The Funerary Chapel of Cardinal Bessarion in the Basilica of SS XII Apostoli in Rome: Commemoration and Competition

Cardinal Bessarion and Santi Apostoli

The cardinal’s association with the basilica had commenced more than thirty years earlier on 18 December 1439, when Pope Eugenius IV elevated Bessarion to the rank of its cardinal-priest for the latter’s pro-Unionist efforts during the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438–1439).^[9] This position appears to have become ‘available’ after Bessarion’s predecessor Cardinal Niccolò de’ Tudeschi (1386–1445) effectively lost it due to his active support for antipope Felix V at the Council of Basel.^[10] While the timing of this may have been serendipitous, Bessarion’s appointment to this particular basilica must have been carefully orchestrated. In many ways, it should be seen as a conscious reference to and acknowledgement of Bessarion’s background. For example, the dedication of the basilica to all the apostles, which dates to the tenth century, has been interpreted as a reference to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, the most important sanctuary in the Byzantine capital.^[11] The association of the Roman basilica with the Byzantine sanctuary may also have been reinforced by the resemblance between the two basilicas. Constructed in the second half of the sixth century, the basilica of Santi Apostoli in Rome had been built on a cruciform plan with a transept consisting of two substantial wings and apses which equalled the cappella maggiore in size.^[12] As such, the east end of the basilica had the shape of a trefoil.^[13] Excavations in 1996 and 2021 revealed parts of the mid-sixth-century pavement in both apses of the transept.^[14] This plan was likely in imitation of the aforementioned Church of the Holy Apostles which had influenced the construction of many ancient basilicas across the Italian peninsula.^[15] The multi-dome construction of the church in Constantinople may also have served as an example for the large apses crowning both ends of the transept at Santi Apostoli in Rome.^[16] The Roman basilica had been restored several times in the centuries preceding Bessarion’s arrival, but the original exterior outlines of the building and the cruciform plan were still more or less intact in the fifteenth century.^[17]

Eugenius IV’s appointment of Bessarion to Santi Apostoli was not based solely on the programmatic or visual similarities of the ancient basilica with its famous counterpart in Constantinople, as other references to the cardinal’s Byzantine background played a role, too. For example, it would not have gone unnoticed by the pope that Bessarion had been a prominent member of the order of Saint Basil in Constantinople and that the cardinal continued to wear their habit, as is shown in some miniatures (fig. 5).^[18] The religious community of Santi Apostoli in Rome had a longstanding connection with the Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, one of the two most important seats of Basilian monks on the Italian peninsula. This monastery was a lively centre for maintaining the ‘Greek’ rite in the Catholic church. After his appointment to Santi Apostoli, Bessarion was eager to partake in the existing bond between Grottaferrata and his own titular basilica in Rome.^[19] This became more apparent after 1443, when Bessarion moved with Eugenius IV from Florence to Rome, where he became directly involved with religious life at his titular basilica.^[20] In November 1446, he hosted a general chapter of the Basilian order inside the basilica of Santi Apostoli. Among those present were representatives of the monastery of Grottaferrata.^[21] This chapter would lead to the significant papal bull Inter curas multiplices on 14 December that same year, which confirmed the statutes of the order in an attempt to revive the ideals on which it had been founded.^[22] The cardinal would be made the first commendatory abbot of the monastery in 1462.^[23] Following his appointment, the cardinal enshrined several rites of the Orthodox church at the Basilian abbey.^[24] Bessarion’s enduring relationship with the Basilian monks at Grottaferrata would have an interesting impact on his future decisions regarding his funerary chapel at Santi Apostoli, as will be discussed later.

The Old Chapel of Saint Eugenia

Given the symbolic nature of Bessarion’s elevation to cardinal-priest of Santi Apostoli, the basilica would have been a natural choice as burial place for Bessarion. After convincing his personal friend Pope Pius II, Bessarion received the papal bull Personam tuam on 30 April 1463 which proclaimed that the patronage (iuspatronatus) of the old chapel of Saint Eugenia in the south arm of the transept of the basilica of Santi Apostoli (fig. 2, no. 1) had been handed over to the cardinal so that it could be restored, expanded for the latter’s eternal memory. The Archangel Michael and John the Baptist were added to the new dedication of the chapel. This must have partially sprung from Bessarion’s own cultic preferences. Saint Michael and John the Baptist were already prominently depicted on the cardinal’s seal which has received little scholarly attention (fig. 3).^[25] The cardinal’s interest in the Archangel also extended to other objects he surrounded himself with.^[26] Nevertheless, the inclusion of these two saints cannot have been a complete novelty to the context of Santi Apostoli, as the cults of Saints Michael and John the Baptist, who featured heavily in Roman contexts, had already been well established in religious life at the basilica.^[27]

Bessarion’s newly acquired chapel had already existed under the dedication to Saint Eugenia, a late Antique Christian martyr, since the ninth century.^[28] Due to its long existence and location in one of the three large apses of the basilica, the cult of Eugenia was one of the most present at Santi Apostoli.^[29] In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the chapel remained a significant part of the basilica, as is illustrated by a collection of brief documentary references. A fourteenth-century marble inscription, now preserved in one of the cloisters of the convent of Santi Apostoli, describes the chapel of Saint Eugenia as the main cultic site to the right hand of the cappella maggiore.^[30] Other notarial sources allow for some observations on the importance of the chapel before its total refurbishment by Bessarion. While meetings for drawing up notarial acts were held inside the basilica on a regular basis, the chapel of Saint Eugenia, like the canons’ choir of the basilica, is only mentioned in relation to gatherings involving parties of a more elevated social standing. For example, on 22 December 1382, two monks and the abbot of the Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata were accommodated inside the chapel for a notarial contract.^[31] As mentioned earlier, this religious community had enjoyed a close connection with the chapter of Santi Apostoli, so they would have been hosted as esteemed guests. Another gathering was recorded inside the old chapel of Saint Eugenia on 6 November 1389 in order to discuss a transfer of real estate by people of high local standing.^[32]

