Sedia gestatoria Congress at Rome in 1905. An antique portable throne can also be found in display at the Lisbon Cathedral Museum along with a pair of Flabella. It is thought the privilege of the portable throne was granted by the Popes to the Cardinal Patriarchs of that city due to the financial support provided them by King John V of Portugal. In the 1800s, Prince Alessandro Torlonia spent his Thursdays in bringing out a "sedia gestatoria" from Pope Leo XIII to carry the Santo Bambino of Aracoeli to the sick believers who were unable to travel to the Basilica of Santa
History of the chair Roman chairs were of marble, also adorned with sphinxes. The curule chair was originally very similar in form to the modern folding chair, but eventually received a good deal of ornament. The most famous of the very few chairs which have come down from a remote antiquity is the reputed Chair of Saint Peter in St Peter's Basilica at Rome. The wooden portions are much decayed, but it would appear to be Byzantine work of the 6th century, and to be really an ancient sedia gestatoria. It has ivory carvings representing the labours of Hercules. A few pieces of an