Cerasi Chapel

The Cerasi Chapel or Chapel of the Assumption (Italian: Cappella Cerasi, Cappella dell'Assunta) is one of side chapels in the transept of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. It contains significant paintings by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci, two of the most important masters of Baroque art, dating from 1600-1601.

Before the present-day edifice another funerary chapel on the same spot was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was built by Pietro Foscari, the Cardinal of Venice. Johann Burchard notes in his diary that the cardinal died on 11 August 1485. "His body was then transferred to the city, and given over for burial in a chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, which he had built for himself", states Burchard. This construction obviously correlated to the general rebuilding of the basilica by Pope Sixtus IV which began in 1472. The Cardinal of Venice was an influential person in the Roman court and Italian politics. It seems an obvious choice that he built himself a chapel in the Pope's favourite church in a very prominent position in the left transept. The construction might have begun in 1476.

The chapel was covered by a barrel vault with a depth equal to the 15th century arch of the papal chapel. According to the precise will of the patron, the sarcophagus, which was due to host his remains, was placed at the center of the edifice. Due to its particular placement and visibility the sarcophagus was decorated on all four sides. This arrangement was markedly different than the Florentine type wall tombs of the basilica. Probably it was modelled after the tomb of Pope Sixtus IV by Pollaiolo or even more after other 15th century sculptural works in the city of Siena. This sepulchral monument is the only remaining vestige of the demolished chapel. Now it is placed in the Costa Chapel in the right aisle.

The bronze gisant is attributed to a Sienese sculptor, Giovanni di Stefano, a follower of Vecchietta, who was commissioned by the heirs of Cardinal Pietro Foscari and used a funerary mask for the modelling of the face.

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