The few known notarial references to the chapel from the Quattrocento suggest that a similar degree of spatial and programmatic exclusivity was retained in the following century. For example, on 23 April 1428, Odoardo Colonna, count of Celano, drew up a contract regarding fiefs in the presence of Cardinal Juan de Cervantes (ca. 1380–1453), then cardinal-priest of San Pietro in Vincoli. The wording of the document leaves no doubt about the fact that it took place inside the chapel (“intus cappellam”) of Saint Eugenia.^[33] We may deduct from this that the old chapel did not just encompass an altar in the apse of the south arm of the transept. More revealing is a testament from 30 December 1460, less than three years before Bessarion would acquire patronage of the entire chapel. Aldo Lelli Adriani, who was a spice seller or apothecary from the rione of Trevi in the city of Rome, declared his wish to be buried in the basilica close to the chapel of Saint Eugenia (“prope cappellam scte eugenie”).^[34] The wording shows that Adriani did not necessarily specify burial inside the chapel, which suggests he was aware that this was not available to him. He did, however, go to great lengths to ensure that his commemoration was tied to this specific part of the basilica in other ways. In the same testament, he made provisions for multiple masses to be said inside the chapel of Saint Eugenia, even adding a clause that forced the chapter of Santi Apostoli to relinquish a part of an extra donation of Adriani’s real estate if the canons ceased to perform the masses in the designated area.^[35] These sources all suggest that the old chapel of Saint Eugenia was subjected to liturgical (and spatial) exclusivity before its complete alteration from 1463 onwards. We may assume that this exclusivity of the chapel was marked by some kind of physical enclosure, but no sources on this survive.

When Bessarion acquired the direct patronage of the chapel of Saint Eugenia in the south arm of the transept in 1463, it had no direct patron.^[36] This was in contrast to the majority of other chapels in the side aisles of the nave of the basilica of Santi Apostoli which were the subject of enduring patronage held by a handful of established Roman families who maintained residences nearby. A chapel originally dedicated to SS. John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, located on the north side of the nave (fig. 2, no. 3), was patronized by the Caputgallis (Capogalli) family since the fourteenth century.^[37] A chaplaincy was connected with it, which was occupied between 1460 and 1463 by a Fra Giovanni da Sicilia who, as documents show, actively maintained the endowment tied to his position during the aforementioned years.^[38] In addition to the chapel, the Caputgallis family which produced several generations of notaries maintained their constant presence throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by holding office in several parts of the basilica on many occasions.

The chapel to the left of this was dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket (fig. 2, no. 4). It was under the patronage of the old Roman noble family of Mancini, from the Ognissanti branch, since at least the late fourteenth century.^[39] In 1436–1437, Renzo di Pietro de’ Mancini made provisions for a future burial in the family chapel in SS XII Apostoli.^[40] A drawing of his tomb slab is preserved in The Royal Collection in Windsor Castle.^[41] The chapel of Saint Thomas Becket remained under the patronage of the Mancinis until the eighteenth century.^[42] Their patronage of the chapel seems to have been important to the basilica of Santi Apostoli given they made their presence felt around the high altar, too. In the 1440s, Bessarion explicitly included in his new statutes for the canons of the basilica that an older bequest by a member of the Mancini family for the burning of two lamps in front of the high altar be retained.^[43] The Mancinis kept donating funds for masses at the high altar until well into the sixteenth century.^[44]

Several other notarial acts were drawn up in cappella inside Santi Apostoli, but there is no evidence to suggest that the aforementioned family chapels were actually enclosed spaces. Unlike the current state, the side aisles of the fifteenth-century basilica of Santi Apostoli were probably not separated from the middle nave by large pilasters but by a row of columns. Moreover, it is likely that the families patronized the altars themselves, while in practice their tombs in the floor demarcated the boundaries of the “chapel” by extending into the rest of the bay in which the altar itself was located.^[45] The lack of clear demarcation would have also reflected the complicated patterns of patronage at Santi Apostoli, as some of these altars remained open for patronage from other families. For example, the chapel usually associated with the Caputgallis was made beneficiary of a testamentary bequest by members of an entirely different family in October 1462. Fra Giovanni da Sicilia, who held the chaplaincy of the altar, received the donation, thus accepting the patronage of the other family.^[46] There were also altars which were appended to pilasters or columns of the basilica of Santi Apostoli. One of these was the altar of the Deposition which was located against a pilaster supporting the triumphal arch of the cappella maggiore. Since at least 1455 this altar was under the patronage of the noble family Muti Papazzurri.^[47] More importantly, its location means that it was appended to the left side of the arch that led directly from the nave into the chapel of Saint Eugenia (fig. 2, no. 6).^[48] This altar remained in place even after Bessarion’s renovations. Scant documentary references exist to other chapels or altars which were located inside Santi Apostoli in the fifteenth century. There is mention of altars dedicated to a Saint Urban, the Archangel Michael, and Mary Magdalene.^[49] Nothing else is known about them.

Within this context, the cardinal’s direct involvement with the chapel of Saint Eugenia illustrates the conspicuous nature of Bessarion’s envisioned commemoration within the context of Santi Apostoli. The cult of Eugenia and the long presence of her relics and that of other martyrs inside the chapel in the south arm of the transept still lent significant cultic importance and historicity to the basilica in the years leading up to Bessarion’s acquisition of the chapel.^[50] The chapel was also much larger than the aforementioned chapels in the side aisles, with probably some kind of dividing screen. As such, the chapel of Saint Eugenia outperformed the other chapels inside the basilica both in size and in cultic importance. Apart from the cappella maggiore, the only other part of the basilica which could compete with the newly acquired chapel of Bessarion in terms of spatial and cultic prominence was the altar patronized by the prominent cardinal Prospero Colonna (ca. 1410–1463) and his family in the large apse of the north arm of the transept (fig. 2, no. 2). Like the chapel of Saint Eugenia, this part of the basilica had functioned as a significant counterpart of the cappella maggiore for many centuries. Located precisely opposite, the chapel in the north arm of the transept had once served as the place to display relics of Saint Sabinus.^[51] An excavation in 2021 revealed part of the original late-Antique mosaic floor of the apse. Unlike the chapel of Saint Eugenia, however, the altar in this apse at some point had been rededicated to Saint Francis.^[52] Both apses in the nave of the basilica were important places of worship in their own right, a fact accentuated by their massive size compared to the cappella maggiore at the east end.

