Vittoriano
The door of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls contains numerous inscriptions, offering remarkable insight into the artistic process behind the creation of the artifact. For this historical period, it is extremely rare to know the exact date of completion of a work or to have information about the client and the artists involved.
Although the fire that ravaged the basilica in 1823 severely damaged the inscriptions, documentary evidence allows for the reconstruction of the missing sections.
The material patron of the panels, the wealthy Amalfi consul Pantaleone de Comite Maurone, who made built these doors, is honored in Latin dedication inscriptions and is depicted kneeling, in proskynesis, being presented by Saint Paul before Christ. Another Latin inscription confirms the donor's name and specifies that the door was made in Constantinople "the year 1070 since the Incarnation," during the papacy of Pope Alexander [II], and under the supervision of the "venerable monk and archdeacon" Ildebrando di Soana, who would later become Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085).
Additionally, the Greek and Syriac epigraphs, which mention the names of the gate builders and their roles, are of exceptional historical value. These inscriptions, only partially preserved, celebrate the "designer" Theodoros, who likely created the designs for the panels and frames, and acknowledge the foundryman, possibly of Syriac origin, Staurakios, who was responsible for forging the doors.
