Stauro (or Croce in Italian), was born in Greece in

1752 and settled in Rome

in 1781. His mother, Anna

Maria Bianchini, was born

in Rome. On March 14,

1798, Stauro and Anna

Maria had been married in

the Church of SS. Quirico

and Giulitta. Their son was

baptized “Costantino

Domenico” in the same

church, which was adjacent

to the large coffee shop on

the Via Tor de’ Conti that

the family owned and operated (fig. 2–2).2

At the age of thirteen,

having already begun his

study of art, Brumidi was

accepted at the most prestigious art school in

Rome, the Accademia di San Luca, founded in the fifteenth century as a college and association of painters.3 At

the academy Brumidi studied painting under Vincenzo

Camuccini, an artist esteemed by popes and by other

artists and intellectuals. He also worked under Filippo

Agricola, who was acclaimed for his interest and expertise

in historical and religious subjects. Brumidi’s teachers in

sculpture were Antonio Canova, the nineteenth century’s

most refined neoclassical sculptor, and the Danish Bertel

Thorwaldsen, Canova’s most faithful disciple and master

of the classical revival in Italy. Brumidi was registered as a

professional painter.4

Constantino Brumidi

was one of over

45,000 Italians who

had emigrated to the

United States by 1870.1 He

was one of those forced, by

the revolutionary events of

1848–1849 throughout the

peninsula and the repressive measures that followed, to seek political asylum abroad. On September

18, 1852, he arrived in

New York City, probably

traveling from Civitavecchia via Marseille. 

For Brumidi, expatriation ended a promising

artistic career in Rome, the

Eternal City of aspiring

artists and intellectuals (fig.

2–1). Political events played

an important role in his decision to leave Rome for the

United States and would deeply influence his personal life

and artistic career.

Constantino Brumidi was born in Rome on July 26,

1805, of a Greek father and an Italian mother. His father,

15

Fig. 2–1. The culmination of Brumidi’s career in Rome. The

ceiling murals in the Church of the Madonna dell’Archetto, so well

integrated with the neoclassical architecture, show Brumidi well

prepared for his later work at the Capitol. 

Photo: Vasari Studio Fotografico. Courtesy of Henry Hope Reed.

Fig. 2–2. Corner where Brumidi lived. The Brumidi family coffee shop in Rome was on the site of the present Hotel Forum, next door

to the church where Brumidi was baptized and married, and overlooking the Forum of Augustus.

Photo: Wolanin.

CHAPTER 2

The Italian Years

PELLEGRINO NAZZARO
On June 30, 1832, at the age of twenty-seven, Brumidi

married Maria Covaluzzi, a widow eight years his senior.

They had a daughter, Maria Elena Assunta Fortunata.

Tragedy struck early in their marriage. In a span of ten

months, between August 1837 and June 1838, Brumidi’s

wife and mother both died. He remarried on October 17,

1838. His new bride, Anna Rovelli, was sixteen; he was

thirty-three. Their son, Giuseppe Antonio Raffaello, was

born on January 19, 1842.5 When he left Rome in 1852,

Constantino Brumidi left behind his wife Anna and two

children, then twenty and ten years old. 

Brumidi and the Vatican

Brumidi’s first known opportunity to work in the Vatican

came in 1840, when he was thirty-five. Under the supervision of Vincenzo Camuccini and Filippo Agricola, a

group of talented young artists, including Brumidi, was

commissioned to restore the frescoes in the Third Loggia

of the Vatican Palace, decorated in the second half of the

sixteenth century during the pontificates of Pius IV and

Gregory XIII by Girolamo Nanni, Giorgio Bellunese, and

Girolamo Amalteo. Although the Third Loggia (called

16

Fig. 2–3. Senectus Mala. Brumidi

left his mark in the Vatican Palace

in this fresco, created as part of a

restoration project. Third Loggia,

Vatican Palace.

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Pellegrino Nazzaro.

Fig. 2–4 Senectus Bona. Brumidi’s

panels contrast wicked and virtuous

old age, with the beasts representing

vices. Third Loggia, Vatican Palace. 

