Shortly before Rome: New works by pietro bernini for the mozzagrugno monument in the cathedral of lucera

The funerary monument of the twin brothers Giulio and Ascanio Mozzagrugno, dated 1605, is still preserved in the Cathedral of Lucera. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that two Putti and the main relief, representing the Virgin and Child, are works by Pietro Bernini and were carved in Naples shortly before the artist moved to Rome. This monument is also the product of a new local elite. The Mozzagrugno family was able to obtain an a la page tomb from Naples, architectonically up-to-date according to the new tendencies imported from Rome by Domenico Fontana and Giovann'Antonio Dosio, and to hire Pietro Bernini, who later would become one of the artists of the Papal court as well as the father of the iconic Baroque artist of the seventeenth century.