furniture in the chapel except an attractive bronze eternal lamp which forms a gilded crown hanging on chains, decorated with the eight-pointed stars of the Chigi and supported by three flying cherubs. The design is a symbolic reference to the crown of the Virgin, the patron of the chapel and the Chigi family. The lamp was designed by Bernini himself. In his diary the Pope confirmed the great sculptor's authorship: "Yesterday, we saw the bronze lamp made for the chapel in the Popolo by Bernini", he wrote on 16 July 1657. The lamp was modelled by Peter Verpoorten, a Flemish assistant of Bernini, cast by Francuccio Francucci and gilded by Francesco Perone. Filippo Baldinucci says in his Vita that Bernini "was accustomed to putting in no less study and application in designing an oil lamp than in designing a very noble edifice". A similar lamp was created for the Cybo Chapel in the basilica, a copy was made in 1885 for the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, and also other casts of the lamp are known. The two monumental 1.5 m high bronze candlesticks with the Chigi symbols are standing guard at the entrance; these were lit during the celebration of the holy mass. The candlesticks are placed on painted wood plinths. A drawing by a follower of Bernini in the Royal Collection, dated between 1655 and 1665, shows a design for a similar object, although the sketch might have been created for the altar candles of Saint Peter's Basilica. The altar is flanked by two white marble wall flower stands decorated with palm fronds. Originally Fabio Chigi provided other pieces of ecclesiastical furniture for the restored family chapel. Six gilded bronze candlesticks were placed upon the table of the altar, their shape and number evoking the six mountains of the Chigi emblem. They were variants of those conceived by the artist for the altar of the St. Peter's. They were supplemented by gilded wooden altar cards and a bronze crucifix-tabernacle, the chest of which was supported by four seraphim and the door decorated with a chalice and a radiant host. A similar set was created for the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Ariccia by Bernini. These liturgical pieces were still recorded in an inventory in the 1720s. Fabio Chigi granted eight reliquaries to the chapel in 1654 and in 1656, containing the bones of different saints. The two set