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Pellegrino Nazzaro.
Camuccini and Agricola assigned to Brumidi and to

Domenico Tojetti the restoration of the eleventh bay of

the vault. The work consisted of redoing the three

major frescoes in the vault. The painting in the first

panel, entitled Senectus Mala, represented wicked old

age, symbolized by an old man surrounded by wild felines, allegories of the human vices of incontinence,

malice, and bestiality (fig. 2–3). The second lunette, entitled Senectus Bona, represented good old age as an old

man surrounded by dead beasts, signifying the triumph

of honesty and integrity over the vices (fig. 2–4). In the

central panel the artists added

a fresco that depicted the coat

of arms of Pope Gregory XVI,

consisting of a ring adorned

with diamonds with three intertwined feathers that encircled the Latin word semper (always).

Brumidi and Tojetti were

also assigned the task of decorating the end wall of the

loggia, which was dedicated

to Gregory XVI to memorialize his interest in the restoration. The two artists painted

a richly ornate trompe-l’oeil

drapery with golden brocade

(fig. 2–5).

The restoration, completed

in March 1842, received high

praise from artists, critics, and

experts. The total cost of the

project was over 10,000 gold

scudi, of which Brumidi was

paid 200 scudi.6

the Loggia della Cosmografia) did not have the artistic

merit of Raphael’s Loggia, it was richly decorated. The

walls were covered with frescoes reproducing maps; the

vaults, with depictions of religious and allegorical subjects. Over the years the vaults and walls had deteriorated

from neglect, and by the 1830s they required immediate

restoration to preserve the paintings from total disintegration. The restoration of the loggia was carried out

during the pontificate of Gregory XVI (1831–1846),

who was interested in the preservation and development

of the arts.

17

THE ITALIAN YEARS

Fig. 2–5. Wall of the Third Loggia. Brumidi and Tojetti 

frescoed the end wall with a dedication and illusionistic curtains to set

off the bronze bust of Gregory XVI.

Vatican Palace. 

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Pellegrino Nazzaro.
18

Brumidi and the Palazzo Torlonia

The Palazzo Torlonia, located on the Piazza Venezia in

one of the most prestigious sections of Rome, near the

present monument to Victor Emmanuel II, was built by

the architect Carlo Fontana in 1650 and purchased at the

end of 1700 by Giovanni Raimondo Torlonia, Duke of

Bracciano, a banker who had newly acquired his title. The

palace was described by historians and art critics as one of

the most beautiful buildings of eighteenth-century Rome.

Its Baroque architecture symbolized Roman wealth and

aristocracy. In 1856, August J. C. Hare, an American art

critic, described it as follows: “Giovanni Torlonia, the

Roman banker who purchased the title and estate of the

Duke of Bracciano, fitted up the Palazzo Nuovo di Torlonia with all the magnificence that wealth commands: a

marble gallery with polished floor, modern statues,

Fig. 2–6. Torlonia coat of arms in the Palazzo Torlonia,

Rome. Brumidi painted Alessandro Torlonia’s family coat of arms

combined with that of his wife, a member of the prominent Colonna

family, to symbolize their 1840 marriage. The surrounding cherubs

are cousins to those Brumidi painted in the Capitol. Destroyed.

Photo: Courtesy of Marco Fabio Apolloni.

Fig. 2–7. Chapel in the Palazzo Torlonia, Rome. Brumidi’s

frescoes glorifying the Torlonia family in the elaborate Gothic-style

chapel in the Palazzo Torlonia are known only from this photograph. Destroyed. 

