Description of the attraction
In the era of ancient Rome, this place between the Tiber and two hills - the Janiculum and the Vatican, was occupied by Nero's circus. Here he was martyred and the Apostle Peter was buried. Under Pope Anacleth, a small basilica-tomb was built on this site.
In 324, the emperor Constantine replaced the modest tomb with a basilica in the style characteristic of the early Christian churches of Rome. Completed in 349 by Constantine, son of Constantine, this basilica has been greatly enriched over time by the generous gifts of popes and wealthy donors. It was here, in this Basilica of Constantine, that Charlemagne in 800 received the crown from the hands of Pope Leo III, and after him the emperors Lothair, Louis II and Frederick III were crowned here.
Construction of the current cathedral building
A thousand years after its foundation, the Basilica of St. Peter fell into ruins, and only under Pope Nicholas V, on the advice of Leon Battista Alberti, began the restoration and expansion of the basilica based on the project of Bernardo Rossellino. In the midst of construction, when the construction of the new department began, all work was stopped due to the death of Pope Nicholas V. And only in 1506, under Pope Julia II, construction work was resumed. Most of the former basilica was destroyed by Bramante (who received the title of master destroyer), who decided to rebuild the building in a modern classical style: that is, the building had to have a Greek cross in plan, modeled on the Pantheon. For half a century, architects Fra Giocondo, Raphael, Giuliano da Sangallo the Younger and, finally, Michelangelo, who modified Bramante's project, increasing the size of the cathedral and crowning it with a huge dome, took part in the construction of the cathedral, replacing each other.
Following Michelangelo, such masters as Vignola, Pirro Ligorio, Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana worked here, who strictly followed the principles bequeathed by Michelangelo. Then, under Pope Paul V, it was decided to re-plan the building of the basilica, returning to the idea of the Latin cross. To this end, the architect Carlo Maderna added three chapels to each side of the building and extended the nave to the size of the modern façade, which was the subject of a design competition in which Maderno won. The work was started by him in 1607 and completed in 1612. The construction required "whole mountains of travertine from the Tivoli quarries."
The facade of the cathedral impresses with its powerful forms, the solemn rhythm of the Corinthian columns and pilasters of the central portal and side arches. The top is decorated with nine balconies. The crowning element is a traditional attic with a balustrade on which thirteen huge statues of the Apostles, Christ and John the Baptist rise.
And finally, all this is dominated by a majestic dome with powerful ribs - the creation of Michelangelo. On both sides of it are two smaller domes, crowning the chapels of Gregorian and Clementine, made by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola.
Interior of St. Peter's Cathedral
After the death of Carlo Maderno in 1629, the work in the cathedral was headed by the brilliant architect Lorenzo Bernini. He gave the cathedral a pronounced baroque color. Suffice it to mention the decoration of the central and side naves, the creation of the famous bronze canopy (begun in 1624 and opened on St. Peter's Day in 1633), as well as the decoration of the pilasters of the dome base with four huge statues and, finally, the erection of the Cathedral of St. Peter in the depths of the apse., which is one of the most magnificent architectural achievements of Bernini. It includes an old wooden pulpit, from which, according to legend, the Apostle Peter himself preached. Pope Alexander VII, who financed the construction of this pulpit, also commissioned Bernini to complete the design of St. Peter's Square. Under Pope Clement X, the architect made a ciborium according to his project, which has the shape of a small round temple, which is located in the Chapel of the Holy Communion.
Along the entire perimeter of St. Peter's Cathedral there are numerous chapels, each of which is beautiful in its own way, especially the Pieta Chapel, named after the famous sculptural group of Michelangelo - Pieta, which the young master sculpted in 1499-1500 by order of the French cardinal Jean Bilaire de Lagrol …
This is followed by the Chapel of St. Sebastian with the tombstone of Pius XII by the sculptor Francesco Messina; Chapel of the Holy Communion with Bernini's ciborium and a bronze fence by Francesco Borromini; Gregoriana Chapel, completed at the end of the 16th century by the architect Giacomo della Porta, richly decorated with mosaics and precious marble; Chapel Columns with a delightful marble altarpiece depicting the Meeting of Leo with Attila, by Algardi, as well as with the tombs of the popes named Leo - II, III, IV and XII; The Clementine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Clement XIII by the architect Giacomo della Porta, which houses the remains of St. Gregory the Great, as well as the remains of the architect himself; the splendid Choir Chapel with gilded trim, and finally the Performance Chapel with the late tombstone of Pope John XXIII by the sculptor Emilio Greco.
St. Peter's Cathedral keeps an infinite number of famous monuments: from the beautiful Pieta by Michelangelo to the 13th century bronze statue of St. Peter the Blessing, revered by the faithful; the tombstone for Pope Urban VIII by Bernini, as well as the tombstone for Pope Paul III by Guglielmo della Porta; a tomb made of bronze by Antonio Pollaiolo for Pope Innocent VIII, which was formerly located in the old Basilica of St. Peter and a monument to the Stuarts by Antonio Canova.
Adjacent to the cathedral is the Museum of the History of St. Peter's Cathedral or the Museum of Art History, created by Giovanni Battista Giovenale. It contains the Treasury of St. Peter - a huge heritage of the Church, which was preserved despite the repeated robberies of the Saracens from century to century, the brutal sack of Rome in 1527, as well as confiscations that took place in the Napoleonic era.
St. Peter's square in front of the cathedral
St. Peter's Square has gained worldwide fame due to the fact that it overlooks the grandiose and truly unique St. Peter's Cathedral. The dimensions of the square are striking (a huge ellipse, the largest diameter of which is 240 m) and its layout, carried out according to the ingenious project of Lorenzo Bernini, who gave the square with the help of monumental lateral colonnades a special symbolic meaning.
These colonnades, located in a semicircle along the short sides of the square, are composed of four parallel rows of Tuscan and Doric columns, forming three inner aisles. Over the entablature are 140 huge statues of the Saints. It also shows the coat of arms of Pope Alexander VII, who initiated the creation of the square, in the center of which an obelisk rises, surrounded by two fountains.
Received in the Middle Ages the name "needle" obelisk was brought to Rome from Heliopolis by the emperor Caligula; Nero installed it in his circus, which is now replaced by St. Peter's Cathedral. During various periods of restoration and redevelopment of the square, the igla stood next to the cathedral, and only in 1586 it was installed in the center of the square by the architect Domenico Fontana, who used a complex system of lifting mechanisms for this.
Another architect, Carlo Fontana, who also took part in the reconstruction of the square, was the author of the project for the left fountain (1677), paired with the right fountain, created half a century earlier by the architect Carlo Maderno.
On a note
- Location: Piazza San Pietro, Vatican
- The nearest metro stations are "Ottaviano".
- Official website:
- Opening hours: the cathedral is open daily from October 1 to March 31 from 7.00 to 18.30, from April 1 to September 30 from 7.00 to 19.00. Exception: Wednesday - from 13.00 to 19.00.
- Tickets: admission to the cathedral is free, the cost of visiting the observation deck by elevator is 7 euros, on foot - 5 euros.
