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The Cathedral of Valencia, Spain, has preserved the so-called Holy Chalice of the Last Supper since 1437. It consists of a foot, a gold stem, and an upper cup carved in agate stone. Based on a pious tradition, this cup is supposed to be the one used by Jesus of Nazareth to institute the Eucharist. According to an archeological study published in 1960, this agate bowl was crafted around the 2nd–1st centuries BC, but people visiting this famous relic often wonder about its authenticity and about the evidence supporting it as a Hellenistic–Roman cup. Attempting to clarify this concern, a photographical characterization of the agate cup is presented and discussed. The main conclusions are the following: (i) The typology of the bowl is common to classical tableware, but the wall thickness, shape of the rim, and foot are typical of gemstone cups from the Hellenistic–Roman period. (ii) This cup would have been extremely valuable, which agrees with the location of the Cenacle in the aristocratic neighborhood of Jerusalem. This case study highlights the importance of further investigating the dating of historical objects as a key issue to support their authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the western cult of two saints, Cyrus and John, which was founded in Egypt – where Sophronios of Jerusalem composed the anargyroi 's hagiographic dossier in the seventh century – and quickly spread to Italy. The analysis of the manuscripts containing the Latin translations of Sophronios's texts allows us to trace the diffusion of this hagiographic corpus in Rome, and to link its transfer and first reception in Italy to a broad Mediterranean migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Cladding the front of the most important pilgrimage site of Western Christendom, the mosaic commissioned by Pope Gregory IX (1227–41) for the façade of Old St. Peter's has received extraordinary scholarly attention, and yet its original appearance, meaning, and message have remained elusive. The identification of overlooked medieval sources, combined with a fresh reading of the known ones (both written and visual), suggests a new interpretation of this mosaic, together with the framing of its message in a broader context of transformation within the Roman Church and of changing relationships between Rome, Constantinople, and the Holy Land. Instead of focusing on relics of saints, images, or monuments—as in traditional readings—I offer a new approach to the basilica of St. Peter's: a reappraisal of its inner space that calls attention to a hitherto neglected display of material objects that articulated a rich discourse on compunction, contrition, and penance through the exemplars of Peter and Judas as his antithesis. It becomes clear that, in his own basilica, Peter was not only presented as the first pope and the very foundational stone of the Roman Church but also as a sinner and a model of repentance and salvation. The discussion is then expanded to unveil new attitudes to pilgrimage and Passion devotion that enhance our understanding of the mosaic and the changes to the interior of the basilica, as well as their significance within the broader cultural, political, and spiritual context of that time. Gregory IX's mosaic emerges as an extraordinary manifesto of his ecclesiology, his eschatological thought, and his perceived pastoral role, thus shedding new light on significant shifts in artistic narratives, papal self-fashioning, and societal attitudes in the second quarter of the thirteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]