Chigi Chapel

Raffaello Santi

Basilica di St. Maria del Popolo

DESCRIZIONE:
The Chigi Chapel is a chapel of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. It was designed by Raphael, who gave the sketches of all the decorations to the Siena's banker Agostino Chigi who commissioned the work.

It is comprised of a cubical space ending in a dome decorated with golden panels and mosaics depicting the Holy Father surrounded by allegories of the Sun and other planets.

The frescoes between the windows with Stories of Genesis and the plumes with the Seasons are by Salviati (1550), while on the altar is the beautiful Birth of the Virgin by Sebastiano del Piombo and Salviati.

The spectacular decor is completed by the sculptures of Lorenzetto (Jonah and Elijah), the pyramidal tombs of the Chigi and the sculptures of the following century by Bernini (Daniel and the Lion and Havakuk and the Angel), who also worked on the integral structure of the chapel for Alessandro VII Chigi.

LE OPERE