The Colonna family had a longstanding association with Santi Apostoli which culminated during the papacy of their relative Martin V (1417–1431), who built a substantial residence directly next door and held court in the complex.^[53] The basilica was also partially altered, possibly with the addition of a portico to the west façade.^[54] It may come as no surprise then that Prospero Colonna started cultivating a close relationship with the venerable chapter from an early stage in his life during the papacy of his relative Martin V.^[55] Over the following decades, Prospero Colonna remained a continuous presence in the life of the canons and the basilica in various ways. Due to the proximity of his own palace, members of his household were often found inside the basilica up until the cardinal’s death, as documents attest.^[56] His enduring, close relationship with Santi Apostoli is further illustrated by the fact that, although Prospero had been cardinal deacon of the church of San Giorgio in Velabro since 1430, he chose to be buried near the altar of Saint Francis in the aforementioned basilica.^[57] The Colonna family had taken a particular interest in the Franciscan order since its foundation in the thirteenth century and they could count a beatified Franciscan nun, Margherita Colonna (d. 1284), among their family members.^[58] The dedication of their family altar to Saint Francis must have stood out in the context of Santi Apostoli. There is no evidence to suggest that before the introduction of the friars at Santi Apostoli there were other altars dedicated to other mendicant saints or to saints whose cult did not have a solid connection with Rome.^[59] This is further illustrated by an early fifteenth-century feast calendar which originally belonged to Santi Apostoli.^[60] As Ebner noted, this calendar, which is now preserved in the Apostolic Library in Vatican City, is remarkable in its almost complete exclusion of saints from outside the city of Rome.^[61]

In the testament which Prospero Colonna drew up on 23 March 1463, the cardinal lists among his inalienable possessions “a part of the chapel” in which he will be buried.^[62] This formulation is very important, as it shows that the dedication of the altar to Saint Francis dates from before Bessarion’s eventful donation of Santi Apostoli to the Friars Minor Conventual later in 1463.^[63]

The aforementioned passage from Prospero Colonna’s testament also suggests that the cardinal held patronage over the altar but not over the entire arm of the transept, as would soon be the case with Bessarion’s own funerary structure. This is further suggested by a later testament of another family member. In 1486, Laura Colonna, wife of Paolo Colonna, ordered in her testament that her remains be buried by the altar of Santo Spirito next to the tomb of her son Francesco (d. 1485).^[64] It is known from another source that Francesco’s tomb was located close to the altar of Saint Francis, which means that the altar of Santo Spirito must have been located in the same bay of the basilica.^[65] The fragment of a marble sculpture now preserved in the portico of the basilica was likely part of Francesco Colonna’s funerary monument (fig. 4). No other altar is known to have existed in the north arm of the transept at this time, so the altar of Santo Spirito was possibly located against the east wall of the north arm (fig. 2, no. 5). While the Colonna family may not have held the entire north arm of the transept at Santi Apostoli under their direct patronage, it seems that in practice – similar to the aforementioned family altars in the nave – the tombs of the family members occupied the floor space of this part of the basilica during the fifteenth century and beyond.^[66] After his death, Prospero Colonna received a suitable funeral service in the basilica, where a funeral oration was performed by the famous orator Niccolò Palmieri (d. 1467).^[67] The whole service was witnessed and described with interesting detail in a prose work by Niccolò della Valle (1444–1473), canon of Saint Peter’s.^[68]

The north and south arm of the transept of Santi Apostoli enjoyed their own liturgical and spatial prominence within the basilica, but were both nevertheless centred around the cappella maggiore and the crossing. The remains of the apostles Philip and James had been buried below the high altar for centuries already.^[69] Despite the very large size and spatial prominence of the cappella maggiore, sources allowing us to reconstruct the fifteenth-century state of this part of the basilica are few and far between. The cappella maggiore was probably separated by some kind of baluster from the rest of the nave, as there is mention of a tribuna in 1475.^[70] Later visual sources corroborate this.^[71] Moreover, these show that the high altar at Santi Apostoli was located below a well-preserved medieval marble ciborium from 1162 which was supported by four ancient columns in red marble.^[72] The area in front of the cappella maggiore, between the chapels of the Colonna family and of Bessarion, was the centre of liturgical activity, as it contained a canon’s choir which is very briefly referred to in a handful of notarial acts. Only one fleeting reference in a document from February 1460 suggests that each canon had his stall in the choir and that the choir was probably not directly situated next to or behind the high altar.^[73] We may therefore assume that the choir, following traditional Roman church layout, was located outside the cappella maggiore in the crossing of the nave and the transept, i.e., between the two prominent arms and apses of the basilica (fig. 2, no. 7).^[74] This would not have been uncommon for a Roman basilica of the stature of Santi Apostoli. For example, it is known that the canons’ choirs of the old basilica of Saint Peter’s and of the Lateran basilica were located in the nave and that they were entirely separate from the area of the high altar. They even incorporated their own altarpieces.^[75] It is not known if the latter was the case for the choir at Santi Apostoli.

Bessarion’s Changing Position and Patronage at Santi Apostoli

The prominence of the Colonna family and of Prospero Colonna at Santi Apostoli cannot have been ideal to Bessarion who, as we will see, preferred to keep a close watch on what went on. For example, Cardinal Colonna had been involved in a long dispute regarding land that had been usurped by his relatives from the monastery of Grottaferrata, one of Bessarion’s greatly favoured religious communities.^[76] Santi Apostoli was sometimes a pawn in the cardinals’ different interests, too. In 1462, Pius II forfeited the palace adjacent to Santi Apostoli, which had belonged to the Colonna family since Martin V, and formally ceded it to Bessarion because of the latter’s position as cardinal-priest of the basilica.^[77] This, however, does not mean that the two cardinals would have been mortal enemies. In fact, the patronage held by the Colonna over the altar of Saint Francis appears to have been another significant step for Bessarion towards cementing a stronger position at Santi Apostoli. In his testament of 1463, Prospero Colonna had named Bessarion as the first of several testamentary executors, probably mostly because of the latter’s position as cardinal-priest of Santi Apostoli.^[78] This meant that, in addition to his own chapel, Bessarion now would also have a direct say in the work being done on the north arm of the basilica.

