Home > Travel > Sightseeing International >

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome)

Description: The Basilica of Saint Peter, officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and colloquially ... more

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome) ... called Saint Peter's Basilica, ranks second among the four major basilicas of Rome (St John Lateran, St Peter's, Santa Maria Maggiore and St Paul outside the Walls). It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City. Its dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline. Saint Peter's is also incidentally the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople whereas the Lateran Basilica is the patriarchal basilica of Rome. Possibly the largest church in Christianity, covers an area of 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom in the Catholic tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome. Although the New Testament does not mention Peter's presence or martyrdom in Rome, ancient tradition holds that his tomb is below the baldachino and altar; for this reason, many Popes, starting with the first ones, have been buried there. Construction on the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506 and was completed in 1626.

Newest Review: ... vast interior. When I came in, I felt, surprisingly, and rather bizzarely, at home - possibly because of my Polish (but not Catholic) upbringing, possibly because of this encompasing character of the place. The current Basilica was built on the site of the old church which had been erected in the times of Constantine (the same one who declared Christianity the state religion) in the ... more

... begging of the 4th century. The core of the building was initially designed by Bramante and later developed by Michelangelo on the plan of a Greek cross. Michelangelo is generally held to have the most input into the current building (and he designed the ...more

Read Reviews for St. Peter's Basilica (Rome)

St. Peter's Basilica (Rome): Catholics' Mecca (872 words)
by - written on 02/12/09 (Very useful, 19 readings)
Rating:

St Peter's is, arguably, the mother of all Christian churches. The Protestants or Orthodox might disagree, but St Peter's, albeit in a different physical guise, was standing at its site over a thousand years before Luther nailed his theses to the door in Wittenberg, and seven hundred years before the great East-West schism. It was originally founded at what was believed to be the site of St Peter's burial and in the centuries of its existence developed almost organically, though with many periods of careful (and less careful) planning to become a locus of stupendous symbolic, spiritual, social and historical meaning. ** The Papal ... Read the complete review

Saint Peters basilica Rome. (508 words)
by - written on 13/10/08 (Very useful, 109 readings)
Rating:

I could not leave Rome without visiting St peter basilica also known as Basilica di San Pietro, the centre of Christianity, I was overwhelmed when I entered the basilica, not just the vastness and immense size of the building but the atmosphere was overwhelming. The Vatican and St. Peter's Square is a long walk from most historical sites in Rome, we stayed in the centre of Rome so we had to use the tube to get there, which I must advise anyone who is going to visit Rome is a haven for pick pockets so be very wary. The walk from the tube to Vatican city was lovely there was lots of little curio shops selling rosary beads and scarf's, as you ... Read the complete review