St. Peter's Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter is built over the grave of the Apostle Peter and is the largest church in the world of any Christian denomination.

Peter along with his brother James, both fisherman, was one of the first Apostles called by Jesus. He is recognised as being leader of the Apostles by most Christians and the Catholic Church officially regards him as the first Pope, or Bishop of Rome.

In the 60s AD Peter (Simon ben Jonah) was preaching in Rome and was martyred here during the regin of the Emperor Nero. He is belived to have been crucified upside down in a chariot racing track or circus which sat on Vatican Hill in Roman times. The Christians in Rome removed Peter from the Cross and buried him in a pre-existing cemetery with a simple inscription.

When Rome got her first Christian Emperor 250 years later, Constantine, he built a basilca (or royal building) over the grave of the Apostle in 326 AD. As the tombs of Jesus and Mary were unknown or not found, the basilica of St. Peter became one of the holiest sites in Christianity and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims would visit the church of the prime apostle.
Floorplan of St. Peter's Basilica
You can click on the blue dots to see the inside of the basilica.

By the 1500s this Constantinian basilica is in disrepair and is costing a fortune to keep. Pope Julius II decides to build a new church on the same site, knocking the old one down over time. Work started on the current St. Peter's in 1506 and was completed 120 years later in 1626. In that time the church had several architects such as Bramante, Raphael, Da Sangallo, Michelangelo, Fontana, Della Porta, Maderno and Bernini surpervising a crew of 2000 workers.

The church was built in a Latin Cross plan and the inside of the church was decorated by Bernini; only two statues were saved over from the old church to sit in the new. Bernini and his workshop sculpted the majority of the statues inside although space was left for funerary monuments for future Popes.

Probably the most famous statue inside St. Peter's is Michelangelo's La Pieta.
Many of the smaller chapels were decorated with large mosaic recreations of paintings which are elsewhere in the vatican.

Inside the church is composed of minor chapels dedicated to a Saint, Pope or specific function such as the choir chapel, and there is a large expanse around the Baldaccino which sits beneath the dome. The Baldaccino and Dome are directly in line above the grave of Saint Peter, his remains were not moved, the church was built over him.

St. Peter's is free (as are all Catholic Churches) and is very popular. There is usually a line or queue for the church and this can vary in length due to time of day and season. You can skip the line for St. Peter's by going through the Vatican Museums and exiting the Sistine Chapel to the Basilica. Bear in mind this door is closed every Wednesday morning for Papal Audiences and can be closed on random days without notice, so you may have to walk around the museums and line up to get inside.
At maximum the line for St. Peter's is 20 minutes and is located in St. Peter's Square.

St. Peter's is one of the most beautiful and impressive churches in the world.
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