St. Peter's Basilica

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (

Overview

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St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River

The interior dimensions are vast when compared to other churches.[2] One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us."^[12]

The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The

The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including Michelangelo's Pietà. The central feature is a baldachin, or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The apse culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic Chair of Saint Peter.

The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth ... the sublime of the beautiful."^[13]

Panorama of St. Peter's Square

Status

St. Peter's Basilica is one of the

It is the most prominent building in the

After the crucifixion of Jesus, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the Acts of the Apostles that one of his twelve disciples, Simon known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from Galilee, took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church. The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from petra which means "stone" or "rock" in Greek, and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa", the name given to Simon by Jesus. (John 1:42, and see Matthew 16:18)

Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, travelled to Rome and met his

According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than 150 metres (490 ft) from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica was constructed over this site.^[24]

The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials as for many years after the burial of Saint Peter, many Christians chose to be buried near him.^{[citation needed]}

In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began under the crypt of the basilica in an area inaccessible since the ninth century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from

Old St. Peter's Basilica was the fourth-century church begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great between 319 and 333 AD.^[27] It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with the addition of a transept or bema, giving the building the shape of a tau cross. It was over 103.6 metres (340 ft) long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded atrium. This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter, though the tomb was "smashed" in 846 AD.^[28] It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of the popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building.^[29] Since the construction of the current basilica, the name Old St. Peter's Basilica has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings.^[30]

Plan to rebuild

By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the

Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel, nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape.^[35]

When Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra Giocondo, who both died in 1515 (Bramante himself having died the previous year). Raphael was confirmed as the architect of St. Peter's on 1 August 1514.^[36] The main change in his plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory.^[37]

In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and his successor

At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends the building into a short nave with a wide façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form.^[39] Sangallo's main practical contribution was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack.^[24]

On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's.^[40] He is to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on the job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice. Michelangelo wrote, "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim by whatever means he saw fit.^[24]

• 
  Bramante's plan
• 
  Raphael's plan
• 
  Michelangelo's plan

Michelangelo's contribution

Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity."^[41]

As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with a nave by

The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world.^{[note 5]} Its internal diameter is 41.47 metres (136.1 ft), slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome, 43.3 metres (142 ft), and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance, 44 metres (144 ft). It has a greater diameter by approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) than Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom.

Bramante and Sangallo, 1506 and 1513

The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of

In the case of Florence Cathedral, the desired visual appearance of the pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible.^{[note 6]} Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in a herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with the exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome.^[34]

Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realized the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form.^[39] According to James Lees-Milne the design was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success".^[24]

• 
  Bramante's dome
• 
  Sangallo's design
• 
  The engraving by Stefan du Pérac was published in 1569, five years after the death of Michelangelo.

Michelangelo and Giacomo della Porta, 1547 and 1585

Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of Florence, is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of 15 metres (49 ft) high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does the dome of Florence Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a hemispherical dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall.^[8][24]

The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving the drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each 18 metres (59 ft) across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant

Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him, also left a large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways. The major change restored an earlier design, in which the outer dome appears to rise above, rather than rest directly on the base.[45] Most of the other changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around the spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo.^[24]

A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one.^[41] In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous.^[46] Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of the engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However, Lees-Milne cites Giacomo della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself was capable.^[24]

Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments, "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo] ... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into the drum and dome, the whole building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit."^[41]

It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all the previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome must appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's angles and restraining its projections.^[43] If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of the integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the Classicism of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the architecture of the Baroque.^[43]

Completion

Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana brought the dome to completion in 1590, the last year of the reign of

In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times, the earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral.PPSt. Peter's BasilicaSt. Peter's Basilica^[citation needed]

Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) high:

TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM ET TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM
("... you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ..." Vulgate, Matthew 16:18–19.)

Beneath the lantern is the inscription:

S. PETRI GLORIAE SIXTVS PP. V. A. M. D. XC. PONTIF. V.
(To the glory of St Peter; Sixtus V, pope, in the year 1590, the fifth of his pontificate.)

