Tomb of Pope Julius II

The Tomb of Pope Julius II is a sculptural and architectural ensemble by Michelangelo and his assistants. Originally intended for St. Peter's Basilica, the structure was instead placed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline in Rome after the pope's death. This church was patronized by the Della Rovere family from which Julius came, and he had been titular cardinal there.

Julius II, however, is buried next to his uncle Sixtus IV in St. Peter's Basilica, so the final structure does not actually function as a tomb. Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to design and execute a monumental sepulchral monument in 1505, but work on the project was repeatedly postponed and did not begin in earnest until 1542.

Over the nearly four decades between the initial commission and the completion of the reduced version in 1545, the project underwent numerous revisions and interruptions. As originally conceived, the tomb would have been a colossal structure that would have given Michelangelo the room he needed for his superhuman, tragic beings.

This project became one of the great disappointments of Michelangelo's life when the pope, for unexplained reasons, interrupted the commission, possibly because funds had to be diverted for Bramante's rebuilding of St. Peter's. The original project called for a freestanding, three-level structure with some 40 statues.