La Mostra Origin, Timing and Forms of the Rite The Jubilee of 1300 , or of the "century year"
Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of 1300
The measures contained in the Bull – a source of canon law in matters of penitence and indulgence – became part of the corpus of rules of the Catholic Church and were included in the "Extravagantes communes" of the Corpus iuris canonici (L. V, tit. 9, De poenitentiis et remissionibus). The published Bull was annotated by French Cardinal Jean Lemoine, whose commentary clarifies construction of the document and fully explains the thinking of Boniface VIII on the matter.
Boniface VIII, Antiquorum habet fida relatio (22 February 1300), in: Corpus iuris canonici. Extravagantes communes,V.IX.1, Lyon 1559
Portrait and Coat of Arms of Boniface VIII
The portrait and arms of Boniface VIII are drawn from the most important edition of the Lives of Roman Popes by Spanish Dominican friar Alfonso Chacón, published in Rome in four in-folio volumes in 1677. This was an illustrated edition, enhanced with several copper-plate engravings. Chacón was a historian, philologist and scholar who was called to Rome by Pius V in October 1566, as a penitentiary in St Peter's basilica. His unfinished work was completed by Francisco Morales Cabrera with the lives of the popes from Alexander VI to Clement VII and eventually published in 1601. A major success, the Lives was reprinted several times, with the addition of biographies of later popes, compiled by Andrea Vittorelli, Ferdinando Ughelli, Girolamo Aleandro, Luke Wadding, Cesare Becilli. A revision was published by Augustino Oldoini in 1677, with a supplement on Pope Clement IX. Two more volumes were finally published in 1751 by Mario Guarnacci, including all popes up to Clement XII.
Alfonso Chacón, Vitae, et res gestae pontificum Romanorum et s.r.e. cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae vsque ad Clementem IX P.O. M. ..., vol. II, Roma 1677
Boniface VIII in the Lateran fresco
The fragment in the Lateran Basilica was part of a bigger fresco cycle formerly in the Loggia delle benedizioni. Interpretation of the fresco is controversial. Recent diagnostic analyses seem to confirm the old interpretation that Boniface VIII is portrayed while announcing the Jubilee of 1300. The attribution to Giotto is unconfirmed
Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale,by Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana, vol. VI (Erfurt-Giustiniano), Roma 1995
Boniface VIII - engraved reproduction of the fragment from the Lateran fresco
The engraving reproduces the fragment of the Lateran fresco portraiying Boniface VIII. Chacón reported the fresco was by Giotto
Effigies Bonifacij Papae VIII à Giotto expressa in antiqua Lateranensis Basilicae porticu, atque inde secto pariete in eiusdem Templi claustrum translata, in: Alfonso Chacón, Vitae, et res gestae pontificum Romanorum et s.r.e. cardinalium ab initio nascentis Ecclesiae usque ad Clementem IX..., vol. II, Roma 1677
The Bull of the first Jubilee, carved in marble
The text of the Bull Antiquorum Habet was carved on marble, arguably by the clerics at St Peter's at the time of Boniface VIII. The slab is to be found on the façade of St Peter's Basilica, top left of the Holy Door
L'apparato decorativo nell'atrio della Basilica, in: Hugo Brandenburg, Antonella Ballardini, Christof Thoenes, San Pietro: storia di un monumento, Città del Vaticano, 2015
The Bull of the first Jubilee, carved in marble
In his description of the façade of St Peter's Basilica, Carlo Fea mentions the marble slab with the text of the Bull of indiction of the Jubilee of 1300
Carlo Fea, Nuova descrizione di Roma antica e moderna e de' suoi contorni, sue rarità specialmente dopo le nuove scoperte cogli scavi. Arricchita delle vedute più interessanti, compilata per uso de' colti viaggiatori..., vol. I, Roma 1820
The Bull of the first Jubilee carved in marble
Giuseppe Beltrami, La Bolla del primo Giubileo scolpito [sic] nel marmo, "Roma. Rivista di studi e di vita romana", a. III (1925), p. 181
Entry: "Iubileus annus" from Dictionarium iuris, by Albericus de Rosate
Albericus de Rosate was a jurist, born in Bergamo in the late 13th century and died in 1360. His legal dictionary is the first reference work in the legal sector, although scientific rigour is sometimes replaced by autobiographical comments. In the entry ""Iubileus annus", the jubilee year, Albericus first mentions the biblical background of the jubilee and the bulls of indiction of 1350 and 1300 and then goes on to tell us about his own participation in Clement VI's jubilee, with his wife and their three children
Iubileus annus, in: Alberico da Rosate, Dictionarium iuris tam civilis, quam canonici..., Venezia 1581
St Peter's Basilica was one of the two basilicas pigrims were required to visit in the Jubilee of 1300
To obtain the indulgence, pilgrims were required to visit the tombs of the Apostles in St Peter's and St Paul's Basilicas for thirty continuing days if they were from Rome and for fifteen continuing days if they were from elsewhere
Girolamo Franzini, Templum divi Petri, in: Le cose maravigliose dell’alma città di Roma..., Roma 1595
St Paul's Outside the Walls was one of the two basilicas pigrims were required to visit in the Jubilee of 1300
To obtain the indulgence, pilgrims were required to visit the tombs of the Apostles in St Peter's and St Paul's Basilicas for thirty continuing days if they were from Rome and for fifteen continuing days if they were from elsewhere
Girolamo Franzini, Templum divi Pauli, in: Le cose maravigliose dell’alma città di Roma..., Roma 1595
Iacopo Stefaneschi, De centesimo seu iubileo anno
