Saint Peter in Chains

Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli commemorates the Apostle Peter's imprisonment.

According to Acts 12, King Herod jailed the Apostle Peter. And if Peter was Crucified in Rome, such as scenario would have involved being jailed in Mamertine Prison located in the Forum.

Incidentally, Vercingetorix would also have been jailed in Mamertine Prison, as would have the Catiline Conspirators and many others. Please don’t mispronounce Vercingetorix. He is a national hero of France, and has suffered already enough.

St Peter in Chains Church presents as relics two sets of chains, as though they are the chains in which Peter was bound while in jail. While Catholic Relics are a shameful trivialization of the Bible, it is uplifting to commemorate Peter’s willingness to suffer for his Faith.

Michelangelo’s Moses was originally intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, which was never completed. This is Renaissance art, and rediscovers the skill, realism, anatomical correctness, and proportionality of art from Ancient Rome and Greece. Michelangelo was and still is the greatest sculptor in the world, perhaps even more famous for David in Florence.

Pope Julius II also commissioned the painting of the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, also by Michelangelo, as well as the Raphael Rooms in Vatican Palace, by Raphael, of which The School of Athens is the most famous.

We sit and enjoy listening to the Church Organ, if I recall correctly.

These are the ruins of the Roman Forum, which for centuries was the center of public life in Rome.

Just beyond is Palatine Hill, where Emperor Augustus built his palace, and where according to some combination of mythology and archaeology, Rome was founded.

Immediately above my stocking cap is Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda, an ancient Roman Temple converted into a Church. It faces Via Sacra which is the main street.