, &c., are to be distinguished.
"Corinne fit remarquer à Lord Nelvil que sur les portes étaient représentées en bas-relief les métamorphoses d'Ovide. On ne se scandalise point à Rome, lui dit-elle, des images du paganisme, quand les beaux-arts les ont consacrées. Les merveilles du génie portent toujours à l'âme une impression religieuse, et nous faisons hommage au culte chrétien de tous les chefs-d'œuvre que les autres cultes ont inspirés."—Mad. de Staël.
Let into the wall between the doors are three remarkable inscriptions: 1. Commemorating the donation made to the church by Gregory II., of certain olive-grounds to provide oil for the lamps; 2. The bull of Boniface VIII., 1300, granting the indulgence proclaimed at every jubilee; 3. In the centre, the Latin epitaph of Adrian I. (Colonna, 772-95), by Charlemagne,[330] one of the most ancient memorials of the papacy:
"The father of the Church, the ornament of Rome, the famous writer Adrian, the blessed pope, rests in peace:
God was his life, love was his law, Christ was his glory;
He was the apostolic shepherd, always ready to do that which was right.
Of noble birth, and descended from an ancient race,
He received a still greater nobility from his virtues.
The pious soul of this good shepherd was always bent
Upon ornamenting the temples consecrated to God.
He gave gifts to the churches, and sacred dogmas to the people;
And showed us all the way to heaven.
Liberal to the poor, his charity was second to none,
And he always watched over his people in prayer.
By his teachings, his treasures, and his buildings, he raised,
O illustrious Rome, thy monuments, to be the honour of the town and of the world.
Death could not injure him, for its sting was taken away by the death of Christ;
It opened for him the gate of the better life.
I, Charles, have written these verses, while weeping for my father;
O my father, my beloved one, how lasting is my grief for thee.
Dost thou think upon me, as I follow thee constantly in spirit;
Now reign blessed with Christ in the heavenly kingdom.
The clergy and people have loved you with a heart-love,
Thou wert truly the love of the world, O excellent priest.
O most illustrious, I unite our two names and titles,
Adrian and Charles, the king and the father.
O thou who readest these verses, say with pious heart the prayer;
O merciful God, have pity upon them both.
Sweetly slumbering, O friend, may thy earthly body rest in the grave,
And thy spirit wander in bliss with the saints of the Lord
Till the last trumpet sounds in thine ears,
Then arise with Peter to the contemplation of God.
Yes, I know that thou wilt hear the voice of the merciful judge
Bid thee to enter the paradise of thy Saviour.
Then, O great father, think upon thy son,
And ask, that with the father the son may enter into joy.
Go, blessed father, enter into the kingdom of Christ,
And thence, as an intercessor, help thy people with thy prayers.
Even so long as the sun rolls upon its fiery axis,
Shall thy glory, O heavenly father, remain in the world.
Adrian the pope, of blessed memory, reigned for three-and-twenty years, ten months, and seventeen days, and died on the 25th of December."
The walled-up door on the right is the Porta Santa, only opened for the jubilee, which has taken place every twenty-fifth year (except 1850) since the time of Sixtus IV. The pope himself gives the signal for the destruction of the wall on the Christmas-eve before the sacred year.