The death of Prospero Colonna set in motion the permanent change in Bessarion’s position at Santi Apostoli. The year 1463 was important for Bessarion in many other ways, too. It was also the year in which some of the highest offices which Bessarion would hold were bestowed on the cardinal. Bessarion was appointed to the prestigious position of Papal Legate to Venice. In addition, he also became the Titular Patriarch of Constantinople, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and, consequently, primus cardinalium.^[79] That same year, he was received in Venice by the Doge Cristoforo Moro (1390–1471) with the highest honours which his new ambassadorial role merited.^[80] Bessarion subsequently bequeathed important relics of the True Cross and of Christ’s last worn garment in a very precious staurotheke – famously depicted by Gentile Bellini – to the scuola of the Confraternity of Santa Maria della Carità in Venice.^[81] Finally, it should not go unnoticed that 1463 marked the year in which Bessarion geared up his extensive preparations for a crusade against the Ottomans.^[82]

Bessarion’s involvement in the alterations of the north arm of the basilica of San Apostoli would soon be intensified by another donation. The altar of Saint Francis was left a substantial gift on 6 August 1464 by Vittoria Colonna, Cardinal Prospero Colonna’s sister.^[83] She bequeathed the substantial sum of 2000 ducats to be paid by her heirs in instalments “for the fabric of the chapel and the tomb of Cardinal Colonna”.^[84] The large sum suggests that Vittoria expected significant additions to the altar of Saint Francis and the burial place of Prospero Colonna the year after the cardinal’s death. Vittoria Colonna would be buried next to her brother in 1464.^[85] It seems that her will regarding alterations on the area of the altar of Saint Francis was being executed over an extended period. A promise of payment dated 1 August 1467 suggests that work on the area around the altar of Saint Francis in order to accommodate the permanent burial places of Prospero and Vittoria Colonna was not yet started. Importantly, the document identifies Cardinal Bessarion as one of the foremost agents in executing Vittoria’s wish regarding the payment for the alterations of the altar of Saint Francis and the tomb of her brother Prospero.^[86] The precise nature of the work remains unknown, but we may assume that Vittoria Colonna’s elaborate tomb slab, of which the antiquarian Francesco Gualdi (1574–1657) made a woodcut, was commissioned and carved while alterations were executed under the supervision of Bessarion.^[87] Thus Bessarion, next to acquiring patronage of his own chapel in Santi Apostoli and slowly starting to build the programme of the intended chapel additionally, became involved in securing important alterations in the north arm of the transept at Santi Apostoli in the period of 1463–1467. His influence over the patronage of key places in both arms of the transept meant that the chapels were interconnected to an unprecedented degree. It should also be noted that this would not be the last time that Bessarion would supervise construction works at another person’s burial chapel as testamentary executor. Around 1470, he commissioned the famous Roman sculptor Andrea Bregno (d. 1503) to carve a marble relief of the Archangel Michael as part of a larger visual programme in the funerary chapel of his friend Cardinal Juan Carvajal (d. 1469) in the nearby church of San Marcello al Corso.^[88]

The interconnectedness of Prospero Colonna’s passing and Bessarion’s actions at Santi Apostoli expressed itself in other ways too. It cannot be a coincidence that all of Bessarion’s most significant interventions at Santi Apostoli date to after the death of Prospero Colonna around 23 March 1463 and that they all took place in the four months following the death of his great competitor. As discussed earlier, Bessarion received papal confirmation regarding the new patronage of the old chapel of Saint Eugenia on 30 April, only a month later. By taking possession of the other most conspicuously located, cultically significant part of the basilica, Bessarion mirrored the Colonna patronage of the altar of Saint Francis in the large apse of the opposite transept, which he was already partially supervising.

Bessarion soon continued with another decisive intervention in religious life at Santi Apostoli. This merits attention of its own, as it provides important insights into his complicated relationship with the canons of Santi Apostoli in the early 1460s while he worked on the alterations of both arms of the transept. More importantly, this digression will further illustrate the atmosphere of contention in which Bessarion commenced work on his new funerary chapel. On 30 June 1463, Bessarion suppressed the old chapter of canons of Santi Apostoli with a bull from Pius II, Sedis Apostolicae providentia, and installed the Friars Minor Conventual. The transferral at Santi Apostoli was presented and communicated to the canons by Bessarion’s protégé and representative Niccolò Perotti inside the basilica on 1 July 1463.^[89] The keys to the basilica were officially handed over to Giovanni Dacri (d. 1485), Minister General of the Franciscan Order, on 3 July in the presence of Cardinal Bessarion.^[90] This was followed on the same day by a celebration of the Divine Office during which Bessarion was thanked by Giovanni for his efforts.^[91] All the prebends and other resources of the former canons and chaplaincies of the chapels in the basilica were seized and reverted to the friars.^[92] Left without their old sources of income from Santi Apostoli, one of the former canons soon lobbied to become part of the metropolitan chapter of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence while some others remained in Rome and held positions at the papal court.^[93] Pius’ bull in favour of the transferral draws an image in which the titular cardinal made sustained, personal effort towards battling the spiritual decline of the old chapter of Santi Apostoli. It notes that many years earlier, in February 1443, Eugenius IV had already ordered to decrease the number of canons at Santi Apostoli to four.^[94] This had been part of an initiative on the part of Bessarion to reform the statutes of the chapter and to rekindle religious fervour and enthusiasm for the ideal of poverty, as he would do with the Basilian order a couple of years later.^[95]

In reality, things were a bit more complicated, as by 1463 the number of non-resident canons at Santi Apostoli had been quite stable for almost a century.^[96] More importantly, other sources suggest that Bessarion’s dedication towards suppressing the canons had not always been as consistent as Pius’ bull purports to show. This becomes clear from a series of events which took place at the basilica in early 1460. On 4 February that year, the canons of Santi Apostoli convened in their choir. The session was presided over by Lorenzo de Venetiis who was canon of the basilica and also vicar of Cardinal Bessarion.^[97] The purpose of the meeting was to appoint Niccolò di Angelo de Gaiettis, a chaplain of the cardinal, a canon of the venerable chapter. Bessarion seems to have played an active role in this appointment. The contract goes on to describe that Niccolò was given a stall in the canons’ choir and that the tabernacle of the Holy Sacrament near the high altar of Santi Apostoli was opened and closed for the occasion.^[98] A couple of days later, on 7 February, another meeting was called, again under the supervision of Lorenzo de Venetiis. This time the main topic was that the rectorate of the church of San Silvestro al Quirinale be assigned to Bessarion’s chaplain Niccolò, thus securing an extra source of income for him.^[99] A document drawn up on 17 February 1460 shows that Niccolò di Angelo de Gaiettis was a full member of the chapter of Santi Apostoli by that time.^[100] All this effort suggests that Niccolò was a very valued member of Bessarion’s entourage.^[101]

More importantly, the preceding presents a rather different image from the tone of the papal bull of 1463. In February 1460, Bessarion was not (yet) contemplating another decrease of the number of canons or the suppression of the chapter altogether. In contrast, this shows that less than three years before the introduction of the Friars Minor Conventual, the cardinal was actively involved in appointing a second member of his entourage as canon of Santi Apostoli, thus going against Pope Eugenius’ earlier order to decrease the number of canons. Prospero Colonna’s death, which finally gave Bessarion free rein, likely prompted the cardinal’s radical change.

