It was traditionally believed that the site of the martyrdom of Saint Peter, described as "ad Therebintum inter duas metas...in Vaticano", was placed either between the "Therebintus" and the Meta Romuli, or between the latter and the obelisk of the Circus of Nero, or - in a larger context - in the mid-point between the Meta Romuli and the pyramid of Cestius, that is the place on the "Janiculum" hill called "Montorio", where in the Renaissance Donato Bramante built the Tempietto di San Pietro; consequently, the pyramid was represented for centuries in the depictions of St. Peter's martyrdom. The tomb had also a great importance for the pilgrims who reach Saint Peter, since on their way to the Basilica they met the tomb of the founder of the city before that of the founder of the church. Due to that, the Meta Romuli was a popular subject in the representations of the city in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Some examples are the Stefaneschi Polyptych by Giotto; a polyptych by Jacopo di Cione; one tile of Filarete's Bronze Doors in Old St. Peter's Basilica; the fresco of "The Vision of the Cross" in Raphael's Rooms in the Vatican; and the frescoes on the vaults of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi by Cimabue. The "cella" of the pyramid was used for centuries as a granary by the Chapter of Saint Peter, which owned it from the 13th century until its destruction. At the beginning of the 15th century, the pyramid's pinnacle was demolished; on the platform which resulted were garrisoned soldiers of the nearby Castle, who got their supplies thorough a system of ropes hanging to the fortress. Despite its importance for the city and for the church, Pope Alexander VI ordered its demolition on 26 November 1498 for the opening of the new "Via Alessandrina" (later known as "Borgo Nuovo"), a road which connected the Vatican area with the bridge crossing the Tiber. Due to the difficulty of the undertaking, the pope conceded a plenary indulgence to the men willing to help. On 24 December 1499, the pope blocked all the old roads between Saint Peter and the Tiber, forcing the people to use the new thoroughfare; however, the demolition of the pyramid was not complete, since Raphael, who arrived in Rome in 1509, in a letter to Pope Leo X written in 1519 about the antiquities of the city, writes that he could still see the remains of the monument.