Monuments in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
This elaborate Baroque monument set against the third pillar of the south aisle has several peculiarities. It is crowned by the coat-of-arms of Pope Nicholas IV (Girolamo Masci) but this medieval pope was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The monument in Santa Maria del Popolo was built for his late descendant, Count Masci-Ferracuti from Ascoli Piceno who was appointed to the Bishop of Vieste by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. He died in Rome in 1613 at the age of 60 years. He was buried with solemn pomp in a marble tomb in the basilica. The tomb was built by her niece, Anastasia Mascia and her husband, Marzio Elefantucci, a nobleman from Bologna. Under the pretense of honouring their uncle they built a monument for the most illustrious member of their family, Pope Nicholas IV whose name is mentioned twice in the funerary inscription.
Roman Renaissance
Pope Eugene IV continued in this vein in Rome, commissioning the Florentine, Antonio Averulino, known as Filarete (1400-1469) to make the two bronze doors, or imposts, of St Peter's Basilica, completed in 1445. The six panels show Jesus the Savior and Mary enthroned, St. Paul with the sword, and St. Peter, who is giving the keys to the kneeling Pope Eugene IV. The two lowest panels show St. Paul sentenced by Nero, and the martyrdom of St. Paul. The bas-reliefs between the framed panels show scenes from the pontificate of Eugene IV, and representatives at the Council of Ferrara-Florence, summoned in 1438 to reunite the Churches of the East and of the West.