Tomb of Cardinal Paolo Sfondrati

Abstract

Located outdoors on the right wall of the atrium of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome is the funerary monument of Cardinal Paolo Sfondrati (1560–1618), titular cardinal of the church from 1591 to 1618. The tomb was commissioned by the executors of his will—Cardinal Odoardo Farnese and Signor Pacinello—five years after his death, in 1623, and completed in 1627. Until around 1955, it was located in the right aisle of the church, near the relics of Saint Cecilia, whose remains the cardinal is credited with discovering. Two different attributions have been proposed in the literature: Philipp Zitzlsperger attributes the work to Clemente Gargioli in his figure captions, but Kate Gallagher and other sources maintain an attribution to Girolamo Rainaldi (1570–1655). The monument is large, consisting of three tiers, rich in architectural elements. The tiers are connected by scrolls, festoons, and angel heads. At the bottom is a sarcophagus decorated with a skull and crossbones. Above is a large black marble tombstone flanked by statues of Saint Agnes on the left and Saint Cecilia on the right. Above the tombstone is a bust of Cardinal Sfondrati in prayer. On the gable in the top tier of the monument is a white marble bas-relief of the discovery of the remains of Saint Cecilia in the church on October 20, 1599, namely the scene depicts the Cardinal revealing Saint Cecilia’s body to Pope Clement VIII. The monument is large in scale and rich in architectural detail, consisting of three tiers connected by scrolls, tablets, festoons, and angel heads. At the base is a sarcophagus adorned with a skull and crossbones. Above it is a large black marble tombstone flanked by statues of Saint Agnes on the left and Saint Cecilia on the right. Above the tombstone is a bust of Cardinal Sfondrati shown in prayer. At the top of the monument, in the gable of the upper tier, is a white marble bas-relief depicting the discovery of Saint Cecilia’s remains in the church on October 20, 1599. The scene shows the cardinal revealing her body to Pope Clement VIII (reigned 1592–1605). The funerary monument underwent conservation treatment in 2009. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.