Reconstruction and Re-consecration of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls under Pope Pius IX

In 1823, fire devastated Saint Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four ancient papal basilicas in Rome. Pope Pius IX (1792-1878; reigned 1846-1878) took on the immense decades-long task of rebuilding the structure. In 1854, Pius issued an annual pontifical medal commemorating the re-consecration of Saint Paul’s high altar in which the pope’s profile portrait was depicted on the front (obverse) and a view of the basilica’s interior on the back (reverse). In 1865, another pontifical portrait medal celebrating the ongoing reconstruction of the basilica’s exterior included a reverse illustrating a view of its façade and its portico entrance and courtyard colonnade. In 1865, these architectural scenes were combined into a single medal of which this is an example.

Superbly demonstrating the engraver’s art, Giuseppe Bianchi presents each architectural scene in exaggerated wide-angle perspective that allows for an impossibly encompassing view of Saint Paul’s exterior courtyard and façade, as well as the interior of the basilica’s ceiling, floor, nave arcade, and high altar. Visually near and distant architectural elements, such as the ornate Corinthian capitals or decorations such as the figurative mosaics in the portico entrance and apse, are depicted with the same heightened degree of clarity and detail. The combination of great spatial depth and physical solidity creates an uncanny stereoscopic effect that allows the viewer virtually to experience in miniature the basilica’s grand spaces and sacred adornments.