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Out of the many iconographies on the Supreme
Pontiffs, from St. Peter to the present day, only three collections are
considered to be complete.
Three Complete Collections
The first, highly valued and officially acknowledged
by the Vatican, is found in the naves of the Patriarchal Basilica of
St. Paul- Outside the Walls. The
reproductions in the Pope Chart are from this collection.
The collection is made of medallions in mosaic; each one has the
Pontiff’s name written in Latin and the period of his pontificate in
Roman numbers. This
iconography was started by St. Leo the Great in 498 and historically
updated in 1947.
The second collection consists of oil painting kept
in the Altieri palace in Oriolo Romano (VT).
They were commissioned in 1670 by Pope Clement X of the Altieri
family. Along the side of
each portrait there is a scroll upon which ( up to Celestine II, 1143)
there are brief notes about the Pontificate.
After 1143, each scroll contains a written phrase from the
prophecies of St. Malachi and the dates of election and death.
The third complete collection is updated and found in
the Basilica of Superga (TO). It
was started after the Temple’s consecration in 1731. The portraits, located in a large central room, are oval and
square-shaped oil paintings on canvas.
Source: The Popes by Memmo Caporilli |
