TOMB MONUMENT OF GIUSEPPA COLLALTI, 1862. CHIESA NUOVA Poor little Giuseppa Collalti died at the age of 12 years, 3 months, and 25 days, the "sole delight of her parents". She is buried in the crypt beneath S. Maria in Vallicella, known as the Chiesa Nuova, the "new church", as it dates from only the C16. Despite the armour and the crown on the family crest, this was a local family of craftsmen who still have a bike shop nearby, though what their trade was in 1862 I do not know. This is a creditable budget monument with crisp classical volutes and acanthus flowers atop the grey marble frame surrounding the white marble plaque. The curious thing is that inside the oval where a portrait of the deceased is usually set, here there is an oval of brecciated black Lucullan marble. This expensive piece of spolia represents the most precious thing the Collaltis had, their daughter.
For #SpoliaSunday we're paying our respects to a little local girl buried in the #ChiesaNuova in #Rome. Her #monument has no portrait, just a precious slab of #spolia #marble to stand in for her. By the C19 spolia was getting hard to find, especially a piece of this exotic stone. #AncientBluesky 🏺
