| St. Peter's Basilica -
The Amazing Vatican City Attraction
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.
The popular lore says that Saint Peter is actually buried
here but that legend is not backed up by evidence. The real
history of the location of St. Peter's is that it probably
sits on the original Circus of Nero from the first century.
About 1000 years before St. Peter's was built, the site was
dedicated for a basilica by none other than the Christian Roman
Emperor Constantine.
But it was in the 16th century that Pope Leo X got the vision
for what St. Peter's could be. He also knew how to divert funding
to the effort by calling on zealous Christians to fund the
crusades against the Turks and then quietly moved those funds
to the building of this beautiful structure.
As was true about huge construction projects in ancient times,
it took many generations, many Popes and many architects over
the decades before the basilica was completed late in the sixteenth
century.
Compared to other Roman buildings of that time, St. Peter's
is very tall - standing an impressive 445 feet from the floor
of the basilica to the beautiful cross at the top of that world
famous dome. That dome is a beloved part of the skyline of
Rome and it is a wonder of architecture in every respect. It
was designed by probably the most well known Renaissance artist
who served as chief architect on the project, Michelangelo.
He developed and used a double shell design that he borrowed
from a fellow architect of the time, San Gallo.
While Michelangelo become the lead designer of the building
in 1546, he never saw it completed before his death. It was
another architect, Giacomo della Porta who saw the project
through to completion in 1590. That design is so well known
and admired by architects that has been copied frequently in
famous buildings around the world including the United States
Capital Building in Washington.
That dome was a durable design and it was 200 years later
that the first cracks showed up in the surface. To contain
these cracks from doing any more damage, four huge chains of
iron were attached to the inside of the shell. If you were
to climb the winding stairs between the dome shells, you would
still see those chains today.
As wonderful as it is to admire the magnificent dome at St.
Peter's, there is so much more to see here. The building itself
is so large it covers close to six acres and at full capacity
it can seat 60,000 people. And over the centuries, many Popes
have packed the basilica out for special ceremonies or when
they held mass at this revered site.
The outer facade of St. Peter's that welcome visitors to the
hall is quite large, measuring 377 feet wide and over 148 feet
tall.
It is said that there are over one hundred tombs of famous
historical figures inside the walls of St. Peter's. One notable
example is the former Queen of Sweden, Christina who in 1654
laid down her crown so she could have the freedom to become
a Catholic.
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.
From the exterior of the basilica, there are a number of worthwhile
historical things to look for.
If you look, you can find several very old clocks including
one with a bell that goes back all the way to the thirteenth
century. You also won't have to look too hard to find the large
Egyptian obelisk that adorns the grounds that was brought here
from where it originally stood outside of Nero's Circus in
the 13th century.
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.
Your visit to Rome will take on new meaning if you allow at
least a couple of hours to take your time and admire this awe
inspiring example of Renaissance architecture in the Eternal
City.
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