The Basilica of St. Peter

By Brian Freeman

TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM

you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Matthew 16:18-19

An inscription found along the inside base of the dome.

¨ Located 41°54′8″N 12″E it is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City  / 41.90222, 12.45333and one of the holiest sites of Christendom.

¨ The main nave is 46 m (138ft) in height and the domes height is 119m (357ft).

¨ The second largest church building in Christianity, it covers an area 5.7 acres and has a capacity of over 60,000 people.

¨ Known as the burial site of Peter, who was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and in the Roman Catholic tradition, also the first Bishop of Antioch.

¨ The Basilica is more than just the tomb of Peter. Many great popes have been buried in Grotto Graveyard underneath the Basilica including: John Paul II (1978-2005),John Paul I (1978-33 days),Paul VI (1963-78),Paul XII (1939-58),Pius XI (1922-39),and Bendict XV (1914-22)

¨ Construction on the current building began under Pope Julius II in 1506 and was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V.

¨ Designed by the most famous architects and geniuses of the Renaissance and Baroque time.

¨ Donato Bramante was first chief architect. Michelangelo, who served as main architect for a while, designed the dome.

¨ The interior of St. Peter's is filled with many masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art, among the most famous of which are Michelangelo's Pietà, the Baldachin by Bernini over the main altar, the statue of St. Longinus in the crossing, and the tomb of Urban VIII.

“The first burst of the interior, in all its expansive majesty and glory: and, most of all, the looking up into the Dome; is sensation never to be forgotten.” Charles Dickens, 1846

Plan of St Peter’s Basilica

A Statue of Charlemagne by A. Comacchini (1725)	35 Monument to Urban VIII
B Statue of Constantine by Bernini (1670)	36 Chair of St. Peter by Bernini
	37 Monument to Paul III (Della Porta)
1 Facade by Maderno	38 Monument to Alexander VIII
2 Mosaic "of the Navicella" by Giotto	39 Altar of the paralytic
3 Portico by Maderno	40 St. Leo's Altar
4 Bronze doors by Filarete with bas-relief above	41 Altar dedicated to Our Lady of the Column
by Bernini	42 Monument to Alexander VII (Bernini)
5 Holy Door	43 Altar dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul
6 Spiral column from the Temple of Jerusalem (see note at bottom)	44 St. Thomas' Altar
7 Michelangelo's Pieta (1500)	45 St. Joseph's Altar
8 Old sarcophagus	46 St. Martial's Altar
9 Chapel of the Crucifix	47 Monument to Pius V (Tenerani) and entrance to
10 Statue of Leo XII	the Vestry and the Treasury
11 Monument to Queen Christina of Sweden	48 Altar dedicated to SS. Peter and Andrew
12 Chapel of St. Sebastian and the monuments	49 St. Gregory's Altar (tomb underneath)
to Pius XI and Pius XII	50 Monument to Pius VII (Thorwaldsen)
13 Monument to Innocent XII	51 Altar of the Transfiguration
14 Tomb of Countess Matilde	52 Monument to Leo XI
15 Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament	53 Tomb of B. Innocent XI
16 Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament Altar	54 Chapel of the Choir
17 Doorway leading to the Scala Regia	55 Choir stalls
18 Doorway leading to the organs	56 Monument to St. Pius X
19 Monument to Gregory XIII	57 Monument to Innocent VIII
20 Tomb of Gregory XIV	58 Chapel of the Presentation and Urn of Pius X
21 St. Jerome's Altar	and the monuments to Benedict XV (Canonica)
22 Monument to Gregory XVI	and to John XXIII (Greco)
23 Altar dedicated to Our Lady of Succour	59 Monument to Maria Clementina Sobieski and
24 St. Basil's Altar	entrance to the Dome
25 Monument to Benedict XIV	60 Tomb of the Stuarts
26 St. Wenceslas' Altar	61 Baptismal Font
27 Altar dedicated to SS. Processus and Martinian	62 Holy water stoup
28 St. Erasmus' Altar	63 Statue of St. Peter
29 Altar of the Navicella	64 Statue of St. Veronica (Mochi)
30 Monument to Clement XIII (Canova c 1790)	65 Statue of St. Helena (Bolgi)
31 St. Michael's Altar	66 Statue of St. Longinus (Bernini)
32 St. Petronilla's Altar	67 Status of St. Andrew (Duquesnoy); entrance to Vatican Grottoes
33 St. Peter's Altar	68 The Confession/St. Peter's Tomb (Maderno)
34 Monument to Clement X	69 Baldacchino by Bernini

For Futher Reading:

Papafava, Francesco. The Vatican. Italy: KINA, 1996.

“Peter in Rome.” Feb 2004.http://www.basarchive.org/

bswbSearch.asp?PubID=BSBR&

Volume=20&Issue=1&ArticleID=5&UserID=2322&.

Saint Peter's Basilica." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Dec. 2007 .