Antonio Averulino ("il Filarete"), The Martyrdom of St. Peter

1433-45
Bronze relief
St. Peter's Basilica, Rome

In the upper right quadrant Nero sends St. Peter off to be executed (see detail). A procession of soldiers conducts him to the place of execution in the upper left, where he is crucified upside-down (see detail).

In the bottom register the two pyramids and the taller structure between them are mausolea that stood along the street leading to what is now St. Peter's Basilica. They were dismantled in the 7th century but continued to figure in some images of St. Peter's execution. The flowing water that divides these structures from the main composition represents the Tiber.

The figure in the bottom left corner to the right of the pyramid is a personification of Rome. (See the detail page for a discussion and enlargement.)

Read more about St. Peter.

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Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.