La Mostra    1450

Urban renewal under Nicholas V

The “Diario della città di Roma”, by Roman chronicler Stefano Infessura, is one of the most important sources on Rome in the latter half of the fifteenth century. This excerpt from the “Diario” not only tells of the great influx of pilgrims in 1450 and the notorious Sant'Angelo Bridge accident, it also mentions Nicholas V’s urban renewal plan in the run-up to the Jubilee and immediately afterwards. The Pope, who was to die a few years later in 1455, called in Leon Battista Alberti as a consultant on his new plan for Rome

Stefano Infessura, Diario della città di Roma di Stefano Infessura scribasenato, nuova edizione a cura di Oreste Tommasini, Roma 1890

"Il sollazzo del pellegrino": a guide of Rome in english

Between 1447 and 1452, Augustinian friar John Capgrave wrote a guide to Rome for British pilgrims, titled “Ye Solace of Pilgrimes”. Thought to have been lost until a copy was unearthed in the early twentieth-century, this was one of the last versions of a medieval guide to the city. Although essentially faithful to the codified “Mirabilia Urbis” genre and books of indulgences and relics, it was enhanced by the author’s personal notes, which he made during a trip to Rome during Nicholas V’s papacy.

John Capgrave, Ye solace of pilgrimes, a description of Rome, circa 1450, London 2012 (anastatic reprint from the ed. London 1911)

Extension and renewal of the Vatican Library under Nicholas V

It was pope Nicholas V, a humanist and a patron of the fine arts and letters, who opened the modern history of the Vatican Library: the Pope greatly increased the wealth of Latin, Greek and Hebraic codexes (from 350 they hit about 1200) and decided that they may be consulted by scholars.This initiative fully belongs to the project of renewal of Rome greatness and prestige wanted by the Pope. His successor, Sixtus IV, completed the work, appointed a librarian and granted the Library the required economic support.

Vespasiano da Bisticci, Virorum illustrium CIII qui saeculo XV extiterunt vitae..., in: Angelo Mai, Spicilegium romanum, vol. I, Roma 1839

Sant'Angelo Bridge

On Ponte Castel Sant'Angelo happened the accident related by Infessura in consequence of which Sixtus IV got built a new bridge in view of the Jubilee of 1475.

Castel S. Angelo, in: Fioravanti Martinelli, Roma di nuovo ricercata nel suo sito... Di nuovo con ogni diligenza corretta & accresciuta con belle figure, Roma 1702

Holy Year 1450. Nicholas V (1447-1455), gold papal ducats three (obverse)

Collocazione Mt. Pont. Nicholaus V.Ap.1

Holy Year 1450. Nicholas V (1447-1455), gold papal ducats three (reverse)

Collocazione Mt. Pont. Nicholaus V.Ap.1

Clement VII coins

Commemorative coins of 1525 Jubilee, coeval, representing Holy Door and the Pope opening and closing it

Filippo Buonanni, Numismata pontificum romanorum quae a tempore Martini V usque ad annum M.DC.XCIC vel authoritate publica, vel privato genio in lucem prodiere..., vol. I (Continens numismata à Martino V usque ad Clemente VIII), Roma 1699

The Canonization of Bernardino of Siena

The first major canonization celebrated during a Jubilee was that of Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena in 1450, on the day of Pentecost, along with the General Chapter of Friars Minor at the monastery of Ara Coeli. Friars from the Order came to Rome from all over Europe for the celebration. Another friar, Giovanni da Capestrano, was sainted in 1690

Bonaventura de' Rossi, La vita di Nicolao V papa..., Milano 1716

Commemorative medals from Nicholas V's Jubilee (1450)

After establishment of the ritual under Alexander VI, the Holy Door became the principal iconographic element in representations of the Holy Year. The door also featured in commemorative medals for Holy Years. The first such medal dates back to 1525; medals associated with previous periods are known as “restitution” (posthumous) medals. The first restitution medal to feature the Holy Door refers to Nicholas V’s Jubilee (at which, incidentally, the ritual of the door had not yet been established as a regular feature).

Domenico Maria Manni, Istoria degli anni santi dal loro principio sino al presente del MDCCL, tratta in gran parte da quella del p.l.f. Tommaso Maria Alfani..., Firenze 1750

The canonization of Bernardino da Siena

The first major canonization celebrated during a Jubilee was that of Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena in 1450, on the day of Pentecost, along with the General Chapter of Friars Minor at the monastery of Ara Coeli. Friars from the Order came to Rome from all over Europe for the celebration. Another friar, Giovanni da Capestrano, was sainted in 1690

Felice Alessio, Storia di San Bernardino da Siena e del suo tempo, Mondovì 1899

St. Bernardino Albizzeschi painted by Sano di Pietro in Palazzo della Signoria in Siena

S. Bernardino Albizzeschi dipinto da Sano di Pietro nel Palazzo della Signoria in Siena, in: Felice Alessio, Storia di San Bernardino da Siena e del suo tempo, Mondovì 1899

The Jubilee of 1450 in the chronicle of Paolo dello Mastro

Paolo dello Mastro, Memoriale, ms. misc. sec. XVII in., Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat.lat.5522.pt.2 (©2016 Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)

The Jubilee of 1450

Nicholas V proclaimed a Jubilee for 1450, restoring the fifty-year interval chosen by Clement VI in 1350 and confirmed by the Council of Constance (1414-1418)

Andrea Vittorelli, Historia de' giubilei pontificii celebrati ne' tempi di Bonifacio VIII, Clemente VI, Urbano VII, Bonifacio IX, Martino V..., Roma 1625