Photo: Alinari/Art Resource, NY.
19

THE ITALIAN YEARS

ute to the skill and competence of the artist to underscore

the recognition that Brumidi was far ahead of his peers in

the art of painting and the technique of fresco: “The colors and the harmony of the entire decoration are such

that Brumidi’s name will be accepted from now on

among the greatest artists of all times.”11 The decorative

work carried out in the palace by Caretti, Brumidi, and

other artists covered 4,793.35 palmi (some 2,790 square

feet) overall, and the total cost of the project amounted

to 11,373 scudi and 45 baiocchi. An 1844 appraisal in

miscellaneous records of the Biblioteca Sarti in Rome

containing a detailed description of the entire surface

frescoed by Brumidi estimated that his work covered

some 900 square feet. The document makes no mention

of the payment Brumidi received for his work.12

There is reason to believe that Brumidi’s success in executing this grand project reinforced his confidence in his

ability to handle frescoes of large proportions. It may

have been because of this experience that the artist later

undertook the extraordinary Apotheosis of Washington in

the United States Capitol, certain of his final success.

Recent research by Alberta Campitelli and Barbara

Steindl has led them to attribute to Brumidi most of the

decorations in the theater of the Villa Torlonia, on the

Via Nomentana in Rome, constructed beginning in 1841,

where there are lunettes signed and dated by the artist in

1844 and 1845 (fig. 2–8). Campitelli and Steindl also

provide substantive evidence that in 1837 Brumidi was

commissioned to create the marble bas-reliefs, including a

Pietà, The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, The

Holy Family at Nazareth, The Adoration of the Shepherds,

and the Crucifixion on the altar, in the Weld-Clifford

Chapel in the crypt of San Marcello al Corso.13

painted ceilings and gilded furniture. All outshines the

faded splendor of the halls of the Old Roman Nobility.”7

Torlonia’s son, Alessandro, who became a prince and the

richest man in Rome, continued the decoration of the

palace (fig. 2–6). Unfortunately, it was demolished in

1900–1901.8

In the Palazzo Torlonia, Brumidi executed the first

major frescoes and murals of his artistic career. Recently

uncovered evidence shows that he first worked there in

1836, decorating the vaults of the second-floor throne

room with allegorical figures that symbolized the triumph

of the Emperor Constantine.9 From 1840 to 1842, under

the supervision of the architect and painter Giovan Battista Caretti, Brumidi painted decorations in several

rooms, including the neo-Gothic family chapel on the

third floor.

Although it is no longer possible to view Brumidi’s

work in the chapel, published sources and an archival

photograph give an idea of its nature and extent10 (fig.

2–7). The chapel’s Gothic architectural style presented

difficulties that Brumidi overcame by adorning the main

altar with a painting depicting the spiritual triumph of the

Torlonia family. The altarpiece showed the Holy Trinity

with Prince Alessandro Torlonia being presented by his

guardian angel to the throne of God, flanked by the family name saints, John and Anne on the right and Martin

and Charles on the left. The walls were decorated with

frescoes of full-length figures of Apostles and other holy

personages. One contemporary critic went beyond a tribFig. 2–8. Murals in the theater of the Villa Torlonia. The

scene showing the Judgment of Paris by Brumidi was surrounded

by illusionistic architecture. 

Photo: Courtesy Alberta Campitelli, Comune di Roma.
20

Brumidi’s Portraits of Popes

In 1847 Brumidi painted a full-length seated portrait

of Pope Pius IX, commissioned by Cardinal Gabriele Ferretti as a personal gift to the pope (fig. 2–9). The painting is an oil on canvas of large dimensions and beautifully

executed. The work is a composition in rich reds in which

the ornate papal garments do not obscure the sense of a

human figure beneath. The artist received other commissions for portraits of Pius IX from Italian and foreign

prelates. It is probable that Monsignor John Hughes,

Archbishop of New York, commissioned one for the

Archdiocese of New York. Hughes spent several months

in Rome in 1850–1851 and invited the artist to New

York to execute frescoes for Catholic churches there.14

During this period, Brumidi painted a series of historical portraits of popes, including Felix IV, Stephan I, Sixtus I (fig. 2–10), Vitalian, Paul I, Leo VI, Sabinian, Sixtus

V, John IX, and John XVI. The paintings, oil on canvas in

a round format, were used as studies for the mosaic frieze

of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, decorated by

Vincenzo Camuccini, Brumidi’s teacher at the Accademia

di San Luca. Camuccini considered Brumidi the best

artist of religious subjects in Rome at that time.15 Interestingly, this commission was completed after the republican revolution of 1849, but before Brumidi was arrested

for his role in it in 1851.

