Basilica of Saint Peter
The
Basilica of Saint Peter, officially known in Italian as the
Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and colloquially called Saint
Peter's Basilica, ranks second among the five major basilicas of
Rome and its Vatican City enclave. The largest church in
Christianity, it covers an area of 23,000 m² (5.7 acres); and has a capacity
of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom, it is the
supposed burial site of basilica namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the
twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of
Rome. Tradition holds that his tomb is below the baldachino and altar; for
this reason, many Popes, starting with the first ones, have been buried
there. The current basilica was started in
1506 and completed in 1626, and was built over the Constantinian basilica.
Picture: Fr. Tomás History: The current location is probably the site of the Circus of Nero, where Saint Peter was buried upon dying on an inverted cross (tradition states Saint Peter was crucified at the site of the Tempietto) in AD 64. After Constantine I officially recognized Christianity, he started construction in 324 of a great basilica in this exact spot, which had previously been a cemetery for pagans as well as Christians. Old St Peter's was in
many ways a typical early basilica-plan church, with a nave and two aisles.
The crossing was above the altar, producing a "T" plan. The importance of
the shrine to St Peter soon led to its design being copied, for instance at
the Basilica di Santa Prassede. Over the years it was richly decorated with
the wealth brought by the flow of pilgrims, but by the mid-15th century the
south wall was in danger of collapse and it was decided that the basilica
should be rebuilt. Pope Nicholas V asked architect Bernardo Rossellino to
start adding to the old church. This was abandoned after a short while. In
the late 15th century Pope Sixtus IV had the Sistine Chapel started nearby.
St. Peter's Square
Directly to the east
of the church is St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), built
between 1656 and 1667. It is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade with two
pairs of Doric columns which form its breadth, each bearing Ionic
entablatures. This is an excellent example of Baroque
architecture,
where creativity is coupled with flexible guidelines. In the center of the
colonnade, which was designed by Bernini, is a 25.5 m (83.6 ft) tall
obelisk. The obelisk was moved to its present location in 1585 by order of
Pope Sixtus V. The obelisk dates back to the 13th century BC in Egypt, and
was moved to Rome in the 1st century to stand in Nero's Circus some 250 m
(820 ft) away. Including the cross on top and the base the obelisk reaches
40 m (131 ft). On top of the obelisk there used to be a large bronze globe
allegedly containing the ashes of Julius Caesar, this was removed as the
obelisk was erected in St. Peter's Square. There are also two fountains in
the square, the south one by Maderno (1613) and the northern one by Bernini
(1675). Picture Fr. Tomas Nov. 2002 The dome The dome designed by Michelangelo was completed by Giacomo della Porta in 1590. The dome or cupola
was designed by Michelangelo, who became chief architect in 1546. At the
time of his death (1564), the dome was finished as far as the drum, the base
on which domes sit. The dome was vaulted between 1585 and 1590 by the
architect Giacomo della Porta with the assistance of Domenico Fontana, who
was probably the best engineer of the day. Fontana built the lantern the
following year, and the ball was placed in 1593.
Light streams down into the sanctuary from the dome. Picture 2002 Nov. Fr. Tomas
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