Vittoriano
The fragment (22.9 x 12 cm, inv. 9606) is part of a tile from the door of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and depicts a section of the Pentecost scene. The upper part of three apostles can be identified, with rays and tongues of fire descending on their heads, along with some Greek characters from the inscription [H ΠΕΝΤΗ]KOCTH, that is Pentecost.
The large double-leaf door (5 x 3.42 m) was designed to close the main entrance of the basilica and was crafted in Constantinople in 1070, commissioned by the wealthy Amalfi consul Pantaleone de Comite Maurone. The monk and archdeacon of the basilica, Ildebrando di Soana (later Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085), referenced in one of the epigraphs likely played a significant role in the development of the door’s iconographic program.
After the catastrophic fire of 1823, which destroyed much of the building, the door's panels were severely damaged. Only after an extensive restoration in the 1960ˢ were they relocated to the back of the Holy Door of the same papal basilica.
The original arrangement of the panels has undergone alterations over time, but some drawings confirm the presence of the Pentecost panel on the left door of the portal, in the third panel of the fourth register from the top. The fragment, damaged by the high temperatures of the fire, has lost its original brilliant color and shows evident signs of burning and oxidation. In addition to the grooves for the metal inlays, it retains faint traces of damascening.
Originally part of the collections of the Museo Kircheriano, the fragment was later transferred to the Museo di Castel Sant’Angelo and since 1920 has been housed at Palazzo Venezia.
Read more in the catalogue entry written by Livia Bevilacqua with the coordination of Alessandro Tomei.
