Mausoleum of Honorius
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The Mausoleum of Honorius was a
late antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...
circular
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
and the burial place of the Roman emperor Honorius and other 5th-century imperial family members. Constructed for the ''
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
'' of the
western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
beside Old St Peter's Basilica in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, the Mausoleum of Honorius was the last Roman imperial mausoleum built. It became the Chapel of St Petronilla, dedicated to
Saint Petronilla Petronilla (Aurelia Petronilla) is an early Christian saint. She was venerated as a virgin martyr by the Catholic Church. She died in Rome at the end of the 1st century, or possibly in the 3rd century. Identity Petronilla is traditionally iden ...
, the purported daughter of
Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
. Her
relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
were
translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the mausoleum in 757 at the behest of
Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...
, king of
Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
. Its association with the medieval
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
continued until the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, and it was known by the or . The mausoleum was demolished in late November 1519, during the construction of
St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
.


History


Construction

The empress Maria died before 408, but the building may not have been complete at that time; it may have been begun any time between around 400 and 415. Maria's early death itself may have prompted the mausoleum's construction. The mausoleum was built next to the
Vatican Rotunda Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, another round structure on the
Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The anc ...
to which the Mausoleum of Honorius was very similar in size and plan. The Vatican Rotunda appears to have been constructed on the ''spina'' (central barrier) of the
Circus of Nero The Circus of Nero or Circus of Caligula was a circus in ancient Rome, located mostly in the present-day Vatican City. Location and dimensions The accompanying plan shows an early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus and the m ...
, a 1st-century AD
Roman circus The Roman circus (from the Latin word that means "circle") was a large open-air venue used for public events in the ancient Roman Empire. The circuses were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although circuses served varying purposes and di ...
whose ''spina'' was also the site of the
Vatican Obelisk The city of Rome harbours thirteen ancient obelisks, the most in the world. There are eight ancient Egyptian and five ancient Roman obelisks in Rome, together with a number of more modern obelisks; there was also until 2005 an ancient Ethiopia ...
. Aligned with the obelisk and the Vatican Rotunda, it has been suggested that the Mausoleum in fact pre-dated Honorius's
Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...
and was contemporary with the Rotunda, constructed under the
Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome, Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period (chronology), Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), w ...
in the 3rd century. However, the connection between the Mausoleum of Honorius and the ''Basilica Constantiniana'' (Old St Peter's) at the latter's south transept indicates the former was built subsequent to the basilica. The Mausoleum of Honorius and
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
's St Peter's Basilica had the same floor level, while the Vatican Rotunda's floor level was much lower, though the foundations of each are assumed to be at a similar level. As a result, the mausoleum probably included a significant space between the foundations and the interior floor. Under the arch of each of the mausoleum's seven niches, a vaulted brick chamber (''
sacellum In ancient Roman religion, a ''sacellum'' is a small shrine. The word is a diminutive from ''sacrum'' (neuter of ''sacer'', "belonging to a god"). The numerous ''sacella'' of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private properties by fa ...
'') existed some beneath the floor, within which the
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
would have been laid. This arrangement has parallels with the podia of the tombs of the emperor
Galerius Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the D ...
and his mother Romula at
Romuliana Gamzigrad ( sr-Cyrl, , ) is an archaeological site, spa resort and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serbia, located south of the Danube river, in the city of Zaječar. It is the location of the ancient Roman complex of palaces and temples Felix Rom ...
. However, it is possible that the brick chambers were not part of the original plan, and that the imperial sarcophagi were vaulted over with a higher floor at a later period. Perhaps this was to protect them from damage or was part of the mausoleum's 8th-century conversion into the Chapel of St Petronilla.


