 Coat of arms of Pope Clement XII (1730-40), Trevi Fountain Many of the buildings and monuments in the centre of Rome are emblazoned with the coats of arms of some of the many popes who once ruled the Eternal City. Papal rule came to an end on September 20th, 1870, and a few months later Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. A papal coat of arms is easily identifiable, as the escutcheon will be surmounted by the triregnum* (triple tiara or triple crown) and two keys. The keys, a reference to St Peter, are crossed and turned up towards heaven. A pope who came from a family without a coat of arms would assume one upon becoming a bishop. Many popes were great patrons of art and architecture and, as a consequence, their coats of arms proliferate throughout the city. A good example is Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), who belonged to the Barberini family. The family's coat of arms is made up of three bees and the Barberini bees can be seen buzzing about all over Rome. *In the coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13) the papal tiara has been replaced by a bishop's mitre. The mitre's three stripes recall the three crowns of the tiara. 15th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Martin V (r. 1417-31), cloister of St John Lateran  Coat of arms of Pope Nicholas V (r. 1447-55), Aurelian Walls  Coat of arms of Pope Callixtus III (r. 1455-58), Ponte Milvio  Coat of arms of Pope Pius II (r. 1458-64, Sant' Andrea della Valle,  Coat of arms of Pope Paul II (r. 1464-71), Palazzo Venezia  Coat of arms of Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471-84), Palazzo della Cancelleria  Coat of arms of Pope Innocent VIII (r. 1484-92), Via Lata  Coat of arms of Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-1503), Santa Maria Maggiore 16th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13), Palazzo della Cancelleria  Coat of arms of Pope Leo X (r. 1513-1521), Santa Maria in Domnica  Coat of arms of Pope Adrian VI (r. 1522-23), Santa Maria dell' Anima  Coat of arms of Pope Paul III (r. 1534-49), Palazzo Farnese  Coat of arms of Pope Julius III (r. 1550-55), Palazzo Spada  Coat of arms of Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65), Porta Pia  Coat of arms of Pope Pius V (1565-72), Santa Maria sopra Minerva  Coat of arms of Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572-85), Via del Babuino  Coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-90), Palazzo del Laterano 17th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21), Fontana dell' Acqua Paola  Coat of arms of Pope Gregory XV (r. 1621-23), church of Sant' Ignazio  Coat of arms of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), Triton Fountain  Coat of arms of Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55), Fountain of the Four Rivers  Coat of arms of Pope Alexander VII (1655-67), Piazza San Pietro  Coat of arms of Pope Clement IX (1667-69), Palazzo del Banco di Santo Spirito  Coat of arms of Pope Clement X (r. 1670-76), Palazzo Altieri  Coat of arms of Pope Alexander VIII (r. 1689-91), Fontana dell' Acqua Paola  Coat of arms of Pope Innocent XII (r. 1691-1700), St Peter's Basilica 18th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Clement XI (r. 1700-21), Fontana del Pantheon  Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XIII (r. 1724-30), Santa Maria sopra Minerva  Coat of arms of Pope Clement XII (1730-40), Palazzo della Consulta  Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58), Triclinium of Pope Leo III  Coat of arms of Pope Clement XIII (r. 1758-69), Palazzo del Quirinale  Coat of arms of Pope Pius VI (r. 1775-79), St Peter's Basilica 19th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Pius VII (1800-23), Obelisk of Antinous  Coat of arms of Pope Leo XII (r. 1823-28), San Paolo fuori le Mura  Coat of arms of Pope Gregory XVI (1831-46), Palazzo del Quirinale  Coat of arms of Pope Pius IX (1846-76), Porta San Pancrazio  Coat of arms of Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878-1903), San Lorenzo in Panisperna 20th Century  Coat of arms of Pope Pius X (r. 1903-14), Santa Maria Liberatrice a Testaccio  Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XV (r. 1914-22), Ss Giovanni e Paolo  Coat of arms of Pope Pius XI (r. 1922-39), Vatican Museums  Coat of arms of Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-58), Piazza Pia  Coat of arms of Pope John XXIII (r. 1958-63), Church of Our Lady of Lourdes  Coat of arms of Pope Paul VI (r. 1963-78), Lateran Baptistery  Coat of arms of Pope John Paul II (r. 1978-2005), St Peter's Basilica 21st Century  Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13), St Paul's Outside the Walls  Coat of arms of Pope Francis (r. 2013-), Chiesa del Gesu Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private walking tours of Rome.
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November 2023
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