San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains) 4.26.10

The Chains of St Peter

We had hoped that taking pictures would capture and share the experience, but that is an impossible task. A photo reflects only the beauty of what it sees but not the scale of it or the breeze on your neck or the sound of foreign murmers in the crowd. It is the best of what we could bring home.

San Pietro in Vincoli was an incredibly worthwhile stop and a fantastically beautiful church. A brief 10 minute walk from the Colosseum brought us right to the steps where Michaelangelo's Moses was housed. This was his last unassisted work and took nearly 30 years to complete. It is magnificent and the scale is large compared to the rest of the church, which was said to originally be planned as a much larger building. But it does not look out of place.

Above the Altar

It is hard to imagine the church being any more grand than it already is. It was built in the 5th century and adaptations to it continued from the 8th - 15th centuries. Pope Julius II is emtombed here. At the altar in a gilt and lit box which holds the actual shackles and chains that bound the hands and feet of Saint Peter. Saint Peter! It was amazing to stand before the physical manifestation tthat dates back to the man who was the cornerstone of the Christian church. We lit prayer candles and thought of the people we love.

Michaelangelo's Moses

I have wondered about the horns on Moses, too, and it was explained that the Hebrew word for radiant was mis-translated as horned and so it was sculpted in that way. The marble statue sits in the open to the right of the altar and is separated by a simple respectful fence. Natural light spills down from the roof above, probably similar to how it looked the day it was placed here hundreds of years ago. Awesome.

Notice the frescoes covering the ceiling and walls and nave. Moses was one of the many historical relics but we found the entire church to be a magnificent work of art. What a treasure.