Burials

The first burial inside the mausoleum was that of the ''augusta''
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
, daughter of
Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius ...
and first wife of Honorius. The first emperor of the Theodosian dynasty to be entombed there was Honorius himself, buried in 424. Honorius's second wife Thermantia was very likely also buried there; even though she was repudiated by Honorius not long after they wed, Thermantia remained an imperial family member by marriage and by birth, and according to
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
she lived in Rome after her divorce from the emperor. Theodosius, the first son of the ''augusta''
Galla Placidia Galla Placidia (388–89/392–93 – 27 November 450), daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was a mother, tutor, and advisor to emperor Valentinian III, and a major force in Roman politics for most of her life. She was List of Visigothi ...
by her first husband
Athaulf Athaulf (also ''Athavulf'', ''Atawulf'', or ''Ataulf'' and ''Adolf'', Latinized as ''Ataulphus'') ( 37015 August 415) was king of the Visigoths from 411 to 415. During his reign, he transformed the Visigothic state from a tribal kingdom to a maj ...
,
king of the Visigoths The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
, was recorded by
Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at B ...
as buried there in 450. Her son
Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
, from her second marriage to
Constantius III Constantius III was briefly Western Roman emperor of the West in 421. He earned his position as Emperor due to his capability as a general under Honorius, achieving the rank of ''magister militum'' by 411. That same year, he suppressed the r ...
, was probably buried in the same mausoleum, but this information is not recorded explicitly. Honorius's sister, Galla Placidia, her husband the ''augustus''
Constantius III Constantius III was briefly Western Roman emperor of the West in 421. He earned his position as Emperor due to his capability as a general under Honorius, achieving the rank of ''magister militum'' by 411. That same year, he suppressed the r ...
, and her sons Theodosius and
Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
were probably buried there. It was later the probable tomb of the western ''augusti''
Libius Severus Libius Severus (died 465), sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was Roman emperor, emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 461 to his death in 465. A native of Lucania,Cassiodorus, ''Chronicle''; ''Chronica Gallica of 511'', s:la:Chronica galli ...
and
Olybrius Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as ''Augustus'' in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling ''Augustus'' in the eastern Roman ...
. The sarcophagi were buried beneath the floor of the mausoleum, beneath the niches in the walls. Like the Mausoleum of Constantine connected with the
Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, the Mausoleum of Honorius was a "symbol of the elevated status of the emperors", since the imperial mausolea of the emperors were symbolic of the
deification of Roman emperors The Roman imperial cult identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (''auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the early ...
, the . Imperial mausolea during late antiquity were probably used in the manner of a
heroön A heroön or heroon (plural heroa) (; , pl. ), also latinized as ''heroum'', is a shrine dedicated to an ancient Greek or Roman hero and used for the commemoration or cult worship of the hero. They were often erected over his or her supposed t ...
, for commemorative meals in honour of the deceased, as the centre of a family cult including sacrifices to the dead, and during
Parentalia In ancient Rome, the Parentalia () or ''dies parentales'' (, "ancestral days") was a nine-day festival held in honor of family ancestors, beginning on 13 February. Although the Parentalia was a holiday on the Roman religious calendar, its observa ...
, the
Roman festival Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in religion in ancient Rome, Roman religious life during both the Roman Republic, Republican and Roman Empire, Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feri ...
of the dead in February. This was generally separate from the public commemoration of divinized imperial figures; these were usually associated with the honorand's official birthday () and their public temples. Honorius's brother
Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
, ''augustus'' in the east, was buried in the "South ''Stoa''" of the Church of the Holy Apostles. In the 4th century another pair of sibling-''augusti'', the emperors
Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
and
Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...
had governed the eastern and western provinces of the empire respectively; when Valentinian died Valens arranged for his brother to be buried in the Mausoleum of Constantine. It appears no such plan was ever contemplated for the remains of Honorius.


Chapel

The building was remembered as a mausoleum in the 8th century. The structure is twice referred to as such in the ''
Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867 ...
'', in the biographies first of Pope Stephen II () and then his successor
Pope Paul I Pope Paul I ( la, Paulus I; 70028 June 767) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the emerging Papal States from 29 May 757 to his death. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiation ...
(). Knowledge of its identity as a site of imperial burials is not definitively attested and it appears the identity of its occupants had been forgotten and the burials concealed. In 757, Paul I ordered the translation of the relics of St Petronilla to the mausoleum of Honorius. His predecessor Stephen II had already, according to the ''Liber'', converted the structure adjacent to the chapel of St Andrew into a chapel dedicated to St Petronilla and had made an undertaking to the king of
Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
,
Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...
, that he would translate her relics to the building.


