Paolo Fuori le Mura

Name of structure: Paolo Fuori le Mura
Extended name of structure:
Type of structure: Church
Country or main area: Italy
Region within country or main area: Lazio
City or area within region: Rome
Date of structure: 4C, 5C, 19C.
Century of structure 1: 4 AD
Century of structure 2: 19 AD
Specific place of mosaic: Apse; triumphal arch; facade.
Brief descriptive contents of mosaic:

Apse: Christ, saints; throne with the instruments of the Passion and cross; Pope Honorius III.
Triumphal arch: Christ, Evangelists symbols, angels, 24 elders, Peter, Paul, inscription.
Head of St Peter from TA now in Vatican Grotto museum (Andaloro, 1989). Head of St John the Evangelist from apse (?) now in Vatican Grottos (Gandolfo, 1989: see bibliography of Old St Peters).
Facade: Christ, Peter, Paul, Lamb of God on the mountain of Paradise, 4 Rivers of Paradise, scene of the faithful (sheep) leaving Jersusalem and Bethlehem, Old Testament prophets.


 
Date of mosaic: Apse: begun 12C, but mostly completed 13C
Triumphal arch: 5C
Facade: original 14C, redone 19C
Century of mosaic 1: 13 AD
Century of mosaic 2:
Silver tessera at site: Unknown
Gold tessera at site: Yes
Colour tessera at site: Yes
Were other materials found at site (i.e., glass cakes)? Unknown
Has analysis been done? Unknown
Samples taken from where? n/a
Excavation and restoration campaigns:

1831-: rebuilding after severe fire damnage in 1825 led by Belli, subsequently by Poletti after 1833.


 
Bibliography of mainly technical resources:

Andaloro, M., 'Il mosaico con la testa di Pietro: dalle Grotte Vaticane all'arco trionfale della basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura', in Fragmenta picta: affreschi e mosaici staccati del Medioevo romano (Roma, Castel Sant'Angelo, 15 dicembre 1989-18 febbraio 1990), ed by M. Andaloro et al (Rome: Àrgos, 1989), 111-9.


Krautheimer, R., Corbett, S., Frankl, S. & Frazer, A. K., Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae (Monumenti di antichità cristiana pubblicati dal Pontificio Instituto di Archeologia Cristiana) (Vatican City, New York, 1937-80), 6 vols: vol. 5.


Uggeri, 'Dell'arco trionfale dello di Placidia', in Memorie Romane di Antichità e di Belle Arti (1927), 133-.
URLs:
Comments: Cavallini did mosaics on facade 1325-30. 
By 19th C mosaics were very damaged.  After the fire they were dismantled and reset on triumphal arch during restoration.

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