A Jacobite Gazetteer - The Vatican

Monument to Queen Clementina The monument to Queen Clementina (wife of King James III and VIII) is in the left aisle of St. Peter's Basilica immediately opposite the Monument to the Stuart Kings. It is above the doorway from which people exit having descended from the roof and the dome. The monument was erected at the expense of the Reverenda Fabbrica di S. Pietro (the body responsible for the upkeep of the basilica). It was completed in December 1742. 1 Above a porphyry sarcophagus surrounded in pink marble is a white marble figure of Charity raising heavenward the enflamed heart of the queen. To the left of Charity is a putto (an angelic figure); between them they bear a mosaic portrait of Clementina who wears the blue sash of the Order of the Garter. Below the sarcophagus two marble putti play, one with a gold sceptre and the other with a gold crown. At their feet, above the door, is a gold wreath with a gold ribbon across it bearing the Latin inscription: "IV· KAL· FEBR" (January 29th, the date of Queen Clementina's death). The monument was designed by Filippo Barigioni. The figures were sculpted by Pietro Bracchi. The mosaic was executed by Pietro Paolo Cristofari based on an oil painting by Ignaz Stern. The gold decoration was the work of Francesco Giardoni. 2 The Latin inscription on the sarcophagus reads as follows: MARIA CLEMENTINA M. BRITAN FRANC. ET HIBERN. REGINA Maria Clementina, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Queen.

Notes 1 The unveiling of the monument is described in issue 3960 (15 decembre, 1742) of the Diario ordinario (Rome: Cracas), http://cracas.casanatense.it. 2 Ibid. The architect Filippo Barigioni was born in 1690, and died in 1753. The sculptor Pietro Bracci was born in Rome in 1700, and died in the same city in 1773; he also designed an uncompleted monument to the memory of King James III and VIII. Pietro Paolo Cristofari was born in 1685, and died in 1743; he is responsible for a number of the mosaics in St. Peter's Basilica. The painter Ignaz Stern was born in Mauerkirchen, Bavaria in 1679, and died in Rome, in 1748. Image 1 (Monument to Queen Clementina): © Noel S. McFerran 2001. This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated September 8, 2008. © Noel S. McFerran 2000-2008.