Returning to the main entrance, we will now make the tour of the basilica. Those who expect to find monuments of great historical interest will, however, be totally disappointed. Scarcely anything remains above-ground which is earlier than the sixteenth century. Of the tombs of the eighty-seven popes who were buried in the old basilica, the greater part were totally lost at its destruction,—a few were removed to other churches (those of the Piccolomini to S. Andrea della Valle, &c.), and some fragments are still to be seen in the crypt. Only two monuments were replaced in the new basilica, those of the two popes who lived in the time and excited the indignation of Savonarola—"Sixtus IV., with whose cordial concurrence the assassination of Lorenzo di Medici was attempted—and Innocent VIII., the main object of whose policy was to secure place and power for his illegitimate children."
"The side-chapels are splendid, and so large that they might serve for independent churches. The monuments and statues are numerous, but all are subordinate, or unite harmoniously with the large and beautiful proportions of the chief temple. Everything there is harmony, light, beauty—an image of the church-triumphant, but a very worldly, earthly image; and whilst the mind enjoys its splendour, the soul cannot, in the higher sense, be edified by its symbolism."—Frederika Bremer.
The first chapel on the right derives its name from the Pietà of Michael Angelo, representing the dead Saviour upon the knees of the Madonna, a work of the great artist in his twenty-fourth year, upon an order from the French ambassador, Cardinal Jean de Villiers, abbot of St. Denis. The sculptor has inscribed his name (the only instance in which he has done so) upon the girdle of the Virgin. Francis I. attempted to obtain this group from Michael Angelo in 1507, together with the statue of Christ at the Minerva, "comme de choses que l'on m'a assuré estre des plus exquises et excellentes en votre art." Opening from this chapel are two smaller ones. That on the right has a Crucifix by Pietro Cavallini; the mosaic, representing St. Nicholas of Bari, is by Christofari. That on the left is called Cappella della Colonna Santa, from a column, said to have been brought from Jerusalem, and to have been that against which our Saviour leant, when he prayed and taught in the temple. It is inscribed:
"Hæc est illa columna in qua DNS Nr Jesus XPS appodiatus dum populo prædicabat et Deo pn̄o preces in templo effundebat adhærendo, stabatque una cum aliis undeci hic circumstantibus de Salomonis templo in triumphum. Hujus Basilicæ hic locata fuit demones expellit et immundis spiritibus vexatos liberos reddit et multa miracula cotidie facit. P. reverendissimum prem̄ et Dominum Dominus. Card. de Ursinis. A.D. MDCCCXXXVIII."
A more interesting object in this chapel is the sarcophagus (once used as a font) of Anicius Probus, a prefect of Rome in the fourth century, of the great family of the Anicii, to which St. Gregory the Great belonged. Its five compartments have bas-reliefs, representing Christ and the Apostles.
Returning to the aisle, on the right, is the tomb of Leo XII., Annibale della Genga (1823—29) by Fabris; on the left is the tomb of Christina of Sweden, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, who died at Rome, 1689, by Carlo Fontana, with a bas-relief by Teudon, representing her abjuration of Protestantism in 1655, in the cathedral of Innspruck.
On the right is the altar of St. Sebastian, with a mosaic copy of Domenichino's picture at Sta. Maria degli Angeli; beyond which is the tomb of Innocent XII., Antonio Pignatelli (1691—1700). This was the last pope who wore the martial beard and moustache, which we see represented in his statue. Pignatella is Italian for a little cream-jug; in allusion to this we may see three little cream-jugs in the upper decorations of this monument, which is by Filippo Valle. On the left is the tomb, by Bernini, of the Countess Matilda, foundress of the temporal power of the popes, who died in 1115, was buried in a monastery near Mantua, and transported hither by Urban VIII. in 1635. The bas-relief represents the absolution of Henry IV. of Germany, by Hildebrand, which took place at her intercession and in her presence.
We now reach, on the right, the large Chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento, decorated with a fresco altar-piece, representing the Trinity, by Pietro da Cortona, and a tabernacle of lapis-lazuli and gilt bronze, copied from Bramante's little temple at S. Pietro in Montorio. Here is the magnificent tomb of Sixtus IV., Francesco della Rovere (1471—81), removed from the choir of the old St. Peter's, where it was erected by his nephew, Cardinal Giulio della Rovere, afterwards Pope Julius II. This pope's reign was entirely occupied with politics, and he was secretly involved in the conspiracy of the Pazzi at Florence; he was the first pope who carried nepotism to such an extent as to found a principality (Imola and Forli) for his nephew Girolamo Riario. The tomb is a beautiful work of the Florentine artist, Antonio Pollajuola, in 1493. The figure of the pope reposes upon a bronze couch, surrounded, in memory of his having taught successively in the six great universities of Italy, with allegorical bas-reliefs of Arithmetic, Astrology, Philology, Rhetoric, Grammar, Perspective, Music, Geography, Philosophy, and Theology, which last is represented like a pagan Diana, with a quiver of arrows on her shoulders. Close to this monument of his uncle, a flat stone in the pavement marks the grave of Julius II., for whom the grand tomb at S. Pietro in Vincoli was intended.
Returning to the aisle, we see on the right the tomb of Gregory XIII., Ugo Buoncompagni (1572—85), during whose reign the new calendar was invented, an event commemorated in a bas-relief upon the monument, which was not erected till 1723, and is by Camillo Rusconi. The figure of the pope (he died aged eighty-four) is in the attitude of benediction: beneath are Wisdom, represented as Minerva, and Faith, holding a tablet inscribed, "Novi opera hujus et fidem." Opposite this is the paltry tomb of Gregory XIV., Nicolo Sfrondati (1590—91).
"Le tombeau de Gregoire XIII., que le massacre de Saint Barthélemy réjouit si fort, est de marbre. Le tombeau de stuc ou d'abord il avait été placé, a été accordé, après son départ, au cendres de Grégoire XIV."—Stendhal.