Discovery of Michelangelo draft

On 7 December 2007, a fragment of a red chalk drawing of a section of the dome of the basilica, almost certainly by the hand of Michelangelo, was discovered in the Vatican archives.^[47] The drawing shows a small precisely drafted section of the plan of the entablature above two of the radial columns of the cupola drum. Michelangelo is known to have destroyed thousands of his drawings before his death.^[48] The rare survival of this example is probably due to its fragmentary state and the fact that detailed mathematical calculations had been made over the top of the drawing.^[47]

Addition of nave and facade

On 18 February 1606, under

The building of the nave began on 7 May 1607, and proceeded at a great rate, with an army of 700 labourers being employed. The following year, the façade was begun, in December 1614 the final touches were added to the stucco decoration of the vault and early in 1615 the partition wall between the two sections was pulled down. All the rubble was carted away, and the nave was ready for use by Palm Sunday.^[50]

Maderno's facade

The facade designed by Maderno, is 114.69 metres (376.3 ft) wide and 45.55 metres (149.4 ft) high and is built of

IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII
(In honour of the

Prince of Apostles, Paul V

Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)

The facade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's. The reasons for this, according to James Lees-Milne, are that it was not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. Lees-Milne describes the problems of the façade as being too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the attic story. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the facade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the facade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance.^[24]

Bernini's Towers

Pope Urban had long been a critic of Bernini's predecessor, Carlo Maderno. His disapproval of the architect's work stemmed largely from Maderno's design for the longitudinal nave of St. Peters, which was widely condemned for obscuring Michelangelo's dome. When the Pope gave the commission to Bernini he therefore requested that a new design for the facade's bell towers to be submitted for consideration. Baldinucci describes Bernini's tower as consisting of "two orders of columns and pilasters, the first order being Corinthian" and "a third or attic story formed of pilasters and two columns on either side of the open archway in the center".

Pope Urban desired the towers to be completed by a very specific date: 29 June 1641, the feast day dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. To this end an order was issued which stated that "all work should take a second seat to that of the campanile". The south tower was completed on time even in spite of these issues, but records show that in the wake of the unveiling the Pope was not content with what he saw and he ordered the top level of Bernini's tower removed so that the structure could be made even grander. The tower continued to grow, and as the construction began to settle, the first cracks started to appear followed by Urban's infamous public admonishment of his architect.

In 1642 all work on both towers came to a halt. Bernini had to pay the cost for the demolition; eventually the idea of completing the bell towers was abandoned.

Narthex and portals

Behind the façade of St. Peter's stretches a long portico or "

Five portals, of which three are framed by huge salvaged antique columns, lead into the basilica. The central portal has a bronze door created by Antonio Averulino c. 1440 for the old basilica^[51] and somewhat enlarged to fit the new space.

Maderno's nave

To the single bay of Michelangelo's Greek Cross, Maderno added a further three bays. He made the dimensions slightly different from Michelangelo's bay, thus defining where the two architectural works meet. Maderno also tilted the axis of the nave slightly. This was not by accident, as suggested by his critics. An ancient Egyptian obelisk had been erected in the square outside, but had not been quite aligned with Michelangelo's building, so Maderno compensated, in order that it should, at least, align with the Basilica's façade.^[24]

The nave has huge paired pilasters, in keeping with Michelangelo's work. The size of the interior is so "stupendously large" that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building.^{[24][note 8]} The four cherubs who flutter against the first piers of the nave, carrying between them two holy water basins, appear of quite normal cherubic size, until approached. Then it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 metres high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies. The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. These are lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, gilt, sculpture and mosaic. Remarkably, all of the large altarpieces, with the exception of the Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, have been reproduced in mosaic. Two precious paintings from the old basilica, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of the Column are still being used as altarpieces.

Maderno's last work at St. Peter's was to design a crypt-like space or "Confessio" under the dome, where the

Pope Urban VIII and Bernini

As a young boy Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) visited St. Peter's with the painter Annibale Carracci and stated his wish to build "a mighty throne for the apostle". His wish came true. As a young man, in 1626, he received the patronage of Pope Urban VIII and worked on the embellishment of the Basilica for 50 years. Appointed as Maderno's successor in 1629, he was to become regarded as the greatest architect and sculptor of the Baroque period. Bernini's works at St. Peter's include the baldachin (baldaquin, from Italian: baldacchino), the Chapel of the Sacrament, the plan for the niches and loggias in the piers of the dome and the chair of St. Peter.^[24][41]

Baldacchino and niches

Bernini's first work at St. Peter's was to design the

The baldacchino is surmounted not with an architectural pediment, like most baldacchini, but with curved Baroque brackets supporting a draped canopy, like the brocade canopies carried in processions above precious iconic images. In this case, the draped canopy is of bronze, and all the details, including the olive leaves, bees, and the portrait heads of Urban's niece in childbirth and her newborn son, are picked out in gold leaf. The baldacchino stands as a vast free-standing sculptural object, central to and framed by the largest space within the building. It is so large that the visual effect is to create a link between the enormous dome which appears to float above it, and the congregation at floor level of the basilica. It is penetrated visually from every direction, and is visually linked to the Cathedra Petri in the apse behind it and to the four piers containing large statues that are at each diagonal.^[24][41]