Demolition

For the construction of the 16th-century
St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
, the 4th-century Constantinian building was gradually demolished, together with all its chapels, by order of
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
. The Mausoleum of Honorius (''S. Petronilla'') and the
Vatican Rotunda Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
were demolished to make way for the far larger ground-plan of the Renaissance basilica. The Mausoleum of Honorius itself was destroyed in late November 1519, in the reign of
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...
. The building has never been the subject of
archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
, though surviving parts of it may remain beneath the south transept of St Peter's Basilica.


Architecture

The mausoleum was a rotunda with a hemispherical
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
. According to Giacomo Grimaldi, it was built of
Roman brick Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick used in Ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type inspired by the ancient prototypes. In both cases, it characteristically has longer and f ...
. The mausoleum connected to the
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
built on the site of Saint Peter's tomb by
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
. The southern
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
of the basilica opened onto a vestibule from which one entered the rotunda. The building's
floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...
is known from a drawing in the 16th-century
codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
known as the '' Anonimo Fiorentino'' in the
National Central Library of Florence The National Central Library of Florence ( it, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, BNCF) is a public national library in Florence, the largest in Italy and one of the most important in Europe, one of the two central libraries of Italy, alon ...
, which also shows the adjoining Vatican Rotunda The plan suggests the Mausoleum was extremely similar to the Vatican Rotunda, though the Renaissance artist may have "regularized" the design. A "crude" likeness of the building's exterior appears in an illustration of the ''
Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...
'' from 1490, which shows it had exterior buttressing for the
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
, which itself had large windows. The windows are recorded as having been repaired in 1463, along with the ceiling.


Exhumations

Niccola della Tuccia's ''Chronicle'' records that in June 1458, while a grave was being dug in the Chapel of St Petronilla, a sarcophagus was uncovered "of very beautiful marble". Inside were two cypress-wood coffins, "one large, one small". Each coffin was silver-plated and the remains within were covered in
gold cloth Cloth of gold or gold cloth (Latin: ''Tela aurea'') is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft—referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk, wrapped (''filé'') with a band or strip of high conten ...
. Della Tuccia reports that the silver from the silver plating was 11 carats in
fineness The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...
and weighed 832 contemporary pounds, while the cloth of gold weighed 16 pounds. Besides "an inscribed cross", no identifying features were discovered; nonetheless, the chronicler wrote that "it is said that they were the bodies of
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
and one of his young sons". Since the burial appears to have been of an adult and child, and since only one child is known to have been buried in the Mausoleum of Honorius, it is possible this sarcophagus contained the coffins of Honorius's sister Galla Placidia and her son Theodosius "III". This boy, the first child of Placidia from her first marriage to Athaulf, died young and was initially interred in a church in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in a silver casket (according to
Olympiodorus of Thebes Olympiodorus of Thebes ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιόδωρος ὁ Θηβαῖος; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, wr ...
) before being permanently buried in the Mausoleum of Honorius.
Marcantonio Michiel Marcantonio Michiel (1484–1552) was a Venetian noble from a family prominent in the service of the State who was interested in matters of art. His notes on the contemporary art collections of Venice, Padua, Milan and other northern Italian centr ...
's diary contains a report on another exhumation during the demolition of the mausoleum in late November 1519. As foundations were prepared for the pillars of the new St Peter's Basilica "some antique sarcophagi were found" within one of which "was found a gold cloth wrapped around some bones, thought to be a Christian prince". This sarcophagus, which Michiel states was without an inscription, contained jewellery including "a small collar
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
?]", a crown, and a small cross. According to Michiel, the items were estimated at 3,000 ducats in value. On 23 December, Michiel's diary records that gold from the gold cloth came to eight pounds; furthermore the gold from the crown and the small cross were made into a new
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
for the relic head of St Petronilla. The same events are noted in a letter by Pandolfo Pico to
Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...
dated 26 November 1519. No other details are known about the other sarcophagi found at the same time, neither is it known whether they were Roman imperial tombs or later medieval burials. The best-attested and most significant exhumation was on the 3 February 1544.


References


Primary sources


Secondary sources

Mausoleums in Italy Mausoleums in Rome Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century Buildings and structures demolished in the 16th century Demolished buildings and structures in Rome Roman emperors' mausoleums {{commonscat, Santa Petronilla in Vaticano