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Sacristy & Treasury Museum

Carlo Marchionni, 1784
   Aerial View of the Sacristy
   Aerial View of the Sacristy

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Hours of Treasury:
9-18.15 (Apr to Sep)
9-17.15 (Oct to Mar)
Admission €5
12 and under €3

Vestments await Priests in the Sacristy of St Peter's

St Andrew Statue at the Entrance to the Sacristy of St Peter's
 
The Sacristy of St Peter's from Piazza Proto-Martyrs

Main Room of the Sacristy of St Peter's - Right Side View

 

Benedict XIII Memorial in the Corridor of the Treasury Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 1. Entrance from the basilica
 2. List of Popes Buried in St Peter’s
 3. Connecting Room with the Corridor
 4. Statue of Josemaria Escriva - Opus Dei
 5. Corridor of the Treasury Museum
 6. Museum Entrance - Gift Shop
 7. Column from Constantinian Basilica
 8. Chapel of the Beneficiaries
 9. Dalmatic of Charlemagne
10. Monument of Sixtus IV
11. Treasury Museum Rooms
12. Sarcophagus of Giunio Basso
13. Chapel of the Sacristy Comune
14. The Sacristy
15. Corridor to the Sacristy
16. The Staircase of Honor
17. Statue of Pius VI
18. The Sala Capitolare
19. The Sacristy of the Canons
20. The Chapel of the Canons
21. The Corridor to the Choir
22. Piazza Bracchi
23. Statue of St. María Josefa
     (Entrance to Necropolis-Exit from Grottoes)

From: 'St. Peter's - Guide to the Basilica and Square'
In the left aisle, under the monument of Pius VIII, is the entrance to the sacristy. Is is a building which was attached to the basilica under Pius VI who commissioned Carlo Marchionni (1702-1786) to build it in 1776. On the right o the entrance, is a list o the popes buried in St. Peter's and a statue of St. Andrew in polychrome marble, and then a gallery, decorated with columns of the rarest marbles and bronze busts of Benedict XIII and Paul IV by Agostine Penna. The main Sacristy, which is octagonal, is decorated with eight columns from Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli.

From the sacristy, the ten rooms which house the Treasury can be visited. Worthy of note are: the fourth-century twisted marble column, decorated with vine tendrils; the gilded-medal cock, which formerly adorned the bell tower of old St. Peter's; the Chair of St. Peter, a copy of the oak throne which Charles the Bald presented to Pope John VIII in 875; the Dalmatic, said to have belonged to Charlemagne, but which is in fact an 11th century Byzantine masterpiece; the red cope and the tiara embellished with precious stones, which are put on the statue of St. Peter in the central nave for important solemnities; the Stuart chalice; the Crux Vaticana, made of leather studded with silver and precious stones and which contains fragments of the cross of Jesus; numerous reliquaries and valuable candelabra; a plaster cast of Michelangelo's Pieta made in 1934-35, thanks to which it was possible to restore the original perfectly after it was vandalized in 1972; the funerary monument of Sixtus IV, founder of the Sistine Chapel and the Apostolic Library, sculpted by Antonio del Pollaiolo. One of the most important sources of documentation of the art and faith of Christians in first-century Rome is the Sarcophagus of Junio Bassus, a noble and prefect of Rome, and a convert to Christianity. The marble sarcophagus, a fourth-century work, is carved with reliefs showing scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

Grotesque Face below the List of Popes Buried at St Peter's
Face below the List of Popes
Buried at St Peter's
Top Section of the Francesco Barberini Memorial
Francesco Barberini Memorial
Corridor of Treasury Museum
A Nun prepares Altar Linen in the Main Room of the Sacristy
A Nun prepares Altar Linen
Sacristy of St Peter's

 

From: 'Holy Year 2000 The Great Jubilee' © 1999 Lozzi Roma
Treasury of Saint Peter's

Room I - There are a red cope with tiara decorated with stones (XVIII century) destined to cover the venerated Saint Peter's statue of bronze, placed in the middle nave of the Basilica, in occasion of the solemn festivities; the so-called Stuart Chalice, itself belonging to the XVIII century, in gold and silver with 130 mounted brilliants.

Room II - There are exposed some of the most precious works, among which the Crux Vaticana (Vatican Cross) covered with silver leather and precious stones, containing fragments of the real Cross; the Dalmatix (liturgic vestment) erroneously called Charlemagne, since it belongs to a later age, more or less around the XI century according to some scholars, and around the XIV century according to others; numerous precious shrines.

Room III is dominated by the bronze monument to Sixtus IV (1471-84), a masterpiece by Antonio del Pollaiolo.

In Room IV is the 14th century frame of Veronica which used to hold the precious relic pressed between two sheets of glass.

In Room V the visitor can see copper spheres used as hand-warmers in the chilly sacristies, as well as a collection of precious chalices and reliquaries.

In Room VI, a vast collection of candelabra is exhibited. The small room that forms the corridor contains large sacred codices.

Room VII contains a model of one of the worshipping angels, made in clay and cast in bronze by Bernini for the Chapel of the Sacrament.

Room VIII displays a collection of vestments, sacred objects and votive jewels donated to the pontiffs by the faithful from all over the world.

In Room IX contains an example of paleo-Christian sculpture, the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (4th century)

 

 

 

 

 

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Contact: stpetersbasilica@gmail.com

 

Pius VII Monument The Scavi Office Pius VIII Monument St Andrew Statue in the Crossing of St Peter's Altar of the Lie Altar of the Crucifixion of St Peter Statue of St Josemaria Escrive - Founder of Opus Dei Altar of St Gregory the Great Transfiguration Altar The Choir Chapel Statue of St Maria Josefa - Entrance to Scavi - Exit from Grottoes Piazza Bracchi The Corridor to the Choir Chapel in St Peter's The Chapel of the Canons The Sacristy of the Canons The Sala Capitolare Statue of Pius VI The Staircase of Honor Corridor to the Sacristy The Main Sacristy Room Chapel of the Sacristy Comune Ancient Sarcophagus of Giunio Basso Rooms of the Treasury Museum Room with Monument of Sixtus IV Room with Dalmatic of Charlemagne & Copy of St Peter's Chair Chapel of the Beneficiaries - Model of the Pieta Room with Column from Constantinian Basilica Museum Entrance & Gift Shop Corridor of the Treasury Museum Connecting Room with the Corridor - Cardinal Merry del Val Memorial List of Popes Buried at St Peter's - St Andrew Statue Entrance from the Basilica under Pius VIII Monument