The work of Cardinal Iacopo Stefaneschi, who was closely involved in the Jubilee of 1300, is one of the main sources to gather information on that holy year, of which he left an "official" report
Iacopo Stefaneschi, De centesimo seu iubileo anno. La storia del primo giubileo (1300), edited by Claudio Leonardi, Paul Gerhard Schmidt, translation and notes by Antonio Placanica, Firenze 2001
Dante's Inferno, 18th canto
Dante compared the two lines of sinners walking in opposite directions in the first chasm of his Inferno to the pilgrims crossing the Tiber at Ponte Sant’Angelo. This passage, testifying the separation of apparently heavy pedestrian traffic on the bridge into two separate lanes, was interpreted as a personal memory of the poet, thus corroborating the hypothesis that he was personally in Rome in 1300
Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri col comento di Giovanni Maria Cornoldi, Torino 1887
Sant'Angelo Bridge in Rome
The 2nd century bridge, formerly called Aelius Bridge connects St Peter's and the Borgo nighbourhood with Rome. Alessandro Specchi's engraving shows the bridge in the 17th century
Alessandro Specchi, Pons Aelius a Clemente IX statuis exornatus, in: 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. II (Continens numismata à Clemente VIII usque ad Innocentium XII), Roma 1699
Dante's Paradiso, 31st canto
The Veil of Veronica was one of the most worshipped relics during the Middle Ages. In this passage, Dante evokes the image of the pilgrim travelling from afar to contemplate the image of Christ on the Veil, in order to give an idea of his own contemplation of the couttenance of St Bernard
Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri nobile fiorentino ridotta a miglior lezione dagli Accademici della Crusca, Firenze 1599
Dante, Vita Nuova
In the Middle Ages, pilgrims to the sepulchres of the Aspostles in Rome were called Romers (Romei). In his Vita Nuova (§40) Dante testifies that there are three denominations of pilgrims: "Palmers" are those who go to the Holy Land ("overseas"); "Pilgrims" are those who go to Santiago de Compostela ("the House of Galicia"); "Romers" are the others, "in that they go unto Rome"
Dante Alighieri, La Vita Nuova di Dante Alighieri con introduzione, commento e glossario di Tommaso Casini, Firenze 1905
Chronicle, by Giovanni Villani
Giovanni Villani (1276-1348), from Florence, was one of the main Italian chroniclers of his time. His Chronicle is a universal history centred on the city of Florence. Largely based on his personal experience, the work is full of details on economic and social apects which were often neglected by contemporary chroniclers. He admitted that he was prompted to write his Chronicle by the great historians of Ancient Rome, while he was in Rome as a pilgrim during the Jubilee of 1300. Villani gave a short but lively account of the Jubilee ("for I was there and I saw it"), especially the huge inflow of pilgrims
Giovanni Villani, Cronica di Giovanni Villani a miglior lezione ridotta coll'aiuto de' testi a penna, vol. III, Firenze 1823
The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Jerusalem was a destination for pilgrims from Antiquity and the Middle Ages through the 13th century, when Christian outposts in the Holy Land were lost
Natale Bonifacio, Ecclesia S. Sepulchri, in: Jean Zuallart, Il devotissimo viaggio di Gierusalemme..., Roma 1595
Plenary indulgence for the First Crusade
Crusaders leaving for the Holy Land were granted plenary indulgence. The first Pope to do so was Urban II in 1095. Later, indulgence was also granted to crusaders against other Christians: heretics and enemies of the Pope.
Louis Maimbourg, Histoire des croisades pour la delivrance de la Terre Sainte, Paris 1686
The Pardon of Assisi
In 1216 Saint Francis obtained a plenary indulgence from Pope Honorius III for all those who would visit the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (the Porziuncola) on August 2nd, the anniversary of its consecration
Nicola Papini, Storia del perdono d'Assisi con documenti e osservazioni, Firenze 1824
The Pardon of Assisi
Giovanni Battista Mariani (draw.), Gaetano Cottafavi (engr.), Prospetto della celebratissima Capella [sic] detta la Porziuncola sagra a Maria S.S. degli Angeli, ove s'acquista la grande indulgenza il primo agosto, denominato il Perdono di Assisi, in: Compendio storico del Perdono di Asisi [sic] e della chiesa detta Porziuncola..., Assisi 1834
Saint Francis of Assisi
[San Francesco riceve le Stimmate], in: Marcos de Lisboa, Croniche de gli ordini instituiti dal p. s. Francesco..., vol. I, Venezia 1606
The Pardon of Celestine V
In 1294 Celestine V granted plenary indulgence to anyone who would visit the Church of Collemaggio at L'Aquila on August 29th, the anniversary of his enthronement
Celestine V, Inter sanctorum solemnia (29 settembre 1294), in: Vincenzo Mastareo, Vite de' ss. protettori della fedelissima città dell'Aquila raccolte da diversi autori..., Napoli 1629
The Basilica of Collemaggio at L'Aquila
Giovanni Imperato (engr.), Facciata della chiesa di S. Maria di Collemaggio in Aquila, in: Storia dei monumenti del Reame delle Due Sicilie, vol. I, Napoli 1846
Celestine V grants a plenary indulgence in the Church of Collemaggio (1294)
Lelio Marini, Vita et miracoli di San Pietro del Morrone già Celestino papa V, autore della Congreg. de Monaci Celestini dell'Ordine di San Benedetto, Milano 1637
Atri
The plenary indulgence granted by Celestine V in the Church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio at L'Aquila was extended to include the village of Atri
Francesco Cassiano de Silva (engr.), Atri, in: Giovanni Battista Pacichelli, Il Regno di Napoli in prospettiva, diviso in dodici provincie, in cui si descrivono la sua metropoli, le sue 148 città, e tutte quelle terre delle quali se ne sono avute notizie..., vol. III, Napoli 1703