Statue of St. Peter

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Statue of St. Peter by Arnolfo di Cambio, c.1300
St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City
Rome, June 2019

“The famous bronze statue of St. Peter is placed against the pillar of St. Longinus, above an alabaster base that was executed in 1757 by Carlo Marchionni. In this statue St. Peter is seated on a marble see from the early Renaissance, dressed with the philosophical stole, with his left hand holding the keys close to his chest and the right raised in the act of blessing. His right foot protrudes from the previously mentioned base, which is worn by the kisses of the devout. The identification of the author but also of its exact epoch, is a ‘vexata quaestio’ which has yet to be resolved, with datings ranging between the fifth, or even fourth century and the 13th or 14th centuries. Tradition has it that the statue was commissioned by St. Leo the Great, as a token of gratitude for defeating Attila, and that it used the metal from the statue by Giove Capitolino. But, in reality, the oldest historical information about the work dates back only to the 15th century. Currently, the almost unanimous opinion is that the Vatican bronze statue dates back to the late 13th century and more specifically to the restricted environment of Arnolfo di Cambio, the artist who created the tabernacles of St. Paul and St. Cecilia, and the sacellum of Bonifacius VIII in the Constantinian Basilica.” (Statue of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica - A Virtual Tour)