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St. Peter’s Basilica – A Vatican City Must-See When In Rome

Story Published on July 5, 2008 ⋅  Email this Story ⋅  Print this Story ⋅ Post a comment ⋅

On your trip to Rome, to assure that you see one of the most popular tourist sites, be sure to visit the Basilica di San Pietro which is more commonly known as St. Peter’s Basilica. But when laying out your schedule, understand that you can easily spend an entire day at St. Peter’s and will want to come back to see more of one of the most famous and popular tourist stops in Vatican City.

The heart of the appeal of the site is the legend that Saint Peter himself was buried there even though there is no real proof of that idea. What we do know is that the basilica is located on the spot that was probably the Circus of Nero during the first century AD.

About 1000 years before St. Peter’s was built, the site was dedicated for a basilica by none other than the Christian Roman Emperor Constantine.

Hundreds of years later construction started on St. Peter’s Basilica using funds diverted from the holy war with the Turks by Pope Leo X.

But as was the way with any very large and ambitious construction effort of that time, it took many, many years, many architects and many Popes before the job was done in the late 16th century.

By medieval standards, St. Peter’s is a tall church towering 445 feet from the floor of the church to the cross that is on top of that well known dome. Roman citizens are very familiar with that dome decorating the skyline of the city because it is a masterpiece of architecture in every respect. That dome was designed by the famous artist and architect from the Renaissance, Michelangelo. It was he who took the San Gallo double-shell design and perfected it to fit the needs of St. Peter’s.

In 1546 Michelangelo took over as chief architect of St. Peter’s but he was not able to finish the job before his death. One of his students – Giacomo della Porta – was selected to take his master’s vision to completion. That design is so well known and admired that it has been used in many famous structures around the world, including the design of the Capital Building in the city of Washington DC.

That dome was so well constructed that two centuries passed before any stress cracks were found. When signs of aging did occur, four huge chains of iron were made and affixed to the inside of the pair of shells. You can see those chains still if you were to climb the spiral stairs that are there between the two shells of the dome of St. Peter’s.

But the dome is not the only thing that makes St. Peter’s Basilica a work of art. The church itself covers six acres of land and it is so large that 60,000 believers can crowd into it for worship. That capacity has been reached a number of times when the different Popes held mass or other ceremonies in the basilica.

Step outside the huge building and you will find the large faade which stands some 377 feet wide and over 148 feet tall. In addition, there are a number of fine sculpture art pieces that decorate the outside of St. Peter’s.

The basilica also hosts over 100 tombs of well known figures from history. You can feel history around you including the tomb of Queen Christina of Sweden. History tells us that she gave up her royal crown in 1654 so she could come to Rome and become a convert to Catholicism.

But there is no doubt that the most well known art work in St. Peter’s is the awe inspiring “Pieta” by Michelangelo. But sadly it must be displayed behind protective glass because a lunatic tried to destroy it with an axe in 1972.

When you step outside of the basilica you can find quite a few famous historical works of art that are visible around the building.

For example, be on the look out for a number of ancient clocks including one with a bell that dates back to the late 13th century. But an artwork that is hard to miss is a huge Egyptian obelisk on display outside St. Peter’s that dates back to Nero’s Circus where it stood not far away during the same time period.

Look for the two fountains in the square of the basilica. The southern fountain was designed by the famous artist Bernini in 1675. Bernini made several contributions including the phenomenal Triumph of the Chair of Saint Peter which stands in the apse section of the basilica.

Your visit to Rome will take on new meaning if you allow at least a couple of hours to take your time and admire this awe inspiring example of Renaissance architecture in the Eternal City.

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