Chapter 12 One For All and All for One: Caterina de’ Nobili Sforza and the Cycle of Funerary Inscriptions in San Bernardo alle Terme in Rome (1598–1605)

In: Funerary Inscriptions in Early Modern Europe
Author:
Federica Vermot
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
300–322
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004711709_013

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Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate how the cycle of commemorative inscriptions gathered inside the roman church of San Bernardo alle Terme worked in favor of one patron, that is the noble Italian woman Caterina de’ Nobili Sforza (1535–1605), who had this church built between 1598 and 1605 and decided upon the iconographic and decorative programs. By placing this cycle of inscriptions dedicated to six deceased members of her family upon the circular walls of San Bernardo, she aimed at a double purpose: fulfilling her commemorative duty by spiritually reuniting the members whose corpses were scattered all over Rome, but also celebrating her own persona by positioning herself clearly amongst all these individuals. By using Howard Burns’ theory of identifiers – according to which, in early modern Italy, the expression of an individual’s identity in an architectural context emerged through the use of several elements like names, coats of arms, or noble titles –, the analysis of the texts and design of this commemorative cycle will show how funerary inscriptions could be used not only to shape the memory of a deceased person, but also to celebrate the ones who were left behind.

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Funerary Inscriptions in Early Modern Europe

Shaping Identities to Remember

Series:  Intersections, Volume: 98
Cover Funerary Inscriptions in Early Modern Europe
E-Book ISBN:
9789004711709
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
22 May 2025
Front Matter
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Carved in Stone: On the Conception of Inscriptions on Grave Monuments in Southern Germany
Chapter 3 Grave Slabs of Ecclesiastical and Secular Dignitaries in Livonia, c.1470–c.1560
Chapter 4 Messages of War and Peace: Tracing Family Ambitions in the Funerary Monuments for the Venetian Doges Pietro and Giovanni Mocenigo
Chapter 5 Philipp Melanchthon’s Era in Wittenberg: Exploring Verse Inscriptions within a Multimedia Culture of Commemoration
Chapter 6 An Epitaph Worthy of Raphael, but by Bembo or Castiglione?
Chapter 7 Post-it Epitaphs: Paper Inscriptions on Tombs
Chapter 8 Language and Memorializing the Deceased in Early Modern Norwich
Chapter 9 Egidio da Viterbo and Janus Vitalis: The Portrait of a Renaissance Cardinal in a Friend’s Memorial Poem
Chapter 10 Johannes Latomus’ Art of Commenting and Correcting Epitaphs: Some Examples
Chapter 11 Jean Rouxel’s Latin Funerary Inscriptions for Local Women in Sixteenth Century Normandy
Chapter 13 The Language of Anonymity in Early Modern Satirical Epitaphs
Chapter 14 INTER INFANDOS BELLORVM TVMVLTVS: The Perception of the Thirty Years’ War in Funerary Inscriptions
Chapter 15 CVRAE QVOT VIVITIS ANNOS NON SIT: Time Expressions in Neo-Latin Funerary Inscriptions of Sweden
Chapter 16 Messages for the Next World: Death and Afterlife in Funerary Inscriptions of Early Modern Russia
Chapter 17 Le Champ du repos: A Tidy Approach to Early Epitaphs in Père-Lachaise Cemetery
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