As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the huge piers, begun by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo, hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four

Bernini then turned his attention to another precious relic, the so-called

Bernini's final work for St. Peter's, undertaken in 1676, was the decoration of the Chapel of the Sacrament.[52] To hold the sacramental Host, he designed a miniature version in gilt bronze of Bramante's Tempietto, the little chapel that marks the place of the death of St. Peter. On either side is an angel, one gazing in rapt adoration and the other looking towards the viewer in welcome. Bernini died in 1680 in his 82nd year.^[24]

St. Peter's Piazza

Main article: St. Peter's Square

To the east of the basilica is the Piazza di San Pietro, (

St. Peter's Square). The present arrangement, constructed between 1656 and 1667, is the Baroque inspiration of Bernini who inherited a location already occupied by an Egyptian obelisk which was centrally placed, (with some contrivance) to Maderno's facade.^{[note 9]} The obelisk, known as "The Witness", at 25.31 metres (83.0 ft) and a total height, including base and the cross on top, of 40 metres (130 ft), is the second largest standing obelisk, and the only one to remain standing since its removal from Egypt and re-erection at the Circus of Nero in 37 AD, where it is thought to have stood witness to the crucifixion of Saint Peter.^[53] Its removal to its present location by order of Pope Sixtus V and engineered by Domenico Fontana on 28 September 1586, was an operation fraught with difficulties and nearly ending in disaster when the ropes holding the obelisk began to smoke from the friction. Fortunately this problem was noticed by Benedetto Bresca, a sailor of Sanremo, and for his swift intervention, his town was granted the privilege of providing the palms that are used at the basilica each Palm Sunday.^[24]

The other object in the old square with which Bernini had to contend was a large fountain designed by Maderno in 1613 and set to one side of the obelisk, making a line parallel with the facade. Bernini's plan uses this horizontal axis as a major feature of his unique, spatially dynamic and highly symbolic design. The most obvious solutions were either a rectangular piazza of vast proportions so that the obelisk stood centrally and the fountain (and a matching companion) could be included, or a trapezoid piazza which fanned out from the facade of the basilica like that in front of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. The problems of the square plan are that the necessary width to include the fountain would entail the demolition of numerous buildings, including some of the Vatican, and would minimize the effect of the facade. The trapezoid plan, on the other hand, would maximize the apparent width of the facade, which was already perceived as a fault of the design.^[41]

Bernini's ingenious solution was to create a piazza in two sections. That part which is nearest the basilica is trapezoid, but rather than fanning out from the facade, it narrows. This gives the effect of countering the visual perspective. It means that from the second part of the piazza, the building looks nearer than it is, the breadth of the facade is minimized and its height appears greater in proportion to its width. The second section of the piazza is a huge elliptical circus which gently slopes downwards to the obelisk at its centre. The two distinct areas are framed by a colonnade formed by doubled pairs of columns supporting an entablature of the simple Tuscan Order.

The part of the colonnade that is around the ellipse does not entirely encircle it, but reaches out in two arcs, symbolic of the arms of "the Catholic Church reaching out to welcome its communicants".

Lateran Treaties, leads from the River Tiber to the piazza and gives distant views of St. Peter's as the visitor approaches, with the basilica acting as a terminating vista.^[24]

Bernini's transformation of the site is entirely Baroque in concept. Where Bramante and Michelangelo conceived a building that stood in "self-sufficient isolation", Bernini made the whole complex "expansively relate to its environment".[41] Banister Fletcher says "No other city has afforded such a wide-swept approach to its cathedral church, no other architect could have conceived a design of greater nobility ... (it is) the greatest of all atriums before the greatest of all churches of Christendom."^[8]

Clocks

The top of the facade of St. Peter's Basilica has two clocks and several sculptures. The clocks were created to replace Bernini's bell towers which had to be torn down due to insufficient support. The left clock shows Rome time, the one of the right shows European mean time. The statues are Christ the Redeemer, St. John the Baptist and 11 Apostles. From the left: St. Thadeus, St. Matthew, St. Philip, St. Thomas, St. James the Greater, St. John the Baptist, The Redeemer, St. Andrew, St. John the Evangelist, St. James the Lesser, St. Bartholomew, St. Simeon, and St. Matthias. Above the Roman clock is the coat of arms for the city-state of Vatican City since 1931 held by two angels.^{[citation needed]}

Bells

The Basilica has 6 bells, placed in the room under the Roman clock, only 3 of them are visible from ground level while the rest are hidden behind the bourdon. They range from the smallest which is 260 kg to the massive bourdon that approximately weighs 9 tonnes. From 1931, the bells are operated electrically, thus permitting even the largest bell to be tolled from a distance. The oldest bell Rota dates from 1288 and the bourdon called Campanone is rung at Christmas and Easter, on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and every time the Pope imparts the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to the city and to the world. Campanone also announces the death of the pope and an election of a new pope.