The suppression in favour of the friars was certainly the culmination of Cardinal Bessarion’s long relationship with the different Franciscan branches. Bessarion had been general protector of the Franciscan order since 1458.^[102] Long before that, he had already suppressed other religious communities in favour of the Observant branch of the Franciscan Order.^[103] As Liberale Gatti rightly emphasized, the transferral of Santi Apostoli gave the Friars Minor Conventual their first permanent seat in the ancient city.^[104] The newly installed mendicant community certainly outperformed the former chapter in terms of numbers. In 1475, three years after Cardinal Bessarion’s death and burial in his funerary chapel, at least thirteen friars were resident in the convent of Santi Apostoli.^[105] In addition, the recorded names show that, while some friars were from the city of Rome itself, the community in terms of geography was more diverse than the old chapter had ever been. Most other members came from different parts of the Italian peninsula, while two friars were from England.^[106] A document from 1477 lists additional friars from France, Spain, Flanders, and Muscovite Russia.^[107] In this aspect, the recently installed religious community reflected the strongly international character which the members of Bessarion’s household, who were from all parts of the European continent, had already brought to Santi Apostoli in the years leading up to the suppression of the canons.^[108]

Despite the substantial change which the introduction of the Friars Minor Conventual caused to religious life at Santi Apostoli, there were probably no significant alterations to the fabric of the basilica in order to adapt it more to Franciscan use and liturgy in the first years. There is no evidence to suggest that work was started on the construction of new choir stalls or the erection of a choir screen at Santi Apostoli in the fifteenth century.^[109] The existing patronage of altars (and their dedications) by established families did not change either. Instead, other concerns seem to have occupied the time and energy of the mendicant community. In May 1464, for example, the friars managed to establish a studium of theology in the complex of Santi Apostoli.^[110] Nevertheless, this does not mean that the recently installed friars took no active control whatsoever of the already-present altars and other liturgical furnishings inside the basilica, as is illustrated by one legal case. In 1465 or 1466, the friars took legal action against the heirs of Paolo de Carbonibus (d. 1465), who had bequeathed half of his estate to the basilica in his testament.^[111] In their petition to claim their share of the estate, the friars left no doubt about the fact that the procurator and guardianus of the convent would decide themselves to which altar in the basilica they would assign the stipulated weekly masses for Paolo’s soul.^[112]

Bessarion’s New Chapel

All this was in stark contrast to the elaborate and costly works which would soon commence on Bessarion’s own chapel in 1463. As discussed earlier, Cardinal Bessarion initiated the construction of his chapel in what turned out to be a crucial year for him. This is reflected by the extraordinary effort he took to establish and secure his future commemoration at Santi Apostoli. On 17 February 1464, several months after Pius II had already issued the bull in support of Bessarion’s patronage and rededication of the chapel, the cardinal drew up a testament during his stay in the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice with the sole purpose of guaranteeing the construction of the funerary structure according to his wishes.^[113] In the same testament, Bessarion also ordered that the Franciscan friars he had recently installed in the basilica were to say daily masses inside the funerary chapel, with special services on the feast days of the Archangel Michael, Saint John the Baptist, and the Trinity. In addition, there was to be a mass for the dead three times a week, with special reference to Cardinal Isidore of Kiev (ca. 1385–1463), his former tutor Bishop Dositheus of Trebizond, (possibly) his parents Theodore and Theodora, and some others whom the cardinal had “in his intention”.^[114] Lorenzo de Venetiis, who had been canon of Santi Apostoli in the early 1460s and who was still part of the cardinal’s entourage, was given the mandate to sell a number of vineyards in order to secure the financial survival of Bessarion’s funerary chapel.^[115]

According to the testament, the whole bay which the new chapel occupied in the basilica was to be closed off with a marble railing topped by columns and an architrave with candelabras.^[116] Despite the fact that a relatively large part of the basilica was taken up by the funerary chapel, the cardinal’s vision for his new chapel shows that he wanted to maintain the exclusivity which had probably already characterized the old chapel of Saint Eugenia in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, anticipating accessibility only on certain (liturgical) occasions to particular groups. This is suggested also by some known events not long after Bessarion’s death. On 29 September 1474, the feast day of Saint Michael, Bessarion’s stipulated yearly mass for the Archangel served as a backdrop against which Federico da Montefeltro (1422–1482), newly created Duke of Urbino, received the regalia of the Order of the Ermine.^[117]

The exclusivity of the new chapel is further suggested by a remarkable decision from not much later. On 24 May 1476, the College of Acolytes of the Apostolic See decided, likely with approval from the friars of Santi Apostoli, that the cardinal’s funerary chapel be used from then on as the main seat and office space for the administration of the said College.^[118] It was common in fifteenth-century Rome to allocate to certain administrative bodies of the papal court the (temporary) use of liturgical or monastic spaces which were not habitually open to religious visitors or which could be closed off easily.^[119] Santi Apostoli had already seen this practice during the papacy of Martin V.^[120] While Bessarion’s chapel would have still been used for the weekly and yearly liturgical events in accordance with the stipulations made by the cardinal himself, the decision by the College of Acolytes implies that the chapel was indeed enclosed. Moreover, the choice of words (“inessere”) suggests that Bessarion’s funerary chapel remained a spatially and liturgically exclusive space within the context of the basilica to such a degree that it was deemed suitable to offer the privacy necessary for the College to perform their administrative tasks there. Apart from the cappella maggiore, Bessarion’s chapel was probably the only substantial space within the basilica which was closed off.

The sheer size of Bessarion’s chapel, which took up the entire south arm of the transept, must have also contributed to its visual presence in the basilica. In another attempt to increase this effect, Bessarion stipulated in his testament that the entire vault and roof of the chapel be rebuilt.^[121] This would have made the chapel stand out even more compared with the nave and the other chapels in the basilica, not in the least the altar of Saint Francis itself. According to Schelbert, we may also attribute to Bessarion the breaking up of the colonnades of the nave for the insertion of two great arches which opened up to the arms of the transept.^[122] If true, this means that for the first time in the history of the basilica the large apses of both ends of the transept became directly visible from the crossing. This would have greatly enhanced the visibility of the altar of Saint Francis and of Bessarion’s new chapel and motivated a direct visual association between the places of worship. The importance that Bessarion held for visibility is corroborated by other sources. In an epitaph verse composed in Greek by Bessarion for himself, the cardinal wrote how his funerary chapel, despite having been made with human hands, was “divine looking” (θεοειδές) and “beguiling” (θέλγον), thus underlining the importance that the act of viewing held in his anticipated commemoration.^[123] As this was composed during the construction of the chapel, the epitaph gives us precious insight into Bessarion’s considerable interest in the power of visibility.

