The first chapel on the right of the nave is dedicated to St. Bernadino of Siena and was decorated by Pinturicchio for Nicola Bufalini of Citta di Castello, in memory of the peace achieved by St. Bernadino between the two powerful rival families, the Baglioni and the Bufalini. These frescoes are thought to date from 1497 to 1500. St. Bernadino can be seen opposite, between St. Anthony of Padua and St. Ludovico of Toloso, crowned with angels. The fresco on the left portrays the funeral of the saint: it shows some very beautiful heads, many of which are portraits of the Bufalini. The four noble figures of the Evangelists are
painted on the vault. In the Chapel of St. Francis on the right of the transept, are the tombs of the Savelli. The monument to Luca Savelli (13th century) is a richly decorated Roman sarcophagus upon which was laid another, decorated in mosaics, with three Savelli coats of arms. The Aracoeli Madonna on the main altar, an interesting picture in the Byzantine style, is attributed to St. Luke. In fact, it is a painting on wood which scholars have dated variously, from the 6th to the 11th centuries. In the choir, on the left is the tomb of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Savelli, the work of Andrea Bregno's school (15th century).
The richly decorated Ambos at the back of the central nave, are the work of Lorenzo Cosmati and his son Jacopo, whose signature is visible on the righthand side of the pulpit. On the left of the transept, the octagonal chapel dedicated to St. Helena marks the place of the other altar of the Augustan legend. Right under the altar of St. Helena, at a level 15 cm. (6 in.) lower than the present pavement, there is a white marble altar, embellished with sculptures and mosaics. They illustrate scenes of the above mentioned legend which can be interpreted with the help of the scenes on the table of the altar. It dates from the 12th century. The slim statue of the Saint is a contemporary work by Andrea Martini (1972).
Close by is the tomb of Matteo Acquasparta. General of the Franciscans in 1287, he was reprimanded by Dante in his Divine Comedy, for being responsible for relaxing the Rule. It is an interesting monument in the Gothic style, adorned with a fresco by the greatest Roman painter of the 13th century, Pietro Cavallini; it shows the Madonna and Child flanked by two saints.
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