Italian: Artist Unknown

Early Nineteenth Century Depiction of
Peter Almadura (ca. 1400-1482), Bishop of Bergamo, Italy,
Noted Dominican Theologian and Lexicographer, Wearing a
Bishop's Biretta with a Red Pom and a Jeweled Pectoral Cross

Italian
circa 1805
Artist unknown

3 1/2 inches diameter (sight)

watercolor on ivory; housed under glass in a gilt metal surround
that was originally set within an ebonized wood frame

About the Portrait: This portrait remains unattributed to a particular artist. It is unsigned to the obverse and has notes and a presumed signature on the vellum backing paper to the reverse, but the writing has faded to the point of being mostly illegible. The only clear element of the inscription to the reverse is the date of 1805 (notably 323 years after Almadura's death). The subject is depicted outdoors, standing in front of a stone building, presumably a church. He is identified by writing inscribed into the masonry (to the right of the subject's head), which reads "Petrus de Mole / Episcopo Bergomenei" (Latin for "Peter the Great, Bishop of Bergamo"). Above the inscription in the masonry also appears the coat of arms of a bishop, surely that of Almadura. (All Catholic bishops bear ecclesiastical arms. The rank of bishop is signified by the inclusion of a galero, a broad-brimmed hat above the heraldic shield, from which hang twelve tassels, six on each side.)

Peter Almadura was born in about the year 1400, in the northern Italian city of Bergamo, located northeast of Milan. In Bergamo, as a young man, he entered the Dominican Order (named after its founder Dominic de Guzmán, later canonized as Saint Dominic). He completed his studies at the Studium Generale of Bologna (studium generale being the medieval term for university), where he received a theology degree and was ordained a priest. Thereafter, he himself became a professor at the university, where he was appointed Master of Students in 1461, Lecturer on "the Sentences" in 1466, and Regent of Studies in 1471. He served as regent for five years, before retiring in 1476 to the city of Piacenza (southeast of Milan). There, he died on October 15, 1482. His remains were interred in a crypt under the high alter of the Basilica of St. Thomas, located in the town of Ortana, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, in eastern Italy. Almadura's interment in the Basilica of St. Thomas is a fitting honor, considering that he specialized in the study of St. Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274) and published several important ecclesiastical works on the saint's life and teachings.

Though not officially canonized, Peter of Bergamo (as he is most commonly referred to), has long been revered as a saint in both Piacenza and his home town of Bergamo, where claims have been made that miracles were wrought through his intercession. Though no record exists of him having served as a diocesan bishop, Almadura's rank within the Dominican Order was considered on par with that of a bishop, and he was styled as such in both name and appearance.

That Almadura's portrait was deemed worthy of painting some three centuries after his death is a testament to how highly he was regarded in Italian religious circles.