Around 1700, Pope
Clement XI instigated dramatic renovations of the church. A new Baroque interior was designed by
Carlo Fontana and completed in 1714. The fresco on the vaulted ceiling is the
Triumph of the Franciscan Order by
Baciccio. The main altar had a baldacchino with four porphyry columns. The altarpiece is by
Domenico Maria Muratori and depicts the
Martyrdoms of the Apostles Philip and James the Less. To the right of the high altar are the tombs of Count Giraud de Caprières (died 1505) and Cardinal
Raffaele Riario (died 1521), tentatively attributed to Michelangelo. To the left is a monument to Cardinal
Pietro Riario, nephew of
Pope Sixtus IV, by the school of
Andrea Bregno and possibly designed by
Andrea Bregno himself. There is also a Madonna by
Mino da Fiesole. Next to a pier of the nave on the right-hand side, near the first chapel, is enshrined the heart of
Maria Klementyna Sobieska, wife of the Old Pretender,
James Francis Edward Stuart. Her tomb is in
St Peter's Basilica. Her monument is by
Filippo della Valle. Her husband used to pray here every morning; it was his parish church when he lived at the nearby Palazzo Muti. The
confessio was constructed in 1871. During its construction, the relics of
St James and
St Philip, which were taken from the catacombs in the 9th century to protect them from invaders, were rediscovered under the high altar. According to
Giorgio Vasari, "the figure of Christ is so admirably foreshortened as to appear to pierce the vault; and in the same manner the angels are seen sweeping through the field of air in two opposite directions." This fresco was taken down in 1711 when Clement IX enlarged the choir. The figure of Christ is now in the
Quirinal Palace. Some of the other portions, which influenced Raphael, are in the sacristy of St Peter's. A hall in the Vatican Museums holds designs of angels and apostles by Melozzo, taken from the same fresco.
Chapels The twelve side chapels were reduced in number during the renovations of Clement IX. • The first chapel on the left is dedicated to
Our Lady of Sorrows. • The second chapel was dedicated to St.
Joseph of Cupertino. The altarpiece from 1777 is by
Giuseppe Cades. The two columns of verde antico, green marble, are reputed to be the largest known in that type of stone. • The third chapel of the left is dedicated to St.
Francis of Assisi, containing
The Ecstasy of St Francis by
Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari.
Pope Clement XIV (1769–1774) is buried at the end of the left side aisle, near the door of the sacristy. His Neo-Classical tomb is by
Antonio Canova, made in 1783-1787. Besides the statue of that Pope, there are two uncommonly fine figures of
"Temperance" and
"Clemency". This was the first major work Canova did in Rome. • The first chapel on the right-hand side of the nave is dedicated to St Bonaventure. The altarpiece is by
Niccolò Lapiccola. It also contains Antoniazzo Romano's
Madonna, moved from the Bessarion chapel. • The second chapel on the right is dedicated to the
Immaculate Conception; the altarpiece is by Corrado Giaquinto. • The third chapel of the left is dedicated to St.
Anthony of Padua; the altarpiece (1723) is by
Benedetto Luti. It is the chapel of the Odescalchi, whose palazzo was nearby. • Behind the Odescalchi chapel is the funerary chapel of
Cardinal Bessarion.
Antoniazzo Romano completed the decoration in 1467. It contained a 15th-century Madonna donated by Bessarion, now relocated to the Chapel of St. Bonaventure. • The Chapel of the Crucifixion is to the right of the main altar. Designed as a small basilica, it has a nave and two aisles. The 8 columns are from the 6th-century church. File:Basilica dei Santi Apostoli.JPG|Basilica dei Santi Apostoli File:Antonio canova, monumento a giovanni volpato, 1807, 01.jpg|Volpato monument by Canova (portico) File:Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli 06.jpg|
Tomb of Pope Clement XIV by Antonio Canova File:Ss. apostoli, int., antoniazzo romano, madonna col bambino, xv sec.JPG|Madonna of Constantinople, Antoniazzo Romano == Burials ==