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Walking Tours of Rome

Michelangelo's Moses

6/5/2019

 
Walking Tours of Rome
Moses by Michelangelo, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
Moses (det.) by Michelangelo

The ancient church of San Pietro in Vincoli was founded in the 4th century to house the two chains (vincoli), which, allegedly, fettered St Peter when he was incarcerated in Rome. 

Today, most people visit the church not to see St Peter's chains, but to admire Michelangelo’s statue of Moses (1514-16). The celebrated sculpture was carved for the monumental tomb of Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13), which was originally destined to stand in St Peter’s Basilica. However, the statue of Moses, which was placed here in 1544, was the only part of the tomb that Michelangelo ever completed. And the tomb, itself, mostly the work of Michelangelo's pupils, stands not in the grand Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, but in San Pietro in Vincoli. 

The statue of Julius II by Tommaso Boscoli is a far cry from what the pope would have wished. 

Moses by Michelangelo, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
Moses by Michelangelo
Tomb of Pope Julius II, San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome
Tomb of Pope Julius II

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    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.

    Since 2001 I have been living in Italy, where I run
    ​ walking tours of Florence, Rome &
    Venice.

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  • Private Tours
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  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art