Bell#	Name	Mass	Date cast
1	Campanella	260 kg	1825
2	Ave Maria	280 kg	1932
3	Predica	850 kg	1893
4	Rota	2 t	1288
5	Campanoncino (Mezzana, Benedittina)	4 t	1725
6	Campanone	9 t	1785

Treasures

Tombs and relics

For a more comprehensive list, see List of extant papal tombs.

Air vents

for the crypt in St. Peter's Basilica

There are over 100

Countess Matilda of Tuscany, supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy. The most recent interment was Pope Benedict XVI, on 5 January 2023. Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently discovered vaulted fourth-century "Tomb of the Julii

". (See below for some descriptions of tombs).

Artworks

Towers and narthex

• In the towers to either side of the facade are two clocks. The clock on the left has been operated electrically since 1931. Its oldest bell dates from 1288.
• One of the most important treasures of the basilica is a mosaic set above the central external door. Called the "Navicella", it is based on a design by Giotto (early 14th century) and represents a ship symbolizing the Christian Church.^[10] The mosaic is mostly a 17th-century copy of Giotto's original.
• At each end of the narthex is an equestrian figure, to the north Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) and to the south Charlemagne by Cornacchini (18th century).^[10]
• Of the five portals from the narthex to the interior, three contain notable doors. The central portal has the Renaissance bronze door by
  Antonio Averulino (called Filarete) (1455), enlarged to fit the new space. The southern door, the Door of the Dead, was designed by 20th-century sculptor Giacomo Manzù
  and includes a portrait of Pope John XXIII kneeling before the crucified figure of Saint Peter.
• The northernmost door is the "Holy Door" which, by tradition, is walled-up with bricks, and opened only for holy years such as the
  Jubilee year by the Pope. The present door is bronze and was designed by Vico Consorti in 1950 and cast in Florence by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry
  . Above it are inscriptions commemorating the opening of the door: PAVLVS V PONT MAX ANNO XIII and GREGORIVS XIII PONT MAX.

Recently installed commemorative plaques read above the door as follows:

PAVLVS VI PONT MAX HVIVS PATRIARCALIS VATICANAE BASILICAE PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXV
(Paul VI, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed the holy door of this patriarchal Vatican basilica in the jubilee year of 1975.)

IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. PORTAM SANCTAM ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXVI A PAVLO PP VI RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVB HVMANE REDEMP MCMLXXXIII–MCMLXXXIV
(John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed again the holy door closed and set apart by Pope Paul VI in 1976 in the jubilee year of human redemption 1983–1984.)

IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. ITERVM PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO MAGNI IVBILAEI AB INCARNATIONE DOMINI MM–MMI
(John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, again opened and closed the holy door in the year of the great jubilee, from the incarnation of the Lord 2000–2001.)

FRANCISCVS PP. PORTAM SANCTAM ANNO MAGNI IVB MM–MMI A IOANNE PAVLO PP. II RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVB MISERICORDIAE MMXV–MMXVI
(Pope Francis opened and closed again the holy door, closed and set apart by Pope John Paul II in the year of the great jubilee 2000–2001, in the jubilee year of Mercy 2015–2016.)

Older commemorative plaques are removed to make way for the new plaque when the holy door is opened and sealed.

Nave

• On the first piers of the nave are two Holy Water basins held by pairs of cherubs each 2 metres high, commissioned by Pope Benedict XIII from designer Agostino Cornacchini and sculptor Francesco Moderati, (1720s).
• Along the floor of the nave are markers showing the comparative lengths of other churches, starting from the entrance.
• On the decorative pilasters of the piers of the nave are medallions with relief depicting 56 of the first popes.
• In niches between the pilasters of the nave are statues depicting 39 founders of religious orders.
• Set against the north east pier of the dome is a statue of Saint Peter Enthroned, sometimes attributed to late 13th-century sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio, with some scholars dating it to the fifth century. One foot of the statue is largely worn away by pilgrims kissing it for centuries.
• The sunken Confessio leading to the
  Canova of Pope Pius VI, who was captured and mistreated by Napoleon Bonaparte's
  army. This has now been moved to the back (eastern) end of the grottoes.
• In the Confessio is the Niche of the Pallium ("Niche of Stoles") which contains a bronze urn, donated by Pope Benedict XIV, to contain white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on St. Agnes' day.
• The High Altar is surmounted by Bernini's baldachin. (See above)
• Set in niches within the four piers supporting the dome are the larger-than-life statues associated with the basilica's primary holy relics:
  Francois Duquesnoy and Saint Veronica holding her veil with the image of Jesus' face, by Francesco Mochi
  .

