It appears that Pope Pius IX was directly involved in decisions affecting Edgardo. It was Pius who decided that the child, now seven years old, would study at San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains), one of the most famous churches in Rome.

Not only is this church renowned for its religious relic (the chains that bound St. Peter), it is also the place where Pope Julius II is buried. It was Julius who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel and to create the statue of Moses which now stands at the tomb of this famous Pope. It is not hard to imagine how the son of a shopkeeper must have been dazzled by his environment.

GO TO CHAPTER INDEX