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Tombs in Early Modern Rome (1400â1600)
Monuments of Mourning, Memory and Meditation
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Winner of the 2026 Borghese Prize
In Tombs in Early Modern Rome (1400â1600), Jan L. de Jong reveals how funerary monuments, far from simply marking a grave, offered an image of the deceased that was carefully crafted to generate a laudable memory and prompt meditative reflections on life, death, and the hereafter. This leads to such questions as: which image of themselves did cardinals create when they commissioned their own tomb monuments? Why were most popes buried in grandiose tomb monuments that they claimed they did not want? Which memory of their mothers did children create, and what do tombs for children tell about mothers? Were certain couples buried together so as to demonstrate their eternal love, expecting an afterlife in each otherâs company?
In Tombs in Early Modern Rome (1400â1600), Jan L. de Jong reveals how funerary monuments, far from simply marking a grave, offered an image of the deceased that was carefully crafted to generate a laudable memory and prompt meditative reflections on life, death, and the hereafter. This leads to such questions as: which image of themselves did cardinals create when they commissioned their own tomb monuments? Why were most popes buried in grandiose tomb monuments that they claimed they did not want? Which memory of their mothers did children create, and what do tombs for children tell about mothers? Were certain couples buried together so as to demonstrate their eternal love, expecting an afterlife in each otherâs company?
Jan L. de Jong (PhD Leiden University, 1987) is Senior Lecturer of Art History of the Early Modern Period at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands. He has published extensively on early modern Italian art, especially in Rome. His books include The Power and the Glorification: Papal Pretensions and the Art of Propaganda in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Penn State University Press, 2013).
Winner of the 2026 Daria Borghese Prize. Established in 1965 in memory of Princess Daria Borghese Olsoufieff (1909â1963), the prize is awarded annually for the best book on Rome by a non-Italian author.
âNot only a great addition to the study of tomb monuments in Rome but also a significant methodological work for the study of church monuments more generally.â
Elise Philippe, Catholic University of Louvain. In: Church Monuments, Vol. 38 (2024), pp. 149â151.
âThis book stands out for its innovative and inclusive approach to tomb monuments [...] The reader is treated to a rich and insightful journey through the cultural, spiritual, and emotional dimensions of early-modern tomb monuments in Rome.â
Laura Overpelt, Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome / Utrecht University. In: Incontri, Vol. 38, No. 1 (2023).
âNot only a great addition to the study of tomb monuments in Rome but also a significant methodological work for the study of church monuments more generally.â
Elise Philippe, Catholic University of Louvain. In: Church Monuments, Vol. 38 (2024), pp. 149â151.
âThis book stands out for its innovative and inclusive approach to tomb monuments [...] The reader is treated to a rich and insightful journey through the cultural, spiritual, and emotional dimensions of early-modern tomb monuments in Rome.â
Laura Overpelt, Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome / Utrecht University. In: Incontri, Vol. 38, No. 1 (2023).
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1 Nos tegimus cineres, spiritus astra tenet: Monuments, Mortal Remains and the Soul
â1âProblems Caused by Tombs in Church Buildings
â2âEpitaphs: Composing and Carving
â3âFunctions of Tomb Monuments
â4âBeliefs and Convictions
â5âStudying Tomb Monuments
2 (Vivens) sibi posuit: Cardinals Planning Their Own Tomb Monument
â1âQuestions
â2âOpulence and Modesty
â3âThe Role of Inscriptions
â4âPride and Self-Promotion
â5âMonuments of Vain Glory?
â6âCardinal Giovanni Ricci
â7âConclusions
3 Qui semper vanos tumuli contempsit honores: Directing the Memory of the Pope
â1âQuestions
â2âThe Popesâ Wishes
â3âRespectfully Securing the Popesâ Memory
â4âModesty Ignored
â5âConclusions
4 Optima, prudentissima, infelicissima: Mothers and Monuments
â1âQuestions
â2âTomb Monuments Erected for Mothers
â3âTomb Monuments Erected by Mothers for Their Children
â4âConclusions
5 Concordes et amantissime: Tomb Monuments for Spouses
â1âQuestions
â2âConiuges viventes fecerunt: Erected by Both Spouses Still Alive
â3âConiugi et sibi: Erected by the Surviving Spouse
â4âSuis dulcissimis parentibus: Erected by the Children under Will of Their Parents
â5âConclusions
Conclusion
Abbreviations of Frequently Mentioned Publications
General Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1 Nos tegimus cineres, spiritus astra tenet: Monuments, Mortal Remains and the Soul
â1âProblems Caused by Tombs in Church Buildings
â2âEpitaphs: Composing and Carving
â3âFunctions of Tomb Monuments
â4âBeliefs and Convictions
â5âStudying Tomb Monuments
2 (Vivens) sibi posuit: Cardinals Planning Their Own Tomb Monument
â1âQuestions
â2âOpulence and Modesty
â3âThe Role of Inscriptions
â4âPride and Self-Promotion
â5âMonuments of Vain Glory?
â6âCardinal Giovanni Ricci
â7âConclusions
3 Qui semper vanos tumuli contempsit honores: Directing the Memory of the Pope
â1âQuestions
â2âThe Popesâ Wishes
â3âRespectfully Securing the Popesâ Memory
â4âModesty Ignored
â5âConclusions
4 Optima, prudentissima, infelicissima: Mothers and Monuments
â1âQuestions
â2âTomb Monuments Erected for Mothers
â3âTomb Monuments Erected by Mothers for Their Children
â4âConclusions
5 Concordes et amantissime: Tomb Monuments for Spouses
â1âQuestions
â2âConiuges viventes fecerunt: Erected by Both Spouses Still Alive
â3âConiugi et sibi: Erected by the Surviving Spouse
â4âSuis dulcissimis parentibus: Erected by the Children under Will of Their Parents
â5âConclusions
Conclusion
Abbreviations of Frequently Mentioned Publications
General Bibliography
Index
All interested in funerary culture, tomb sculpture, Neo-Latin epigraphy, Roman Catholic teaching on death and the afterlife (1400â1600), as well as memory studies in general. Keywords: funerary culture, tomb sculpture, Neo-Latin epigraphy, death, afterlife, memory, Renaissance Rome, tomb monuments, papal tombs, cardinalsâ tombs, St Peterâs, S. Maria sopra Minerva, S. Maria del Popolo, S. Agostino.