• 
  Saint Helena
  by Andrea Bolgi
• 
  Saint Longinus
  by Bernini
• 
  Saint Andrew
  by Francois Duquesnoy
• 
  Saint Veronica
  by Francesco Mochi

North aisle

• In the first chapel of the north aisle is Michelangelo's Pietà.^{[note 10]}
• On the first pier in the right aisle is the monument of
  Queen Christina of Sweden
  , who abdicated in 1654 in order to convert to Catholicism.
• The second chapel, dedicated to Saint Sebastian, contains the statues of popes Pius XI and Pius XII. The space below the altar used to be the resting place of Pope Innocent XI but his remains were moved to the Altar of the Transfiguration on 8 April 2011. This was done to make way for the body of Pope John Paul II. His remains were placed beneath the altar on 2 May 2011.
• The large chapel on the right aisle is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament which contains the tabernacle by Bernini (1664) resembling Bramante's Tempietto at
  Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona
  .
• Near the altar of Our Lady of Succour are the monuments of popes Gregory XIII by Camillo Rusconi (1723) and Gregory XIV.
• At the end of the aisle is an altar containing the relics of Saint Petronilla and with an altarpiece The Burial of St Petronilla by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1623.

South aisle

• The first chapel in the south aisle is the baptistry, commissioned by Pope Innocent XII and designed by Carlo Fontana, (great nephew of Domenico Fontana). The font was carved from the lid of the purple porphyry sarcophagus which had once held the remains of the Emperor Hadrian, and is surmounted with a gilt-bronze figure of the "Lamb of God". Fontana's reworked porphyry sarcophagus lid font replaced an earlier font, which was re-purposed from the sarcophagus of Probus, the fourth-century Prefect of Rome, and which was used for baptisms from the 15th century until the late 17th century, when Fontana's work was completed.
• Against the first pier of the aisle is the
  Maria Clementina Sobieska
  .
• The second chapel is that of the Presentation of the Virgin and contains the memorials of Pope Benedict XV and Pope John XXIII.
• Against the piers are the tombs of Pope Pius X and Pope Innocent VIII.
• The large chapel off the south aisle is the Choir Chapel which contains the altar of the Immaculate Conception.
• At the entrance to the Sacristy is the tomb of Pope Pius VIII
• The south transept contains the altars of Saint Thomas, Saint Joseph and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter.
• The tomb of Fabio Chigi,
  Charity and Truth. The foot of Truth rests upon a globe of the world, her toe being pierced symbolically by the thorn of Protestant England. Coming forth, seemingly, from the doorway as if it were the entrance to a tomb, is the skeletal winged figure of Death, its head hidden beneath the shroud, but its right hand carrying an hourglass stretched upward towards the kneeling figure of the pope.^[24]

• 
  The Holy Door is opened only for great celebrations.
• 
  The tomb of Alexander VII, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1671–1678^[54]
• 
  The bronze statue of Saint Peter holding the keys of heaven, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio
• 
  The Pietà by Michelangelo, 1498–1499, is in the north aisle.

Archpriests since 1053

List of archpriests of the Vatican Basilica:^[55][56]

