The Tomb of the Painter Raphael - Third Aedicula of the Pantheon in Rome

Tomb of the Painter Raphael, Third Aedicula of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy

Sarcophagus Tomb of the Painter Raphael The third aedicula is more than a simple aedicula like the others since there lies the tomb of the painter Raphael.

In 1515, the Florentine pope Leo X appointed Raphael responsible for antiquities.

Raphael then began to study the ancient Roman monuments; he had them measured and studied in detail to be able to consider their restoration.

Raphael fell in love with the Pantheon, and it was no coincidence that he asked to be buried there.

Sarcophagus Tomb of the Painter Raphael Leo X granted his wish in recognition of his artistic work at the Vatican and his involvement in preserving numerous ancient monuments in Rome.

In 1520 the painter Raphael, who died at only 37, was the first to be buried in the Pantheon.

Just before Raphael's burial, Pope Leo X went to the Pantheon, knelt before the artist's body, took one hand, and bathed it in tears.

In 1833, Pope Gregory XVI opened Raphael’s tomb to verify that his body was there.

Sarcophagus Tomb of the Painter Raphael After confirmation, the pope offered a sarcophagus from the time of Augustus to place the artist's body there.

On Raphael's sarcophagus, we can read this epitaph: “ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI”.

Which means: “Here lies Raphael, whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, Nature died with him”.

This epitaph was written by the Venetian cardinal and writer Pietro Bembo whose portrait Raphael painted when Bembo was still a young man.

Sarcophagus Tomb of the Painter Raphael Raphael's tomb is surmounted by the “Madonna del Sasso” statue, sculpted by his student Lorenzo Lotti, also known as Lorenzetto (23 June 1490 — 1541), after Raphael commissioned and designed it for him.

Note that this statue of Lorenzetto was the first to be installed in the Pantheon after it was consecrated as a Christian church.

When the Pantheon was still a Roman temple, it was assumed that the aediculas or niches of the Pantheon each contained statues of the Roman gods.

Lorenzetto (Lorenzo Lotti) (23 June 1490 — 1541) “Madonna del Sasso”

Sculpture - Marble, 1523-1524

Madonna del Sasso

On the right of the aedicula hall is a tombstone with an epigraph engraved on a marble slab in memory of Maria Bibbiena, Raphael's lover.

Tombstone in memory of Maria Bibbiena