The Richard C. Alton Memorial Shrine and the Madonna di Pietrapiana

After the tragic passing of Fr. Richard C Alton, 18th Rector of this Parish, who died unexpectedly on All Saints Day in 2024, it was desired by many in the parish that a memorial of some sort be established in honor of his decade of loving and faithful service to Our Lord, and to the people of S. Clement’s. The Vestry had spent a good deal of time discussing what a fitting memorial might look like and exploring several different options, when an opportunity presented itself.

For many decades, Donatello’s Madonna of Via Pietrapiana was known only through reproductions. Dating to 1450-1455 and measuring 86 x 64 x 12.5 cm (approx. 36 x 27 x 5 in), the relief sculpture depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary holding Our Lord, executed with the tenderness and exquisite detail characteristic of that Renaissance master. Scholars had long noted that versions of this work held in Berlin, London, and other cities were all copies of a “lost” original, and in 1986, scholars identified Donatello’s missing masterpiece, from which the other copies had been made centuries ago. The Madonna of Via Pietrapiana had been integrated into a tabernacle on a Florence neighborhood street corner, on the facade of the building at Via Pietrapiana 38, on the corner with Via de’ Pepi in Florence, Italy. What had until 2023 been Donatello’s last known work still in private ownership, the work was purchased for 1.2M euro by the Italian government, which preempted its sale in auction. After being displayed in several museum exhibitions, the original is now on permanent display at the Bargello National Museum in Florence where it hangs in The Donatello Hall.

When the original relief was removed from that street-side tabernacle, it was replaced by a high-quality replica. Curators at the Bargello found records that the firm Syde Technologies was involved in production of the copy for the building owner, working in collaboration with an artist who applied a colored, cement-like compound to a 3D printed resin model created from digital scans to best replicate the shape, color, and texture of the original terra cotta relief sculpture. Mr. John Elliott of the Vestry, intrigued by the possibility of bringing a copy to Philadelphia for permanent outdoor display at S Clement’s Church to serve as memorial to the late Fr. Alton, wrote that Italian firm.

Syde obtained consent of the building owner and the Bargello National Museum and confirmed their artist collaborator’s interest in making a second copy using drawings, digital scans, and techniques utilized for the first copy. The Vestry was deeply intrigued by the idea. Not only would this be an opportunity to bring a piece of art history to Philadelphia and even more beauty to our already lovely garden, but it would make for a fitting memorial for Fr. Alton. His devotion to Our Lady was inspiring in its depth, and he would have appreciated and been honored to be memorialized by such an historically interesting and artistically important piece. Last year, the Vestry of S. Clement’s Church of Philadelphia voted unanimously to dedicate a new shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in loving memory of Fr. Richard C Alton, 18th Rector of this Parish, incorporating Donatello’s Madonna of Via Pietrapiana.

In May 2026, the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Bargello National Museum in Florence granted S. Clement’s Church permission to commission just the second replica of Donatello’s sculpture in the modern era, the first now standing in place of the original on that Florentine street corner. The full-scale replica will be finished to match the original terracotta, and like the original will become part of an outdoor shrine. Here in this niche in S. Clement’s Garden will be the first known display of this sculpture in North America.

Many friends and members of the parish have given funds to aid in erecting this fitting memorial. If you have not already, please consider making a contribution to its construction, and spreading the word so that others may do the same.