• Giovanni (1053)
• Deusdedit (1092)
• Azzo (1103–1104)
• Rustico de' Rustici (c. 1128 – c. 1131)
• Griffone (1138–1139)
• Pietro (c. 1140?–1144)
• Bernard (1145?–1176?)
• Giovanni da Sutri (1176/78–1180)
• Ugolino di Segni (c. 1191 – c. 1200–1206)
• Guido Pierleoni (1206/7–1228)
• Stefano Conti (1229–1254)
• Riccardo Annibaldi (1254–1276)
• Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (1276–1277)
• Matteo Rosso Orsini (1278–1305)
• Napoleone Orsini Frangipani
  (1306–1342)
• Annibaldo di Ceccano
  (1342–1350)
• Guillaume de La Jugie (1362–1365)
• Rinaldo Orsini (1366–1374)
• Hugues de Saint-Martial (1374–1378)
• Philippe d'Alençon (1378–1397)
• Cristoforo Maroni (1397–1404)
• Angelo Acciaioli
  (1404–1408)
• Antonio Calvi (1408–1411)
• Pedro Fernandez de Frias (1412–1420)
• Antonio Correr (1420–1429)
• Lucido Conti (1429–1434)
• Giordano Orsini (1434–1438)
• Giuliano Cesarini
  (1439–1444)
• Pietro Barbo (1445–1464)
• Richard Olivier (1464–1470)
• Giovanni Battista Zeno (1470–1501)
• Juan López (1501)
• Ippolito d'Este (1501–1520)
• Marco Cornaro (1520)
• Franciotto Orsini (1520–1530)
• Francesco Cornaro (1530–1543)
• Alessandro Farnese (1543–1589)
• Giovanni Evangelista Palotta (1589–1620)
• Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese
  (1620–1633)
• Francesco Barberini
  (1633–1667)
• Carlo Barberini (1667–1704)
• Francesco Nerli (iuniore) (1704–1708)
• Annibale Albani (1712–1751)
• Henry Benedict Stuart (1751–1807)
• Romualdo Braschi-Onesti
  (1807–1817)
• Alessandro Mattei (1817–1820)
• Pietro Francesco Galleffi (6 May 1820 – 18 June 1837)
• Giacomo Giustiniani (1 July 1837 – 24 February 1843)
• Mario Mattei (11 March 1843 – 7 October 1870)
• Niccola Paracciani Clarelli (8 October 1870 – 7 July 1872)
• Edoardo Borromeo (10 July 1872 – 30 November 1881)
• Edward Henry Howard (12 December 1881 – 16 September 1892)
• Francesco Ricci Paracciani (6 October 1892 – 9 March 1894)
• Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro
  (21 March 1894 – 16 December 1913)
• Rafael Merry del Val (12 January 1914 – 26 February 1930)
• Eugenio Pacelli
  (25 March 1930 – 2 March 1939)
• Federico Tedeschini (14 March 1939 – 2 November 1959)
• Domenico Tardini (14 November 1959 – 30 July 1961)
• Paolo Marella (14 August 1961 – 8 February 1983)
• Aurelio Sabattani (8 February 1983 – 1 July 1991)^[57]
• Virgilio Noè (1 July 1991^[57] – 24 April 2002)^[58]
• Francesco Marchisano (24 April 2002^[58] – 31 October 2006)^[59]
• Angelo Comastri (31 October 2006^[59] – 20 February 2021)^[60]
  • Comastri was named Coadjutor Archpriest on 5 February 2005^[61]
• Mauro Gambetti (20 February 2021^[60] – present)

Specifications

• Cost of construction of the basilica: more than 46,800,052
  ducats^[62]
• Geographic orientation: chancel west, nave east
• Total length: 730 feet (220 m)
• Total width: 500 feet (150 m)
• Interior length including vestibule: 693.8 feet (211.5 m),[2] more than 1⁄8 mile.
• Length of the transepts in interior: 451 feet (137 m)^[2]
• Width of nave: 90.2 feet (27.5 m)^[2]
• Width at the tribune: 78.7 feet (24.0 m)^[2]
• Internal width at transepts: 451 feet (137 m)^[2]
• Internal height of nave: 151.5 feet (46.2 m) high^[2]
• Total area: 227,070 square feet (21,095 m²), more than 5 acres (20,000 m²).
• Internal area: 163,182.2 square feet (3.75 acres; 15,160.12 m²)^[2]
• Height from pavement to top of cross: 448.1 feet (136.6 m)^[1]
• Façade: 167 feet (51 m) high by 375 feet (114 m) wide
• Vestibule: 232.9 feet (71.0 m) wide, 44.2 feet (13.5 m) deep, and 91.8 feet (28.0 m) high^[2]
• The internal columns and pilasters: 92 feet (28 m) tall
• The circumference of the central piers: 240 feet (73 m)
• Outer diameter of dome: 137.7 feet (42.0 m)^[2]
• The drum of the dome: 630 feet (190 m) in circumference and 65.6 feet (20.0 m) high, rising to 240 feet (73 m) from the ground
• The lantern: 63 feet (19 m) high
• The ball and cross: 8 and 16 feet (2.4 and 4.9 m), respectively
• St. Peter's Square: 1,115 feet (340 m) long, 787.3 feet (240.0 m) wide^[2]
• Each arm of the colonnade: 306 feet (93 m) long, and 64 feet (20 m) high
• The colonnades have 284 columns, 88 pilasters, and 140 statues^[2]
• Obelisk: 83.6 feet (25.5 m). Total height with base and cross, 132 feet (40 m).
• Weight of obelisk: 360.2 short tons (326,800 kg; 720,400 lb)^[2]

See also

• Architecture of cathedrals and great churches
• Architecture of Rome
• History of early modern period domes
• List of tallest domes
• Index of Vatican City-related articles
• List of basilicas in Italy
• List of oldest church buildings
• List of Roman Catholic basilicas
• List of tallest buildings in Rome
• List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
• List of tourist attractions in Rome

