St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica 

(St, Peter's Basilica viewed from St. Peter's Square)

The original St. Peters or the "Old" St. Peters was a fourth century building the was constructed by Emperor Constantine, the process began in 319 and concluded in 333 AD. Located in Rome, it was built just north of the Circus Maximus which was an event center for the ancient romans. In the fifteenth century the old basilica was worn down. It was decided by the then Pope Nicholas V to destroy the old structure and completely replace it with a new building. When the pope died the building had barely begun construction. Donato Bramante was chosen to continue the work and came up with a plan for St. Peter's. The plan was shaped like a Greek cross, mostly so it could support a large dome on top of the structure. After Bramante died in 1514 Giuliano  Sangallo and Raphael Sanzio continued is work and after them Michelangelo. Michelangelo made an enormous impact on the structure of the building by increasing the interior column size so that it could hold the weight of the gigantic dome. Only the base was completed at the time of his death but the plans were followed and completed by his design.

The exterior of St. Peter's Basilica follows the giant order. Large semi exposed columns oversized doors and windows creating a monstrously scaled façade. From a far the building can be mistaken for a two story building while in reality its a double height space and an additional floor as well. Carlo Maderna was the one responsible for designing the current façade seen today. Gian  Lorenzo Bernini also worked on the building as well. Later the building was added on to, no longer going with the Greek cross the plan was changed to the shape of a Latin cross.

(Statue of St. Peter in front of the entrance)

St. Peter's is home to several relics such as the tomb of St. Peter. "Underneath the baldachin is the traditional tomb of St. Peter. In the four corners surrounding the baldachin are statues of St. Helena (northwest, holding a large cross in her right hand, by Andrea Bolgi), St. Longinus (northeast, holding his spear in his right hand, by Bernini in 1639), St. Andrew (southeast, spread upon the cross which bears his name, by Francois Duquesnoy), and St. Veronica (southwest, holding her veil, by Francesco Mochi). Each of these statues represents a relic associated with the person, respectively, a piece of The Cross, the Spear of Destiny, The Spear of Longinus, St. Andrew's head (as well as part of his cross) and Veronica's Veil. In 1964, St. Andrew's head was returned to the Greek Orthodox Church by the Pope. It should be noted that the Vatican makes no claims as to the authenticity of several of these relics."

Today St. Peter's is one of Rome's biggest tourist attractions. Special events are sometimes held in the square, when the Pope holds outdoor mass on Easter. A variety of burials and architectural history make up most of the interest in the tourism around the site.

Works Cited
Scotti, R. A. Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's. New York: Viking, 2006. Print.

"Saint Peter's Basilica (Rome) (1506-1626)." Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome: History, Architecture. Encyclopedia of Art History, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.