St. Peter’s Basilica
The first basilica here was built by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century over the tomb of the Apostle Peter, who was crucified nearby around the year 64. By the fifteenth century it was falling into ruin, and in 1506 Pope Julius II laid the foundation stone of a new one.
For 120 years the greatest artists of the age worked on it. Bramante made the first plan, and Raphael and others followed. Michelangelo designed the dome, which was finished after his death. Maderno added the long nave and the façade, and Bernini made the bronze canopy over the altar, the Chair of Saint Peter and the colonnade that embraces the square “like the arms of Mother Church.” It was consecrated in 1626 and is one of the largest churches in the world.
The high altar stands directly above Peter’s grave, which excavations in the twentieth century identified beneath it. Michelangelo’s Pietà is in the first chapel on the right. The basilica is the setting for the great papal liturgies, canonizations and Jubilees.
- Built
- 1506–1626
- Style
- Renaissance and Baroque
- Where
- Vatican City
- Map
- Find it on OpenStreetMap
- Read about
- Saint Peter · The Chair of Saint Peter