The monument on the left of the Cattedra, of Paul III, is by Guglielmo della Porta. These are two of the finest papal monuments in the church. Encased in Bernini's bronze throne is a wooden chair with ivory ornamentation which according to tradition was the one used by St. Peter. A recent examination of the chair proved this to be the one donated to Pope John VII in 875, by the Carolingian King Charles II the Bald, when he was crowned in St. Peter's on Dec. 25th of that year. It dates from the ninth century.
Crossing the basilica, we traverse the left transept, noting on the right the monument of Alexander VII by Bernini, which he made when he was almost eighty years old, the last work of this indefatigable genius.
Then we come to the Clementina Chapel where there is the monument of Pius VII by the Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen, the only monument in the church by a non-Catholic artist.
Before entering the left aisle, immediately on the left, is a mosaic reproduction of the Transfiguration of Raphael, his last work which he left unfinished, and which his disciple Giulio Romano completed. The original is in the Pinacoteca, the Vatican picture gallery. Entering the left aisle of the right is the monument to the pope who only reigned 24 days, Leo XI Medici, by Algardi, XVII century. A reference to his very short reign are the roses on the plinth and the words SIC FLORUIT.
Continuing towards the exit, immediately on the right we find the rich Choir Chapel; above the altar is the lovely mosaic picture of the Immaculate Conception. After the chapel come next two monuments set into the wall, face to face: Innocent VIII, executed by Pollaiolo in the late XV century, and St. Pius X, whose remains are preserved under the altar of the next chapel.
Embedded into the following pillar, to the left, is the monument by Antonio Canova to James III Stuart, the old pretender and his children. The last chapel, the Baptistery, has a baptismal font formed by the cover of an ancient porphyry sarcophagus, probably from Emperor Hadrian's tomb.