Brumidi and the Church 

of the Archetto

Brumidi was selected for another important church commission after the revolution was quelled in 1850. The

Church of the Madonna dell’ Archetto, located at 41 Via

S. Marcello, was built in 1850–1851 by the architect Virginio Vespignani, one of Rome’s most celebrated artists

(fig. 2–11). The church was commissioned by the Count

Alessandro and Countess Caterina Papazzurri Savorelli to

house a painting depicting the Virgin Mary as the

Madonna dell’Archetto, commissioned in 1690 by their

ancestress and executed by Domenico Muratori of

Bologna.16 By 1850 the painting, also known as the

Mater Misericordiae, was believed to possess miraculous

powers and had become the most popular and adored effigy of the Virgin Mary in Rome. Brumidi was chosen to

decorate the dome and ceiling of the new church. He

completed the work, his last in Rome, by January 1851.

Brumidi’s frescoes for the Church of the Archetto

combined symmetry and pictorial effects in one of his

finest works in Rome. He adorned the center of the dome

with a depiction of the Immaculate Conception with the

Madonna surrounded by angels (fig. 2–12). Cherubs in

Fig. 2–10. Pope Sixtus I. One of fifteen round portraits of early

popes that Brumidi painted in oil as models for mosaics. Vatican

Museums. 

Photo: Vasari Studio Fotografico. Courtesy of Henry Hope Reed.

Fig. 2–9. Pope Pius IX. Brumidi’s portrait of the pope, painted

the year after he was elected, shows the artist’s mastery of Baroque

light, color, and texture. Vatican Museums.

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Pellegrino Nazzaro.
21

THE ITALIAN YEARS

Fig. 2–11. The Church of the Madonna dell’Archetto.

Brumidi decorated the church reputed to be the smallest in Rome.

Photo: Wolanin

the coffers complete the composition. In this fresco he

achieved an ensemble of motif and rich color in harmony

with the spiritual quality of the sacred images. The

cupola’s pendentives were frescoed with four female allegorical figures symbolizing the four theological virtues:

Wisdom, Prudence, Innocence, and Strength (fig. 2–13).

Following the dedication on May 31, 1851, the newspaper Il Giornale di Roma published a detailed description of

the interior decoration of the Church of the Archetto. Brumidi’s work was described as endowed with extraordinary

talent and a “sure hand which blends light and symmetry

in a unity and variety that charm the spectator and attract

his attention and imagination.” “Costantino Brumidi,” the

account continued, “has reached pictorial effects second

only to the great masters of the High Renaissance.”17 Ironically, while the Roman press was praising Brumidi for his

artistic talent, he was in prison.

Fig. 2–13. Strength in one of the pendentives of the dome.

Brumidi would continue the tradition of painting allegorical

virtues in the Capitol. Church of the Madonna dell’Archetto. 

Photo: Vasari Studio Fotografico. Courtesy of Henry Hope Reed. 

Fig. 2–12. Madonna of the Immaculate Conception. The figure in the center of the dome anticipates symbolic figures 

Brumidi would later paint in the Capitol. Church of the

Madonna dell’Archetto. 

Photo: Vasari Studio Fotografico. Courtesy of Henry Hope Reed.
22

monasteries of the city of Rome during the period of republican rule.19

Brumidi’s indictment resulted from his actions as captain of the civic guard, when he had seized the convent of

Santa Francesa Romana to house Piedmontese troops

who had joined the Romans in the defense of the republic. Brumidi was charged with ordering the occupation of

the monastaries and convents of Santa Croce in

Gerusalemme, Santa Francesca Romana, and La Scala

Santa. Monks and nuns were forced to leave, and the

buildings were ransacked and confiscated. Brumidi was

accused of taking several pieces of furniture, paintings,

silverware, and a box containing 1,000 scudi collected by

the monks. Finally, the indictment stated that the “ultimate goal of the revolutionaries was the destruction of

the Catholic Church and institutions in the City of

Rome.” Brumidi had, in fact, taken furniture for safekeeping and placed it in his studio and, as ordered by his

superior, had paintings moved to the Lateran Palace, to

protect them in case of bombardment by the French.20

The trial was postponed several times because of the illness of Brumidi’s defense lawyer. While in jail, he petitioned the pope, Secretary of State Giacomo Antonelli,

and the president of the Tribune of the Sagra Consulta,

the body of advisors to the pope. He reiterated that he

was innocent of any wrongdoing and that his arrest and

imprisonment were politically motivated. He requested

his immediate release to emigrate to the United States,

where he planned to continue his artistic career.21 His petitions were unanswered. When the trial finally took place

in December 1851, Brumidi’s lawyer provided evidence

that the order to occupy the convents was not aimed at

the confiscation of church property or intended to abet

or perpetrate crime but was given solely to protect works

of art of incalculable value, which otherwise might have

been stolen or destroyed by French soldiers. A number of

affidavits supported the argument of the defense, including several from monks who vouched for his good intentions as well as the official order to Brumidi to move

paintings to the Lateran Museum. Despite all of this evidence, Brumidi was found guilty on all counts on January

2, 1852, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.22

On January 31, 1852, following a second round of petitions signed by the monks of the three convents, Pope

Pius IX reduced Brumidi’s sentence by two-thirds. Finally, in a public audience of March 20, the pope granted

Brumidi full and unconditional pardon, ordering his immediate release.23 Less than six months later, Brumidi left

Rome for the United States.

The Republican Revolution

Soon after Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti was elevated as Pope

Pius IX in 1846, he began to grant constitutional rights

to the people of Rome and the Papal States. Tariffs were

reduced, monopolies were restricted, the judicial system

was reorganized, censorship of the press was abolished,

and commercial treaties were made with other nations.

The City of Rome was granted a municipal government

and local councils were set up. An amnesty was granted

for all political crimes, and hundreds of political prisoners

were released. The pope set up a council to advise him

and expand the participation of laymen in administering

the city.18 He authorized the formation of a civic guard,

of which Brumidi became a captain. The pope was praised

worldwide, including in the United States. He set an example for other states which granted constitutions and a

greater recognition of individual rights and stirred up the

desire for power in the hands of the people. 

In the second half of 1848, the situation in Rome deteriorated. The pope refused to support war against Austria

or to appoint the prime minister the Roman republicans

supported. On November 15, 1848, the day of his inauguration, the papal appointee, Pellegrino Rossi, was assassinated, and mobs gathered outside of the Vatican. The

pope and several cardinals fled to Gaeta.

The liberals and radicals appointed a Supreme Committee of the State and called for a Roman Constituent Assembly, elected by the people, to draft a constitution. On

February 9, 1849, the Constituent Assembly abolished

the temporal power of the pope in Rome and proclaimed

the Roman Republic. The triumvirate elected to govern

was open to meeting with and listening to the people.

The entire population of Rome developed a sense of deep

affection for and confidence in the republic. The republican experiment was short lived. The city faced the intervention of the Catholic countries: Austria, France, and

the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The pope condemned

the republic, and Louis Napoleon sent French troops to

Rome in April 1849. Despite the resistance of the people,

the troops took over the city, and Pius IX returned to

power on April 12, 1850.

Brumidi’s Imprisonment and Trial

The return of the pope was followed by repressive measures, of which the champion was Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli. On February 4, 1851, Brumidi was one of a

group of revolutionary leaders arrested and imprisoned

on charges of committing grand larceny, aggravated assault, and kidnapping against churches, convents, and
23

THE ITALIAN YEARS

Notes to Chapter 2

1. Egisto Rossi, Gli Stati Uniti e la Concorrenza Americana (Florence, 1884), pp. 73–75.

2. Records of baptism, July 26, 1805, and of marriage, March 14,

1798, Parish of SS. Quirico and Giulitta, Tabularium Vicariatus Urbis,

Achivio Storico del Vicariato di Roma.

3. Giovanni Bellini et al., Dizionario enciclopedico moderno, 4 (Milan:

Edizioni Labor, 1956), p. 419.

4. Giuseppe Argentieri, La pittura Italiana dell’Ottocento (Milan:

Mondadori, 1965), pp. 12–15; Aaron-Albertucci, “Filippo Agricola,”

Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, 1 (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia

Italiana, 1960), pp. 501–502; Calvart-Canefri, “Antonio Camuccini,”

ibid., 17 (1970), pp. 627–630; Canella-Capello, “Antonio Canova,”

ibid., 18 (1975), pp. 197–222.

5. The Brumidi-Covaluzzi marriage in records of marriage, June 30,

1832, vol. 4, Parish of SS. Quirico and Giulitta (1825–1838); the birth

of Brumidi’s daughter, Maria Elena Assunta Fortunata, in records of

baptism, August 16, 1832, vol. 13, Parish of SS. Quirico and Giulitta

(1828–1847); the Brumidi-Rovelli marriage in records of marriage, October 17,1838, vol. 2, Parish of Santa Maria ai Monti (1835–1841); the

birth of Brumidi’s son, Giuseppe Antonio Raffaelle, in records of baptism, January 23, 1842, vol. 13, Parish of SS. Quirico and Giulitta

(1828–1847), Tabularium Vicariatus Urbis, Archivio Storico del Vicariato di Roma. 

6. Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da

S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, 50 (Venice: Tipografia Emiliana, 1851),

pp. 276–278; Nuova descrizione del Vaticano ossia del Palazzo Apostolico di San Pietro data in luce da Giorgio Pietro Chattard, 2 (Rome:

Stampe Del Mainardi, 1856), pp. 335–344; William Mitchell Gillespie, Rome: As Seen By A New-Yorker in 1843–4 (New York and London: Wiley and Putnam, 1845); Filippo Agricola, Relazione dei

restauri eseguiti nelle terze loggie del pontificio palazzo Vaticano, sopra

quelle dipinte dalla scuola di Raffaello (Rome: Tipografia di Crispino

Puccinelli, 1842), pp. 7–32.

7. August J. C. Hare, Walks In Rome, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: David

McKay Publisher, 1865), pp. 75–78.

8. The Italian government ordered the demolition of the Palazzo

Torlonia to provide a setting with an appropriate stagelike effect (“una

ribalta di adeguato effetto scenografico”) for the Vittoriano, the monument to King Victor Emmanuel II. Le “Generali” a Roma tra cronaca e

storia (published by the Assicurazioni Generali, n.d.). After the demolition all works of art, including Brumidi’s frescoes, were stored in a

building in Via Margutta under the supervision of Pietro Ciccotti

Principe, a well-known Neapolitan artist, and his collaborator Francesco

Tancredi, a Neapolitan art dealer. It is possible that part of the collection is still preserved in Via Margutta; however, much of it may have

been sold to Italian and foreign art dealers. Soon after the transfer to

Via Margutta, an illustrated catalog was compiled by Tancredi. The catalog, in Italian and French, was mailed throughout Europe. On May

19–20 and 21–23, 1901, auctions took place in Rome. “Paintings, statues, floors and frescoes were mostly acquired by Russian nobles and art

dealers, who transferred them to their villas and palaces in Russia,” according to Jorgen Birkedal Hartmann, La vicenda di una dimora

principesca romana (Rome: Edizioni Palombi, 1967).

9. Alberta Campitelli and Barbara Steindl, “Costantino Brumidi da

Roma a Washington. Vicende e opere di un artista romano,” Ricerche di

Storia dell’arte 46 (1992), p. 53.

10. Brumidi’s work was described at the time in Giuseppe Checchetelli, Una giornata di osservazione nel Palazzo e nella Villa di S. E. il

Principe D. Alessandro Torlonia (Rome: Tipografia di Crispino Puccinelli, 1842), and Romano, Dizionario, 51, pp. 8–9.

