Clementine Hall
The
Clementine Hall is a
hall of the
Apostolic Palace near
St. Peter's Basilica in
Vatican City. Established in the
17th century in honor of
Pope Clement XIV, the Clementine Hall is covered in
Renaissance frescoes and valuable works of
art. It is used by the
pope as a reception room and in some cases, site of various ceremonies and rituals. The Clementine Hall is the chamber in which the body of the pope lies for private visitation by officials of the Vatican upon death, like that most recently of the
funeral of Pope John Paul II. The pope is then traditionally moved from the Clementine Hall and ceremonially carried across St. Peter's Square to St. Peter's Basilica or the Basilica of
San Giovanni in Laterano.
The Clementine Hall has seen many historic meetings, such as
Pope John Paul II's
meeting with a group of 141 Jewish clergyman from around the world on
January 18,
2005.
Frescos
Over the doors appears the
fresco "The
Martyrdom of
St. Clement" by the Dutch painter
Paul Brill. On the opposite wall appear the frescos "The
Baptism of St. Clement" by Italian painters
Cherubino Alberti and
Baldassare Croce, and an "
Allegory of Art and Science" by Giovanni and Cherubino Alberti. The
frieze on the side walls depict allegories of the cardinal
virtues by Alberti and Croce and the theological virtues, on the opposite wall, by the same artists. On the ceiling is "The
Apotheosis of St. Clement" by
Giovanni Alberti.
*Pietrangelli, Carlo,
Paintings in the Vatican, ISBN 0-8212-2316-x
