An unrecorded relic of Bramante’s Tempietto & of St. Peter’s martyrdom.

[Bramante] / [Rome] / [Relic]. S. Pietro in Montorio. Polveri raccolte nel Tempietto del Bramante, luogo preciso, ove il glorioso Apostolo e vicario di Gesù Cristo S. Pietro fu crocefisso imperando il crudele Nerone. Il sagrestano Deputato del 1843. [Rome], s.n., [1843]. Single folded sheet [8.7 x 7.0 cm], [1] f. folded on or near the platemark. Minor wrinkling, minor staining. 
 
Unrecorded engraving folded to form a small envelope said to contain dust (“polveri”) collected from the famed Tempietto built by Donato Bramante (1444-1514) for the church of San Pietro in Montorio, located atop the Janiculum Hill in Rome. The engraved text notes the role of Bramante as architect (“Polveri raccolte nel Tempietto del Bramante”) even before it mentions the raison d’être of the Tempietto, i.e., as a martyrium to commemorate the spot of the crucifixion of Saint Peter under the “cruel” Nero.
 
Dust taken from the Tempietto (built c. 1502) is an example of a ‘touch’ relic (also called a ‘contact’ or ‘secondary’ relic), i.e., a substance that came in contact with saint’s primary relic (e.g., a body part or personal item) or was taken from a holy place (as here). The inclusion of Bramante’s name as architect and the prominence given to his building in the text suggest that the item was intended to be marketed as much to Grand Tourists in search of Renaissance artistic/architectural monuments as to pilgrims interested only in the city’s holy loci and relics. Printed relic ‘envelopes’ of this sort, no doubt originally distributed in great quantities, only rarely survive today. 
 
OCLC, KVK and OPAC do not record examples of this item.
 
* F. Cantatore, Il tempietto di Bramante nel monastero di San Pietro in Montorio.