Michelangelo's Moses

Rome's chruch of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) is home to Michelangelo's tomb of Pope Julius II, including the famous Moses statue

Besides the chains that supposedly once bound St. Peter in prison (now on display under the altar), this 5th-century church with the Renaissance portico facade is famous for containing one of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces—and one of his most bitter failures.

In 1505, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to create for him a monumental tomb, and the master came up with a grandiose mausoleum festooned with 40 statues. The pope sent the sculptor off to the mountains of Carrara to search for marble, but when Michelangelo returned Julius set him to work painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling instead.

Doggedly trying to continue work on the tomb over the next several decades, Michelangelo kept reducing his plans as other projects took up his time and the descendants of Julius squabbled over how much they would invest in a tomb for their late, illustrious relative.

The master managed to finish two Slaves, which now reside in the Louvre in Paris, and roughed out five more, now in Florence's Accademia Gallery. He also crafted one of the grand figures who was to sit above our heads at the corners of the tomb, a muscle-bound Moses with satyr's horns in his head (symbolizing the holy rays of light from medieval iconography), the Commandments tablets clutched in one hand, and a portrait of Michelangelo hiding in Moses's flowing beard.

And that's pretty much all poor old Julius got in the end. This (relatively) modest wall monument, with a few other niched statues, was mostly executed by Michelangelo's assistants (though the master probably had a hand in the more delicate Rachel and Leah figures flanking Moses).

In a final twist of fate, this is a monument only, not a tomb. Julius himself lies buried and forgotten in an unassuming grave in a corner of the Vatican.

Piazza di S. Pietro in Vincoli (off Via Cavour, just north of the Colosseum)