Notes

1. Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire is larger appear to be spurious, as the measurements include a rectorate, a villa and probably the forecourt. Its dome, based on that of St. Peter's Basilica, is lower but carries a taller cross, and thus claims to be the tallest domed church.^{[citation needed}
   ]
2. Papal basilicas
   .
3. Siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple by the emperor Vespasian's general (and the future emperor) Titus in 70 AD.^[31]
4. ^ Julius II's tomb was left incomplete and was eventually erected in the Church of St Peter ad Vincola.
5. ^ This claim has recently been made for Yamoussoukro Basilica, the dome of which, modelled on St. Peter's, is lower but has a taller cross.^{[citation needed]}
6. ^ The dome of Florence Cathedral is depicted in a fresco at Santa Maria Novella that pre-dates its building by about 100 years.
7. ^ Another view of the façade statues. From left to right: ① Thaddeus, ② Matthew, ③ Philip, ④ Thomas, ⑤ James the Elder, ⑥ John the Baptist (technically a 'precursor' and not an apostle); ⑦ Christ (centre, the only one with a halo); ⑧ Andrew, ⑨ John the Apostle, ⑩ James the Younger, ⑪ Bartholomew, ⑫ Simon and ⑬ Matthias. ("Unofficial architecture site". saintpetersbasilica.org. Retrieved 1 June 2011.)
8. ^ The word "stupendous" is used by a number of writers trying to adequately describe the enormity of the interior. These include James Lees-Milne and Banister Fletcher.
9. ^ The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis by an unknown pharaoh of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt (c. 2494 BC – 2345 BC).
10. ^ The statue was damaged in 1972 by Lazlo Toft, a Hungarian-Australian, who considered that the veneration shown to the statue was idolatrous. The damage was repaired and the statue subsequently placed behind glass.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "St. Peter's Basilica - Dome" (in Italian). Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Baumgarten 1913
3. ^
   Banister Fletcher, the renowned architectural historian calls it "the greatest creation of the Renaissance" and "... the greatest of all churches of Christendom" in Fletcher 1921
   , p. 588.
4. ^ James Lees-Milne describes St. Peter's Basilica as "a church with a unique position in the Christian world" in Lees-Milne 1967, p. 12.
5. ^ "St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro) in Rome, Italy". reidsitaly.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
6. ^ Giuliani, Giovanni (1995). "Altar of the Confession". Guide to Saint Peter's Basilica. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
7. ^ "Papal Mass". Papal Audience. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Fletcher 1921
9. ^ Noreen (19 November 2012). "St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican Is Not The Official Church Of The Pope". Today I Found Out. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} Pio V. Pinto, pp. 48–59
11. ^ "St. Peter's Square – Statue of St. Paul". saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
12. ^ Masson, Georgina (2001). The Companion Guide to Rome. Companion Guides. pp. 615–6.
13. ^ Ralph Waldo Emerson, 7 April 1833
14. ^ Williamson, Benedict (1929). The Treaty of the Lateran. London, England: Burns, Oates, and Washbourne Limited. pp. 42–66. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
15. ^ "St. Peter's Basilica – Interior of the Basilica". Internet Portal of the Vatican City State. p. 2. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
16. ^ "Vatican City". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
17. ^ "The Nave". St. Peter's. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
18. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Basilica of St. Peter" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
19. ISBN 978-0-7867-1436-0
    .
20. ISBN 978-0-8041-4291-5. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via Google Books
    .
21. ^ Rasch 1985, p. 118
22. ^ Based on "Outline of St. Peter's, Old St. Peter's, and Circus of Nero".
23. ^ "Jerome, De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)". New Advent. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
24. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z} Lees-Milne 1967
25. ^ Frank J. Korn, Hidden Rome Paulist Press (2002)
26. ^ Hijmans, Steven. "University of Alberta Express News". In search of St. Peter's Tomb. Archived from the original on 25 January 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2006.
27. ^ Cunningham, Lawrence (2010), Cultures and Values, US: Clark Baxter, p. 671
28. ISBN 9780520021815. Archived
    from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2019. excavation has revealed that the tomb of the apostle was wantonly smashed
29. ^ Dietz, Helen (2005). "The Eschatological Dimension of Church Architecture". Sacred Architecture Journal. 10. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
30. ^ Boorsch, Suzanne (Winter 1982–1983). "The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 40 (3): 4–8.
31. ISBN 0-19-288003-9
    .
32. ^ Betts 1993, pp. 6–7
