IL RITORNO DI ASTREA. MICHELANGELO LUALDI E LA GIUSTIZIA DI BERNINI NELLA TOMBA DI URBANO VIII

This essay examines a little-known manuscript source regarding Saint Peter’s Basilica, which is preserved in the Biblioteca Corsiniana in Rome. Written by Michelangelo Lualdi in the 1640s, it includes an unpublished description of the Tomb of Urban VIII, and contains some variants with respect to the final execution of the work. Close analysis of these variants suggests that the author may have observed an intermediate version of Bernini’s project, which he then reworked in a literary manner.