mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
an appreciation of antiquity that their great-grandfathers had lacked.
Though delighted with the new magnificent Saint Peter’s, they realized
that the priceless historical and sacred value of the old one was forever
lost. It had been a grievous waste to knock it down and throw it out with
the trash to build something bigger and newer.
To overhaul Saint John Lateran, Innocent hired Francesco Borromini
to recommend repairs. The architect was hell-bent on completely
redesigning the building from top to bottom, making it into the Church
of Saint John Borromini. Innocent gently reined him in and instructed
him to preserve as much of the ancient church as possible. No walls
were torn down, and the ancient proportions were retained. Borromini
reinforced the wobbly foundations, stabilized the walls, and adorned
the church with magnificent decorations.
Meanwhile, Innocent turned his attention to Saint Peter’s. The interior
decoration was not yet complete. The pilasters in the nave that held
up the giant arches were of plain marble, which, people of the baroque
felt, just cried out for adornment. With an eye toward the jubilee, soon
after Bernini’s rehabilitation Innocent hired him to decorate the pilasters.
Bernini and his team carved cherubs holding three-dimensional
medallions of the first thirty-eight popes. The Pamphili dove and olive
branch were visible on each pilaster, an eternal reminder of Innocent X’s
generosity. Innocent also commissioned Bernini to design and lay down
the sumptuous marble pavement in the nave.
In October 1649 Giacinto Gigli wrote that the churches “in other
holy years were never this ornamented or beautiful. Because Saint Peter’s
looked fabulous with its new floor of colored marble and the chapels
of Paul V newly inlaid with marble and all the altars embellished
and everything carefully washed and polished.” 1
Given the astronomical expenses, the Holy Year was like a Broadway
show with elaborate stage sets and a huge cast that had to be paid for
before the first ticket was sold. All wealthy Romans were expected to
make significant contributions the year before the jubilee. As first lady
of Rome, Olimpia was assigned the Trinity Institute of Pilgrims, a huge
guest house open for the Holy Year. The Roman people, aware of her
avarice, were curious to see how much she would donate.
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