THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
SS Se
Constantine the Great, with its five aisles, and having a large forecourt and baptistery, the former containing the famous Cantharus, or fountain of lustration, the pine-cone core and peacocks of which are now in the Giardino
6. The Crypt della Pigna, as noted above, and the of St. _ basilica, containing the chair of St.
Peter’s. Peter, added by Damasus I. in 366.
Adrian JI. (772-795) richly embellished the basilica, as did Leo IV. (847-855); but the humanistic Nicholas V. and Julius II. deemed the old basilica’s usefulness outworn, and through the influence of the Florentine architect Alberti and the active plans of Bramante the present church was begun. Among the most sacred relics of St. Peter’s are the Volto Santo (the napkin with which Christ wiped his face on the way to Calvary); the lance of St. Longinus, with which his side was pierced; a piece of the True Cross; the head of St. Andrew; and the great bronze doors of the main entrance, which come from the old basilica. Noteworthy, too, are the Colonna Santa (said to be the very column of the temple of Jerusalem against which Christ leaned while disputing with the doctors; in the Capella della Pietd), the chair of St. Peter and the tomb of Innocent VIII., and the tombs of Sixtus IV., Paul II., and Matilda of Tuscany (in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, where the body of a dead pope lies in state until burial), and the tomb of Gregory the Great (in the Capella Clementina). It is, however, in the Grotte Vecchie that the most tombs are to be found: the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II., Christina of Sweden (the convert daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, who gave her throne for her faith), the English pretenders James III., Charles III., and Henry IX. (Cardinal York), and the popes Gregory V. (996-999), Adrian IV. (1154-59; the one English pontiff), Boniface VIII. (1294-1303), and the great builders of the present Vatican—Nicholas V. (1447-55) and Paul II. (1464-71). In the Grotte Nuove, which are far later than the Grotte Vecchie, and which, indeed, were constructed to support the dome of the present church, are to be found not only the chapels of 8. Maria Pregnantium and Santa Maria della Bocciata, as well as the Shrine of the Holy Lance, the tomb of Junius Bassus, and the frescoes of the old basilica and those of Mina da Fiesole for the mausoleum of Paul II., but the crowning gem of all—the very tomb of St. Peter. This lies almost below the high altar, and, though now concealed from view, was seen by Clement VIII. in 1602 or 1603. He was, however, unable to have it permanently revealed, owing to the Roman belief that he who touched this sacred tomb would be struck dead; but, with singular appropriateness, Clement himself now lies buried in the chapel of the tomb.
Outside the Vatican gates a few places are still reckoned in the papal domains, such as the Palace of the Holy Office, the Armory, Castello Gandolfo, a few palaces and churches in Rome, and a villa in the Alban Hills. But to all intents and purposes, the pope is a prisoner in the Vatican, for though he would unquestionably be personally safe, should he go without its walls, the construction which would be placed upon such an act, in view of the secular
power which in 1870 seized his domains, is thought incompatible with the position of the Roman Church. Though the king of Italy is de
7. Vatican facto ruler of Italy, the pope regards and himself (and is regarded by the faithful) Quirinal. as the de jure potentate. There are, therefore, in Rome two courts, the
Quirinal, or royal, and the Vatican, or papal. Those countries which maintain an official connection between the State and the Roman Church accordingly accredit ambassadors to the Vatican as well as to the Quirinal; and delicate questions have arisen in connection with the visits of foreign potentates to Rome in view of the presence of two ruling powers in the
same capital; while still more distressing contre-
temps have come about through the ignorance of those with a quasi-official position regarding the true status of the pope as the head of Christendom and as a temporal sovereign.
The Vatican naturally possesses its own police and military. The police force consists of about 120 carabinieri (the force being collectively known as the Gendarmeria Pontificia); and the military of the Palatine, Swiss, and Noble Guards. The Palatines are practically a militia, recruited from the
bourgeoisie and tradesmen, founded
8. The by Pius IX., and numbering some 400. Vatican Better known are the Swiss and Noble Guards. Guards. The Swiss Guards are about
120 in number and form the real military force of the Vatican, mounting guard at the great bronze doors of St. Peter’s, in the Cortile della Sentinella, and in the antechamber of the pope’s private apartments. They were first organized some four centuries ago. The Noble Guards, formed by Pius VIL., are recruited from the Roman nobility that remained faithful to the pope after the erection of the temporal kingdom of Italy, and now consist of fifteen officers and forty-eight privates. Originally they were the pope’s bodyguard, attending him in his carriage, accompanying him on his journeys, and being present at functions of state.
For the governmental side of the Vatican see
Curia, and for the relations between the Vatican
and the Quirinal, see Irany, I., § 2.
Bipiiocrapuy: D. Sladen, The Secrets of the Vatican, new ed., Philadelphia, 1911; LL. De Sanctis, Rome Christian and Papal, New York, 1856; P. M. Letarouilly, Le Vatican et la basilique de Saint-Pierre de Rome, 2 vols., Paris, 1882; E. Muentz and A. L. Frothingham, J1 Tesoro della Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano, Rome, 1883; F. Wey, Rome, its Monuments, Arts, and Antiquities, London, 1887; H. Lemaire, Basilique de Saint-Pierre, Paris, 1888; P. Batiffol, La Vaticane, de Paul III. 4 Paul V., Paris, 1890; R. Lanciani, Pagan and Christian Rome, Boston, 1892; F. Gregorovius, Hist. of the City of Rome, London, 1894 sqq.; G. Goyau, A. Pératé, and P. Fabre, Le Vatican, Paris, 1895, new ed., 2 vols., ib. 1901; A. S. Barnes, St. Peter in Rome; and his Tomb on the Vatican Hill, London, 1900; D. A. Mortier, Hist. de la basilique vaticane, Tours, 1900; G. E. Clement, The Eternal City, 2 vols., London, 1901; E. M. Philipps, The Frescoes in the Sixtine Chapel, London, 1901; E. Steinmann, Die sixtinische Kapelle, 2 vols., Munich, 1901-05; P. J. Chandlery, Pilgrim Walks in Rome, New York, 1903; Mary K. Potter, The Art of the Vatican, London, 1903; Der Papst, die Regierung und die Verwaltung der heiligen Kirche in Rom, Munich, 1904; J. P. Kirsch and V. Luksch, Jllustrierte Geschichte der katholischen Kirche, pp. 482 sqq., Munich, 1905; A. J. C. Hare, Walks in Rome, new ed., London, 1905; J. A. F. Orbaan, Siaxtiné Rome, London and New York, 1911; KL, xii. 600-607.