St. Peter's Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter from Castel Sant'Angelo. The basilica is perhaps the largest church in Christianity and is often used by the Pope.

The Basilica of Saint Peter, portrayed by Viviano Codazzi in a 1630 painting. Note the two bell towers, later removed.

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 four major basilicas of Rome (San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro, Santa Maria Maggiore and San Paolo fuori le Mura). It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City. Michaelangelo's dome is also the dominant feature of the Roman skyline. Saint Peter's Basilica incidentally is also the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople whereas the Lateran Basilica is the patriarchal basilica of Rome. Possibly the largest church in Christianity (see Yamoussoukro), it covers an area of 5.7 acres (23,000 m²) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom, it is traditionally the 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. Although the New Testament does not mention Peter either in Rome, or martyred there, ancient 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. Construction on the current basilica began on April 18, 1506 and was completed in 1626, and was built over the Constantinian basilica.Columbia Magazine, April 2006, page 18

Although the Vatican basilica is not the Pope's official ecclesiastical seat (Saint John Lateran), it is most certainly his principal church, as most Papal ceremonies take place at St Peter's due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City walls. The basilica also holds a relic of the Cathedra Petri, the episcopal throne of the basilica's namesake when he led the Roman church, but which is no longer used as the Papal cathedra. It is believed that a piece of this cathedra, or chair, is contained within the altarpiece, designed by Bernini.

Details

Burial site of St Peter

Main article: Saint Peter's tomb

Other Burials

There are over 100 tombs located within St. Peter's Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and the Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart were exiled, Catholic English royalty who are buried here after being granted asylum from Pope Clement XI. The most prominent woman entombed is Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II on April 8, 2005.

St Peter's Square

Directly to the east of the church is St Peter's Square (Piazza di San Pietro), built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini 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 is a 25.5 metre (83.6 feet) 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 metres (820 ft) away. Including the cross on top and its base, the obelisk reaches 40 metres (131 ft). The Vatican obelisk is notable for being the second largest standing obelisk and the only one that remained standing since it was erected during the Roman Empire. On top of the obelisk there used to be a large bronze globe allegedly containing the ashes of Julius Caesar. The original bronze globe was removed when the obelisk was re-erected in St Peter's Square by Domenico Fontana. There are also two fountains in the square, the north one by Maderno (1613) and the southern one by Bernini (1675). The square is reached mainly through the Via della Conciliazione built by Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties.

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 a dome sits. 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.

A view of Michelangelo's dome

As built, the double dome is brick, 42.3 metres (138.8 ft) in interior diameter (almost as large as the Pantheon), rising to 120 metres (394 ft) above the floor. In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. (Visitors who climb the spiral stairs between the dome shells can glimpse them.) The four piers of the crossing that support it are each 18 metres (59 ft) across. It is not simply its vast scale (136.57 m or 448.06 ft) from the floor of the church to the top of the added cross) that makes it extraordinary. Michelangelo's dome is not a hemisphere, but a paraboloid: it has a vertical thrust, which is made more emphatic by the bold ribbing that springs from the paired Corinthian columns, which appear to be part of the drum, but which stand away from it like buttresses, to absorb the outward thrust of the dome's weight. The grand arched openings just visible in the illustration but normally invisible to viewers below, enable access (but not to the public) all around the base of the drum; they are dwarfed by the monumental scale of their surroundings. Above, the vaulted dome rises to Fontana's two-stage lantern, capped with a spire.

The egg-shaped dome exerts less outward thrust than a lower hemispheric one (such as Mansart's at Les Invalides) would have done. The dome conceived by Donato Bramante at the outset in 1503 was planned to be carried out with a single masonry shell, a plan discovered to be infeasible. San Gallo came up with the double shell, and Michelangelo improved upon it. The piers at the crossing, which were the first masonry to be laid, and which were intended to support the original dome, were a constant concern, too slender in Bramante's plan, they were redesigned several times as the dome plans evolved.

Other domes around the world, built since, are always compared to this one which served as model: Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Quebec, St Paul's Cathedral in London, Les Invalides in Paris, United States Capitol in Washington, DC, the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri, and the more literal reproduction at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.

Entrances

Above the main entrance is the inscription IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII (In honor of the prince of apostles; Paul V Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612 and the seventh year of his pontificate).

The façade is 114.69 metres (376.28 ft) wide and 45.55 metres (149.44 ft) high. On top are statues of Christ, John the Baptist, and eleven of the apostles; The statues of St Peter and St Paul are in front of the parvis. Two clocks are on either side of the top, the one on the left has been operated electrically since 1931, its oldest bell dating to 1288.

Between the façade and the interior is the portico. Mainly designed by Maderno, it contains an 18th century statue of Charlemagne by Cornacchini to the south, and an equestrian sculpture of Emperor Constantine by Bernini (1670) to the north. The southernmost door, designed by Giacomo Manzù, is called the "Door of the Dead". The door in the center is by Antonio Averulino (1455), and preserved from the previous basilica.

The northernmost door is the "Holy Door" in bronze by Vico Consorti (1950), which is by tradition, only opened for great celebrations such as Jubilee years. Above it are inscriptions, the top reading PAVLVS V PONT MAX ANNO XIII, and the one just above the door reading GREGORIVS XIII PONT MAX. In between are white slabs commemorating the most recent openings.

{| style="vertical-align:top;" |IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M.
PORTAM SANCTAM
ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXVI
A PAVLO PP VI
RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM
APERVIT ET CLAVSIT
ANNO IVB HVMANE REDEMP
MCMLXXXIII – MCMLXXXIV