In order to further the visual impact which the sheer size and location of the chapel already made on the basilica, especially after the insertion of a new vault and sizeable arch, Bessarion stated in his 1464 testament that his entire funerary chapel be decorated with frescoes (“omnino depingatur”) according to a design by the Roman painter Antoniazzo Romano.^[124] Bessarion’s testament stated that the wall of the altar was supposed to receive a fresco depicting Jesus Christ seated on a throne and assisted by, respectively, the Virgin Mary, Saint Michael, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Eugenia. Bessarion was to be depicted kneeling at Christ’s feet, with his coat of arms.^[125] The cardinal had prior experience with this composition. During his time in Bologna, he had himself depicted kneeling in a fresco, now lost, of the Assumption of the Virgin in the round church of the Madonna della Monte.^[126] A similar composition is used in an initial in which Bessarion had himself portrayed kneeling as if experiencing a vision of Christ the Redeemer (fig. 5).^[127] This depiction of the cardinal in combination with Christ seated on clouds comes close to the composition stipulated in his testament for the chapel at Santi Apostoli. In the fresco for his funerary chapel, Bessarion intended to make himself an indispensable part of the vision of Christ, like he had done in the aforementioned artistic commissions in different contexts. This was particularly relevant in the case of the funerary chapel at Santi Apostoli, because, in another attempt to further his visual presence, Bessarion’s marble tomb was to be placed to the right of the altar, with a conspicuously located inscription referring to him on the marble coffin (fig. 2, no. 8).^[128] Two parts of the tomb containing inscriptions are still preserved by the Friars Minor Conventual in the adjacent convent. A panel from a late sixteenth-century diptych shows the original state of Bessarion’s tomb (fig. 6).^[129] The cardinal’s 1464 testament makes no secret of the importance that this tomb had in ensuring Bessarion’s visual presence during future use of the chapel: “This building will be constructed with such Credence [in anticipation of] when a pope will have celebrated Mass in it, and that is why a beautiful marble epitaph must be placed in a high enough position.”^[130] Placed to the right of the altar in 1466, Bessarion’s tomb was probably also meant to play an integral part in the liturgical activities. Fashioned to look like a chest, the monument would have been able to accommodate the liturgical objects used for the services on the nearby altar inside the chapel.

On 14 September 1464, Cardinal Bessarion had another notarial act drawn up in which his prior agreements with Antoniazzo Romano regarding the iconography were formalized and expanded. The painter formally promised to finish decorating the funerary chapel of Santi Apostoli according to plan and on time.^[131] For some unknown reason, possibly for the sake of clarification or confirmation, a second contract was drawn up with the painter Antoniazzo Romano on 23 August 1465. This time, Bessarion was more specific about some parts of the chapels which had not been covered by the earlier testamentary description.^[132] The newly built vaults of the chapel were to be covered with azurite and golden stars, with Christ in the middle surrounded by four angels and the four Evangelists, who in turn would each be accompanied by a Doctor of the Latin and the Greek Churches. These Doctors were to be depicted writing in studio, very likely as a reference to Bessarion’s own erudition and to his famous library which he would donate to the Basilica of San Marco and the Republic of Venice in 1468, the year after the completion of his burial chapel.^[133] These frescoes are now completely lost, but a similar composition of the Evangelists joined by a Doctor of both churches was completed in the vaults of the Mazzatosta chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Verità in Viterbo in 1469. Earlier studies have shown that this chapel has direct links with Bessarion’s new construction at Santi Apostoli.^[134]

The cardinal did not rest until he was confident that he would witness the completion of his funerary chapel. On 10 April 1467, when the chapel was nearly completed, Bessarion drew up the second and last version of his testament.^[135] Whereas his first testament had served only to secure his burial chapel, the second testament was written at a moment when Bessarion took the time to consider his other – and seemingly less prominent – interests such as the proper dispersal of his worldly possessions. Later that same year, as a final attempt of consolidation, he convinced Pope Paul II to draw up a second bull, In eminenti Apostolicae Sedis, which confirmed the cardinal’s patronage and rededication of the old chapel of Saint Eugenia in the basilica of Santi Apostoli. The decoration of the chapel, including Antoniazzo Romano’s frescoes, was described by the bull as “worthy” and “fitting”.^[136] In its completed state, Bessarion’s lavishly decorated chapel, which took up a substantial area inside the basilica, would have been a much more elaborate and visually impressive counterpart of the north arm of the transept where Prospero Colonna and his niece Vittoria had been buried close to the altar of Saint Francis not much earlier.

Alterations to the Programme

The remaining frescoes in the apse, rediscovered in 1959, suggest that there was a complex visual programme of different types of apparitions, which was supposed to enhance the visual impact of the chapel as a whole. The remnants of the apse fresco at Santi Apostoli show that Antoniazzo Romano’s Christ seated in a long mantle on clouds. Bessarion appears to have anticipated a chapel which would create a vision-like experience of Christ. The remains of the apse fresco show no trace of Bessarion kneeling below the feet of Christ, as had been stipulated by the 1464 testament. Did it not survive the later alterations to the chapel? Or was the iconography of the apse fresco altered at Bessarion’s request? The latter is certainly possible, as the depiction of Christ in the apse is surrounded by nine rows of distinctively ranked angels even though there was no such specification in the testament either (fig. 1). The inclusion of the rows of angels in the apse is an interesting choice which betrays influences from Byzantine iconography and other Eastern ecclesiastical traditions. Their presence in Antoniazzo Romano’s apse fresco in Santi Apostoli has been correctly identified as a reference to Pseudo-Dionysius’ treatise On the Celestial Hierarchy (De Coelesti Hierarchia; Περὶ τῆς Οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας). This treatise explains at length the existence of the nine orders of angels.^[137]

Moreover, it is probably no coincidence that a thirteenth-century fresco of the Trinity in a similar composition of a mandorla encircled by ranks of different types of angels (fig. 7) featured prominently on the triumphal arch inside the abbey church of Grottaferrata directly above an older mosaic of the Pentecost.^[138] This iconography at the Basilian abbey would not have gone unnoticed to Bessarion, as he had included the Trinity among the celebratory services in his funerary chapel at Santi Apostoli.^[139] The comparison with Grottaferrata is made all the more relevant because of another visual and programmatic similarity with Bessarion’s funerary chapel. Probably sometime around the completion of the frescoes at Santi Apostoli, Antoniazzo Romano created a large panel painting of the Virgin with Child which took a central position on the altar inside the funerary chapel.^[140] It is known that Bessarion donated a thirteenth-century icon of the Madonna with Child to the monastery of Grottaferrata.^[141] Bessarion may have twinned his donations of objects to his two most important religious communities to a certain degree.