33. ^ "Johann Tetzel", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007: "Tetzel's experiences as a preacher of indulgences, especially between 1503 and 1510, led to his appointment as general commissioner by Albrecht, archbishop of Mainz, who, deeply in debt to pay for a large accumulation of benefices, had to contribute a considerable sum toward the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Albrecht obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of a special plenary indulgence (i.e., remission of the temporal punishment of sin), half of the proceeds of which Albrecht was to claim to pay the fees of his benefices. In effect, Tetzel became a salesman whose product was to cause a scandal in Germany that evolved into the greatest crisis (the Reformation) in the history of the Western church."
34. ^ ^{a b} Hartt 2006
35. ^ Bramante's plan, Gardner, Kleiner & Mamiya 2005, p. 458
36. ^ Golzio, Vincenzo (1969). The Complete Work of Raphael. New York: Reynal and Co., William Morrow and Company. pp. 593–594.
37. ^ Raphael's plan, Fletcher 1921, p. 586
38. ^ Peruzzi's plan, Fletcher 1921, p. 586
39. ^ ^{a b} Sangallo's plan, Fletcher 1921, p. 586
40. ^ Goldscheider 1996
41. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Gardner, Kleiner & Mamiya 2005
42. ^ Michelangelo's plan, Gardner, Kleiner & Mamiya 2005, p. 458
43. ^ ^{a b c} Eneide Mignacca, Michelangelo and the architecture of St. Peter's Basilica, lecture, Sydney University, (1982)
44. ISBN 0-15-503769-2
    .
45. ISBN 0-15-503769-2
    .
46. ^ Alghisi, Galasso; Thebaldius, Dominicus (1563). Galassi Alghisii Carpens., apud Alphonsum II. Ferrariae Ducem architecti, opus. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. pp. 44, 147 of Google PDF download.
47. ^ ^{a b} "Michelangelo 'last sketch' found". BBC News. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
48. ^ "Rare Michelangelo sketch for sale". BBC. 14 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
49. ^ Pile 2005, p. 131
50. ^ Lees-Milne 1967, "Maderno's Nave"
51. ^ Decker, Heinrich (1969) [1967]. The Renaissance in Italy: Architecture • Sculpture • Frescoes. New York: The Viking Press. p. 279.
52. ^ Kilby, Peter. "St Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)". Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
53. ^ "St. Peter's, the Obelisk". saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
54. ^ "The Seminarian GuidesNorth American College, Rome". saintpetersbasilica.org. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
55. ^ "Essay of a General List of Cardinals (494-2022)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Salvador Miranda. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
56. ^ Maleczek, Werner (1984). Papst und Kardinalskolleg von 1191 bis 1216 : die Kardinäle unter Coelestin III. und Innocenz III [Pope and College of Cardinals from 1191 to 1216: the cardinals under Celestine III. and Innocence III] (in German). Wien [Vienna]: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften [Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences] – via Internet Archive. corrections of Miranda for the period before 1190 until 1254
57. ^ ^{a b} Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXIII. 1991. p. 631. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
58. ^ ^{a b} "Rinunce e Nomine, 24.04.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 24 April 2002. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
59. ^ ^{a b} "Rinunce e Nomine, 31 October 2006" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
60. ^ ^{a b} "Resignations and Appointments, 20.02.2021" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
61. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 05.02.2005" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 5 February 2005. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
62. ^ "Since Nicholas V twenty-seven popes over a span of 178 years had imagined this day. They had already spent 46 800 052 ducats (...) And still the building was not done. The basic construction was complete, but the last genius (Bernini) to put his signature on the Basilica was just beginning his work." in Scotti 2007, p. 241.

Bibliography

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• Baumgarten, Paul Maria (1913). "Basilica of St. Peter" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Betts, Richard J. (1993). "Structural Innovation and Structural Design in Renaissance Architecture". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 52 (1): 5–25.
  JSTOR 990755
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• Boorsch, Suzanne (1982). "The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. XL (3). New York: 4–64.
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  ISBN 9789662154535
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External links

• Official website (in Italian)
• "Virtual Reality Tour of the Basilica of Saint Peter"
• St Peter's Basilica.info ‒ unofficial website on the basilica, with images and text from different books.
• 360 Degree Photographs Inside Saint Peter's Basilica
• Google Maps: Vatican ‒ Satellite image of the Basilica
• "Beggar's Rome" - A self-directed virtual tour of St. Peter's Basilica and other Roman churches

Records
Preceded by Unknown	Tallest building in Rome 1626–2012 136.6 metres (448 ft)	Succeeded by Torre Eurosky
Preceded by Unknown	Tallest dome 1626–present 136.6 metres (448 ft)	Current holder