Tomb of Giovanna Aldobrandeschi and Pope Honorius IV

Abstract

In the Chapel of Saint Francis, also known as the Savelli Chapel, at Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome, lies the tomb of Giovanna Aldobrandeschi and Pope Honorius IV (Giacomo Savelli, reigned 1285–1287). Originally, Pope Honorius IV was interred in Old Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, but around 1545, under the orders of Pope Paul III Farnese (reigned 1534–1549), his remains were relocated to his mother's tomb, Giovanna Aldobrandeschi. At this time, the statue of the Pope, along with some attached fragments of drapery, was placed atop the tomb. The tomb underwent alterations during a series of restorations ordered by Pope Benedict XIII Orsini (reigned 1724–1730). These modifications included the removal of the tomb’s original frontispieces and the reconstruction of mosaics bearing the coats of arms of the Savelli and Aldobrandeschi families. The tomb is attributed to the workshop of Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1240–1300/1310), and the statue of the Pope is credited to di Cambio, with some scholars claiming it as his first funerary monument. The statue dates to c. 1287 while the tomb dates to c. 1250. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.