The theme of apparitions in the funerary chapel at Santi Apostoli is continued in the register directly below in the apse, where we can see that Antoniazzo Romano and his workshop painted other scenes which were not explicitly mentioned in Bessarion’s first testament. The upper section of the wall of the apse still contains the frescoes depicting the two apparitions of the Archangel Michael on, respectively, Monte Gargano and Mont-Saint-Michel (fig. 8). Antoniazzo Romano’s surviving frescoes of Saint Michael’s apparitions on Monte Gargano and Mont-Saint-Michel and the now lost frescoes on the life of Saint John the Baptist in the apse of the chapel have been convincingly interpreted as a visual defence of hierarchy, with both Saints Michael and John the Baptist serving as beacons of Christian religiosity and of the supremacy of the Church against the existential threat posed by the Ottoman Empire and conciliar disputes.^[142] Tiberia’s reconstruction of the chapel, which is based on Bessarion’s minute testamentary descriptions, shows that even with the marble enclosure, the scenes of the apparitions of the Archangel Michael would have been visible from the nave of the basilica.^[143] The prominence of the Archangel can be related to contemporary burial chapels for other high prelates connected with Rome.^[144]

Bessarion’s sizeable chapel, with its visible focus on the cult of Saint Michael, must have left a significant impression on viewers. It may have even influenced patronage in the same parish. For example, on 25 July 1468, Giovanni dei Foschi de Berta, canon of Santa Maria Maggiore, bequeathed 50 ducats to have his funerary chapel in the nearby church of San Nicola next to the Column of Trajan decorated with, among others, an image of the Archangel Michael and a fresco of the saint’s apparition on Monte Gargano.^[145] It is probably no coincidence that this bequest dates to shortly after the completion of Bessarion’s funerary chapel. Moreover, it is known that Giovanni was no stranger to the context of Santi Apostoli.^[146] The canon’s bequest may therefore present us with very rare insight into the local artistic influence which the frescoes by Antoniazzo Romano and his workshop might have exerted.

The Completion of a Visual Statement

By now it should be clear that even though the chapel was not easily accessible for most religious visitors, it still accommodated a vision-like experience for those viewing it from the crossing of the basilica and outside the marble enclosure of the chapel. During services, the presence of elaborate and visually appealing furnishings was another important factor in ensuring this. Bessarion’s 1464 testament contains an exhaustive list of all the precious objects which were to be donated to the chapel after the cardinal’s death. Among the many fabrics, liturgical vestments, and other objects, some testify to the consideration the cardinal gave to selecting his bequest. For example, Bessarion mentioned a missal which he had purchased from the estate of Cardinal Isidore of Kiev who, as mentioned earlier, was included in the memento mortuorum of the funerary chapel.^[147] Bessarion also included a black liturgical vestment from Isidore’s estate, which would be used for the weekly Masses of the Dead. Interestingly, Bessarion’s list of objects also included a liturgical vestment from the estate of Prospero Colonna. Unlike Isidore’s vestment, this one had the coat-of-arms of Bessarion embroidered on it.

More importantly, the list of objects allows for some interesting insights into the art found inside the chapel. Bessarion’s testament mentions two chalices, one of which came with a paten, and that they were made by a goldsmith called Simeon.^[148] None of the objects have survived in situ in the chapel or in the convent of Santi Apostoli. There are, however, some objects which have been identified as parts of the original furnishing but which have escaped attention in art-historical studies of Bessarion’s funerary chapel. The first example is a set of a chalice and paten in the treasury of the monastery of Grottaferrata (figs. 9, 10).^[149]

9

Chalice of Bessarion, before 1465, silver-gilt and enamel. Grottaferrata, Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata

10

Paten of Bessarion, before 1465, silver-gilt. Grottaferrata, Monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata

The chalice of Grottaferrata has been variously attributed to the Tuscan, Viterban, Bolognese, and Roman schools.^[150] Zandri suggested that Bessarion’s chalice is of Sienese production or even from a Roman workshop influenced by the Tuscan school.^[151] In fifteenth-century Italy, chalices remained heavily influenced by fourteenth-century Sienese examples. It may come as no surprise then that Bessarion’s chalice bears a strong resemblance to older chalices which were produced by Tuscan or Sienese-influenced workshops. Several parts of the decorations and the enamelled images on the foot and knob are very similar to a chalice inscribed by Duccio di Donato (ca. 1315) and another one by Tondino di Guerrino and Andrea Riguardi (ca. 1315–1325).^[152] Similar features are found on a chalice created in Naples sometime after 1348 by the Florentine goldsmith Giovanni di Ser Iacopo.^[153] Mention should also be made of the strong stylistic resemblance to a chalice from Vellano (near Pistoia) which has been attributed to a Florentine workshop of the 1420s or 1430s.^[154] Finally, many parts of the decoration of Bessarion’s chalice are almost identical to those of a chalice signed by the Viterban goldsmith Pietro Giovanni detto il Giudice and dated to 1427.^[155]

It is generally assumed that Bessarion donated the chalice and paten to the Basilian monastery on 13 August 1465, two years after he made his first bequest to his funerary chapel.^[156] However, the enamelled images on Bessarion’s chalice suggest that originally the two liturgical objects were part of the furnishings of the cardinal’s funerary chapel in the basilica of Santi Apostoli. The foot displays individual enamelled representations of the four Evangelists together with Saint Eugenia and the Archangel Michael; on the knob are depicted the Man of Sorrows, the Virgin Mary, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint John the Evangelist, and the Archangel Michael (fig. 11). Two of the saints, Eugenia and Michael, are dedication saints of Bessarion’s chapel at Santi Apostoli. What is even more interesting is that the Archangel is the only saint to be depicted twice on the chalice and that the enamelled image of Eugenia is the only one with an inscription explicitly identifying the saint (fig. 9).^[157]

