This early medal commemorates the laying of the foundation stone of St. Peter’s Basilica in sixteenth-century Rome and was among the known designs of the twelve medals buried by Julius II during the reconstruction of the Basilica on April 18, 1506. The work is celebrated for its documentation of Bramante’s original St. Peter’s Basilica design, which was never realized.
Object Description
14 JULIUS II della Rovere, Pope 1503-13 1506
Obv. Bust to right, wearing cope. Around, IVLIVS . LIGVR . PAPA . SECVNDVS . MCCCCCVI
Rev. The elevation of Saint Peter's following Bramante's design. Around, TEMPLI . PETRI . INSTAVRAGIO; below, . VATICANVS . M .
Bronze, 56 mm.
Another version exists with Julius wearing the papal cap and cape {Corpus, no. 660). Gold and silver versions of these medals were placed in the foundation of Saint Peter's on 18 April 1506, when the pope laid the first stone. The medal is attributed to Caradosso by Vasari.
Bibl: Corpus, no. 659; Arm. i, p. 108, 2; Rosati, no. 98; Kress, no. 194; Roberto Weiss, "The Medals of Julius II," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 28 (1965), pp. 163-82 (this medal pp. 169-72); Morgenroth, no. 69; Forrer i, p. 346; Habich, pl. 66; Fabriczy, pl. 34,2; Martinori, fasc. vi, p. 65; Bonnani, pp. 148-49, no. 8; Tresor Ital. i, pl. 26, 4.