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Home Home and Family Holidays St. Peter's Basilica - A Vatican Highlight When In Rome
St. Peter's Basilica - A Vatican Highlight When In Rome PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jill Kammer   
Any tourist to Rome will tell you that the attraction formerly known as Basilica di San Pietro and now called St. Peter's Basilica stands out as one of the best. In fact, there is so much to see at St. Peter's, you could spend an entire day here and still want to come back again. Of the many buildings in Vatican City, St. Peter's is one of the most popular and most frequently visited by tourists to Rome.
by JillKammer


Any tourist to Rome will tell you that the attraction formerly known as Basilica di San Pietro and now called St. Peter's Basilica stands out as one of the best. In fact, there is so much to see at St. Peter's, you could spend an entire day here and still want to come back again. Of the many buildings in Vatican City, St. Peter's is one of the most popular and most frequently visited by tourists to Rome.

While the lore of the basilica holds that St. Peter's is the literal burial place for Saint Peter himself, there really is no scientific proof to back that claim up. Truthfully, the actual spot on which St. Peter's sits is the same location of the original Circus of Nero in the first century.

The historic Christian Roman leader by the name of Constantine was the one who ordered that a basilica be built on this spot in the fourth century. That construction actually happened 1000 years before the construction of St. Peter's.

Some 1200 years later in the sixteenth century, it was Pope Leo X who diverted funds from his appeal to the masses to go to holy war against the Turks. Those funds were quietly applied to the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

But like most large scale construction efforts during this phase in history, it took decades to finish the church in the late 16th century and the project had many architects and was overseen by several Popes before it was done.

St. Peter's is a tall building even by sixteenth century standards. From the floor to the very tip of the cross on that famous dome above, the basilica towers 445 feet in the air. That dome is a revered part of the Roman skyline and it is an amazing architectural design all by itself. None other than Michelangelo himself designed the great dome and that famous Renaissance artist employed a double-shell design technique that was created by San Gallo.

Even though Michelangelo was made the architect in charge of St. Peter's in 1546, the completion of the masterpiece came long after his death. With the passing of the great master, one of his students, Giacomo della Porta went on to complete the work in 1590. The design plans of the brilliant architects of St. Peter's are often utilized in other great buildings including the Capital Building in Washington DC.

That dome was so well designed that two centuries passed before stress cracks were found. To correct the problem, four very large chains of iron were attached inside the dome to the pair of shells. If you were to climb the spiral stairs that are still there between the dome shells, you would still see those chains in place.

That magnificent dome is not all there is to St. Peter's Basilica. The interior space of the basilica covers six acres and it can accommodate 60,000 worshipers. And there have been several occasions where it was called upon to host that many people. The many Popes who have used St. Peter's to minister to the church have drawn in such crowds.

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.

There is no doubt that the most revered and valuable art work in the basilica is Michelangelo's Pieta. You will find it behind protective glass after a lunatic attacked it with an ax in 1972.

When touring the grounds outside of St. Peter's in addition to the dome, there are a number of notable and historical art works to look for.

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.

Most people who make plans to visit Rome are sure to include several hours to leisurely tour this amazing example of the finest of Renaissance architecture.

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