 Inscription to Pope Paul V Emblazoned across the facade of St Peter's Basilica, in letters one metre high, is an inscription: IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII (In honour of the Prince of Apostles, Paul V, Borghese, Roman, Pontifex Maximus, the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate). The facade was built for Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21) by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) between 1607 and 1614. No sooner had the inscription been unveiled, than some wags began to remark that they'd had no idea that Paul V was an apostle!  St Peter's Basilica Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.
Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run private tours of Florence, Rome & Venice. Search Pictures From Italy:
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January 2020
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