11

Detail of the enamelled depiction of the Archangel Michael on the knob of the handle of Bessarion’s chalice (fig. 9)

The appearance of these saints must have sprung from Bessarion’s own choice, as it is known that the iconography of chalices was often subjected to the owner’s personal demands who may or may not have had the intended context of the chalice in mind.^[158] The prominence of the enamelled images of Archangel and Eugenia led Zandri to propose that this set of chalice and paten were originally associated with the cardinal’s bequest for his funerary chapel.^[159] If the cardinal had indeed planned for this set of liturgical objects to go to Santi Apostoli, one can ask how they ended up in the monastery of Grottaferrata. An explanation may be found in the fact that Bessarion often retained use of objects from his own donations until his death. This was the case for his bequest to the monastery of Grottaferrata and for his own funerary chapel at Santi Apostoli.^[160] The descriptions of objects in both bequests are not very detailed, so while Bessarion may have had a different set in mind, his testamentary executors may have (unintentionally) mixed up the objects from the cardinal’s estate and sent the present chalice and paten to the Basilian monastery after the cardinal’s death in 1472.

In his 1464 bequest to his funerary chapel, Bessarion also included a large missal.^[161] This has been identified beyond doubt as a Franciscan missal preserved in the Apostolic Library in Vatican City.^[162] Among its decorations is Bessarion’s coat of arms, and there are inscriptions that leave no doubt about its former use in the cardinal’s funerary chapel in Santi Apostoli. The illumination of the manuscript is generally attributed to a North Italian workshop.^[163] This missal is the only surviving object with an uninterrupted chain of provenance that reaches back to the cardinal’s funerary chapel, yet it has been overlooked in most art-historical studies of Bessarion’s patronage at Santi Apostoli.^[164] This modestly decorated missal contains an elaborate first folio as well as a particularly fine illumination of Christ on the Cross flanked by a sorrowful Mary and John the Evangelist (fig. 12). Beside the remnants of Antoniazzo Romano’s frescoes, the illumination of the missal provides one of the very few known examples of visual art which once functioned on a regular basis inside the funerary chapel for the benefit of the cardinal’s fully orchestrated daily commemoration. The chalice, paten, and manuscript might have even been placed on top of Bessarion’s marble sarcophagus directly next to the altar during services, where they would have created a direct association with the cardinal’s remains buried below.

12

North Italian workshop, Miniature of the Crucifixion from Bessarion’s missal, ca. 1455–1458. Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Barb. lat. 562, fol. 170v

The Beginning of the End

Bessarion’s funerary chapel is a good example of the committed effort of a fifteenth-century cardinal in Rome to secure a strongly orchestrated commemoration within a highly symbolic, liturgical setting. As has been shown, Bessarion at every step of the process of arranging his funerary chapel was aware of how his commemoration was to be in dialogue with that of others. By choosing a conspicuous location, the cardinal tried to impose his permanent presence on a space which had already been heavily patronized by successive generations of ambitious individuals. As cardinal, however, he was in a unique position to bring his commemoration to new artistic heights which had not yet been seen at Santi Apostoli. What is also remarkable about the whole process is that Bessarion completed one of the largest funerary chapels on the Italian peninsula in just under four years. There was probably more than one reason for Bessarion’s haste to build his chapel and secure its finances. It seems that Bessarion may have felt that time was not on his side because his first testament explicitly mentioned that he wanted to ensure the continuation of the chapel “as long he was physically and mentally fit to do so”.^[165] Even years after Bessarion’s death, Vespasiano da Bisticci, a friend and former employee, would refer in his Vite to the cardinal’s enduring poor health.^[166] Another concern which Bessarion must have had probably sprang from his own experience of the death of other cardinals. As Richardson has shown, a cardinal’s death often created a ‘vacuum’ in which his estates became prone to the interests of other parties.^[167] The funerary chapels which cardinals had erected during their lives were no exceptions to this, as their assets were often stripped. Sometimes, they even had to make way for newer additions to churches by successive generations of ambitious cardinals. Over the years, Bessarion had created a significant endowment for his funerary chapel.^[168] This came under threat soon, despite the accumulation of bulls from Pius II and Paul II, who had ratified its foundation and underlined its legal status.

Already around the beginning of 1475, less than three years after Bessarion’s burial, Giuliano della Rovere (1443–1513), Bessarion’s successor as cardinal-priest of Santi Apostoli, had found a potential buyer for a house in Rome named La Cicognola Nova.^[169] This was significant, as the notarial act explicitly mentions that the house was actually part of the endowment which Bessarion had created for his funerary chapel.^[170] The purchase probably did not take place, but Giuliano did not give up and decided to take a different approach when on 11 April 1477 he proposed to the friars that they break up a part of Bessarion’s endowment so that the house La Cicognola could be sold “for the fabric of the church and the convent” and “for the improvement of the church”.^[171] Ironically, Bessarion’s most significant legacy at Santi Apostoli – the introduction of the friars and the construction of his funerary chapel – were used against him. Firstly, his introduction of the Friars Minor Conventual in 1463 was now being used as an opportunity to undo some of the cardinal’s elaborate efforts to safeguard the financial future of his funerary chapel. Giuliano’s request was granted by the friars based on the reasoning that, when Bessarion donated the basilica to the Franciscan community in 1463 and introduced a new hierarchy, the mandate of any assets had automatically reverted to the newly appointed head (“guardianus”) of the resident friars.^[172] Fra Antonio da Vicenza, the guardianus at Santi Apostoli in 1477, was in agreement.^[173] Secondly, it was argued by the friars that Giuliano, as Bessarion’s successor at Santi Apostoli, was supposed to continue the former cardinal’s formidable architectural additions by improving the convent buildings.^[174] The endowment of the funerary chapel, apparently, was now supposed to fund that. Bessarion’s elaborate efforts to adapt the basilica of Santi Apostoli for his own commemoration had thus come back to haunt him. The construction of the funerary chapel had been marked by how it was in dialogue with other forms of patronage, often consciously in an attempt to outdo them. Bessarion’s vision, however, would soon be outdone by a successive generation of ambitious patrons.

I would like to express my gratitude to P. Domenico Castiglioni, Donal Cooper, and Elia Mariano for their help, advice, and support during archive work and while I was writing this article. The images in this article were made possible with generous support from the Yorkist History Trust.