St. Peter's Basilica - History

The Basilica of Saint Peter, officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and colloquially called Saint Peter's Basilica, ranks second among the five major basilicas of Rome and its Vatican City enclave. The largest church in Christianity, it covers an area of 23,000 m² (5.7 acres); and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom, it is the burial site of basilica namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and lat ...

Including:

• St. Peter's Basilica - History
• St. Peter's Basilica - Details
• St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square
• St. Peter's Basilica - The dome
• St. Peter's Basilica - Entrances
• St. Peter's Basilica - Interior
• St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous
• St. Peter's Basilica - Notes and references

Read more here: » St. Peter's Basilica: Encyclopedia - St. Peter's Basilica

The current location is probably the site of the Circus of Nero, where Saint Peter was buried upon dying on an inverted cross (tradition states Saint Peter was crucified at the site of the Tempietto) in AD 64. After Constantine I officially recognised Christianity, he started construction in 324 of a great basilica in this exact spot, which had previously been a cemetery for pagans as well as Christians. In 846, Muslim Arabs looted all the gold and silver that Pope Hadrian I had decorated the basilica with: silver plates on the floors ...

See also:

St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica - History, St. Peter's Basilica - Details, St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica - The dome, St. Peter's Basilica - Entrances, St. Peter's Basilica - Interior, St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous, St. Peter's Basilica - Notes and references

Read more here: » St. Peter's Basilica: Encyclopedia II - St. Peter's Basilica - History

The current location is probably the site of the Circus of Nero, where Saint Peter was buried upon dying on an inverted cross (tradition states Saint Peter was crucified at the site of the Tempietto) in AD 64. After Constantine I officially recognised Christianity, he started construction in 324 of a great basilica in this exact spot, which had previously been a cemetery for pagans as well as Christians. In 846, Arabs looted all the gold and silver that Pope Hadrian I had decorated the basilica with: silver plates on the floors, golde ...

See also:

St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica - History, St. Peter's Basilica - Details, St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica - The dome, St. Peter's Basilica - Entrances, St. Peter's Basilica - Interior, St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous, St. Peter's Basilica - Notes and references

Read more here: » St. Peter's Basilica: Encyclopedia II - St. Peter's Basilica - History

St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square. Directly to the east of the church is St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), built between 1656 and 1667. It is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade with two pairs of Doric columns which form its breadth, each bearing Ionic entablatures. This is an excellent example of Baroque architecture, where creativity is coupled with flexible guidelines. In the center of the colonnade, which was designed by Bernini, is a 25.5 m (83.6 ft) tall obelisk. The obelisk was moved ...

See also:

St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica - History, St. