San Pietro in Vincoli (built approx. 500 A.D.)

This church lies at the foot of the Esquiline Hill and is one of the newer ones in Rome (relatively speaking).  Translated, the name means, “St. Peter in Chains.” According to tradition, the chains used to shackle St. Peter, when he was held in prison near the Forum,were taken to Constantinople. In the

5th Century, the Empress Eudoxia sent them to Pope Leo I who built a church to house them.  Some years later, a second set of chains were sent to Rome. These were supposedly used on Peter when he was being held in prison by King Herod in Jerusalem. When the two sets were paired in the church, they miraculously linked together, and remain to this day in a reliquary below the high altar.

Aside from these relics, there is another reason to visit this church: Michelangelo’s Moses. In 1505, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to carve his tomb. He wanted something modest as befitted your average, run-of-the-mill Vicar of Christ: a tomb 10 ft. high, by 50 ft. long, with 40 life-size statues carved by one of the greatest artists of all time.  Michelangelo spent 8 months alone looking for just the right marble in Tuscany. After a few years, Julius got interested in a new project: having the Sistine Chapel painted. This meant Michelangelo had to get interested in it as well. After Julius’ death, Mike resumed his work, only to get side-tracked again! Pope Paul III had a little project of his own: rebuilding St. Peter’s basilica. Some things are doomed from the start. This statue, and a few other minor works, are all that is left of Julius’ monument to himself.

Still, it’s well worth looking at. The musculature, the beard and hair, the intense gaze—all testify to Michelangelo’s genius. You know, however, those look like horns growing out of Moses’ forehead. Well, actually they are. See, when the Bible was translated from Hebrew into the Latin Vulgate, St. Jerome made a tiny mistake. The Hebrew says “rays of light” were radiating from Moses’ face.  Jerome read it as "horns growing out of his head." No one thought it odd, or thought to double-check the translation for a few hundred years.  I can’t really blame Jerome too much. I never took Latin myself in high school—they stuck me in French—but it looks like a real pain to learn.  Plus add Hebrew! I mean, that stuff doesn’t even look like a language so much as chicken scratch.  Give the guy a break.  Jerome didn’t think most people would even read that part! Quick! When’s the last time YOU read the Bible? I rest my case. Also, this gives tourist guides something to talk and write about.