San Pietro in Vincoli, or St Peter in Chains, is a basilica on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, built in the fifth century and traditionally linked to the Empress Licinia Eudoxia. It was built to house the chains said to have bound Saint Peter during his imprisonment in Jerusalem and in Rome, which are still displayed in a reliquary beneath the high altar. The church was restored in the eighth and fifteenth centuries, and its present appearance owes much to Renaissance changes made under the Della Rovere popes. It is best known for housing Michelangelo's statue of Moses, which was made for the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius II, who had once been the church's cardinal.
Before and after
- 17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
- 399 CEThe monk Faxian sets out for India
- 5th centuryOrigins of Monastery of Stoudios
- 5th centuryConstruction of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
- 5th centuryConstruction of San Pietro in Vincoli
- July 403 CESynod of the Oak
- 31 December 406 CEThe Vandals, Alans and Suebi cross the Rhine
- from 408 CE to 670 CEHephthalites
- 24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 13th century BCEAncient Celts
- c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
- from c. 753 BCE to 476 CEAncient Rome
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
- from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.