11. Checchetelli, Giornata, pp. 57–58.

12. “Perizia del Cav. Filippo Agricola e di Giuseppe Marini per rilievi

al merito e valore decorativi eseguiti dal Sig. Caretti per ordine di S. E.

il Principe Don Alessandro Torlonia nel Palazzo di Piazza Venezia,” in

Miscellanea Varia 3–30 L.5 (Rome, May 25, 1844), p. 70, Biblioteca

Sarti, Piazza dell’Accademia di San Luca, Rome.

13. Campitelli and Steindl, “Costantino Brumidi,” pp. 49-50.

They have also found documentation of another sculptural commission in England for a Count Maxwell and of another neo-Gothic

chapel built for Marino Torlonia in the park of his Villa of the Porta

Pia, later demolished. See also the volume of essays, “Villa Torlonia:

L’ultima impresa del mecenatismo romano,” Richerche di Storia dell’arte 28–29, 1986.

14. CB to Benvenuti Fiscale, February 22, 1851, n. 1876; CB to Monsignor Matteucci, president of the Tribunale Supremo della Sagra Consulta, March 8, 1851, n. 7166; CB to Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, secretary of state, October 19, 1851, n. 13021; all in ASR/SC. CB to Pope

Pius IX, June 4, 1851, n. 9155, Tribunale Supremo della Sagra Consulta

in Segreteria dei Memoriali, Segreteria di Stato, Anno 1851, ASR/SC.

Copies of documents relating to Brumidi’s Italian years and trial are on

file in the AOC Curator’s Office, courtesy of Henry Hope Reed.

15. Brumidi made the studies c. 1848–1850. The papal portraits,

now in the Vatican Museum, were executed as mosaics: Sixtus I by Chibel Guglielmo in 1850–1851, Felix IV (Saint) by Gioacchino De Angelis in 1852, Sabinian by Cesare Castellini in 1852–1853, Stephan I

(Saint) by De Muzio Felice in 1852–1853, Vitalian (Saint) by Gherardo

Volponi in 1857, Paul I (Saint) by Ettore Vannutelli in 1858, John IX

by Alessandro Agricola in 1862, Nicholas III by Spiridione Malusardi in

1862, Leo VI by Spiridione Malusardi in 1862, and John XVI by

Gioacchino De Angelis in 1864. Records also show that he painted

Urban V (mosaic by Ettore Vannutelli in 1867), Luke III (Gaetano

Pennacchini in 1869), Gregory XIII (Costanzo Maldura in 1869), John

XXI (Costanzo Maldura in 1871), and Callistus III (Felice Muzio in

1872). Archivio della Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro, III, P.S., 20,

vol. 6, pp. 28, 29, 30, 115, 150, 188, 274, and 29, vol. 2, pp. 661–664.

16. Domenico Muratori received the commission from Countess

Alessandra Mellini Muti Papazzurri Savorelli. The Church of the Archetto

was declared a national monument by the Italian government in 1970.

17. Lamberto De Camillis, La Madonna dell’Archetto, Storia del piu’

piccolo santuario Mariano di Roma (Rome: Edizione Soc. Promotrice di

Buone Opere, 1951), pp. 28–34.

18. A. C. Gambol, Case e stato in Italia negli ultimi cento anni

(Turin, 1963) pp. 42–60.

19. Record of Brumidi’s admission into the Carceri Nuove di Roma,

February 4, 1851, ASR/SC.

20. “Furti violenti a danno del Ven. Monastero di S. Croce in

Gerusalemme,” Title I, pp. 4–19 and “Furto violento a danno del

Monastero di Santa Francesca Romana,” Title IV, pp. 45–67, ASR/SC.

21. CB to Pope Pius IX, February 22, 1851; CB to Mons. Matteuci,

March 8, 1851 and December 22, 1851; CB to Card. Antonelli, October 19, 1851, ASR/SC.

22. CB to Tribunale Supremo della Sagra Consulta, Memoria con

Sommario, June 15, 1851; Originale della Sentenze, January 2, 1852,

ASR/SC.

23. Ministero di Grazia e Giustizia, Rome, January 31, 1852, Prot. n.

4815, and March 20, 1852, Prot. n. 5030, ASR/SC.