Costa Chapel (Santa Maria del Popolo)

The most important original frescos in the chapel are the paintings of the five lunettes (1488-90). Four of them depict the Fathers of the Church in front of a blue background: St. Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great. The central lunette is filled with the sculpted coats-of-arms of Cardinal Costa (the wheel of St Catherine) which is supported by two painted angels.

General view with tombs and monuments

The main altar-piece is attributed to Gian Cristoforo Romano (c. 1505). It was certainly built after 1503 because the inscription at the base calls the Cardinal the Bishop of Porto and Santa Rufina. The tripartite marble reredos is articulated by Corinthian pilasters and crowned by an elaborate pediment with the figure of God, the Father. There are three sculptures of saints in shell-headed niches: St. Catherine of Alexandria in the middle (with the wheel), St. Vincent (with the ship) and Anthony of Padua (with a lily). The latter two are the patrons of the city of Lisbon. Three tondos above them contain reliefs of the Annunciation (with a very fine landscape in the middle). The high pedestal is decorated with the coats-of-arms of Cardinal Costa.

The funeral monument of a young Roman knight, Marcantonio Albertoni, who died in a plague at the age of 30 in 1485, covers the right wall. The marble sepulchre with the recumbent effigy of the deceased was created by Iacopo di Andrea da Firenze in 1487. Originally, at least until 1600, it was placed in the right transept. The marble tomb was commissioned by the knight's mother, Caterina Albertoni. It is the only known work of the Florentine sculptor who was mentioned in the contract dated to 20 April 1487.[2]

On the opposite side is the monument of Cardinal Jorge da Costa created by the school of Bregno. The lunette is filled by a lovely relief of Mary in mandorla with two angels. Costa died in 1508 but the tomb was probably prepared well before this date, probably few years after the dedication of the chapel. The inscription on the sarcophagus declares that "Giorgio, bishop of Albano, cardinal from Lisbon, while he turned over in his mind that he was mortal, erected [this tomb monument] for himself while still alive". It is very similar to the monument of Cristoforo della Rovere in the Chapel of the Nativity but "in a less masterly workmanship".[3]

The third original monument is the tombstone (in the floor) of Archbishop Giorgio Bracharin by the workshop of Antonio del Pollaiuolo (end of 15th century). The tombstone is undated. The Archbishop lies in full robes, his hands crossed. The relief is very deep and a rich spiral border runs around the slab.[4]

In 1833 another monument was placed in the chapel: the funeral monument of the nine-year old Vincenzo Casciani by Luigi Poletti and Matteo Kassel. The left-hand window was walled up to provide space for the new neoclassical marble monument.

A white marble slab was set under the other window in 1830 for Eugen von Ingenheim, the one-year old infant son of Count Gustav Adolf Wilhelm von Ingenheim, the morganatic son of King Frederick William II of Prussia, who converted to Catholicism. The Ingenheims were owners of the chapel in the 19th century.

Effigy of Pietro Foscari

The marble and bronze sepulchral monument of Cardinal Pietro Foscari was originally placed in the middle of the Foscari Chapel, which was demolished for the building of the Cerasi Chapel in 1600. It was made by a Sienese sculptor, Giovanni di Stefano in the 1480s but previously thought to have been created by Vecchietta.

The prelate wears a richly folded robe, gloves, boots and a particularly sumptuous mitre which all serve to emphasize his dignity. All the details are modelled with great precision and virtuosity. The austere dark colour of the bronze is further enhanced by the contrasting white marble support. This bier is decorated with gilded reliefs of festoons, winged angels and trophies and it is covered by a folded drapery. The head rests on an embroidered cushion sculpted of glossy white marble.[5]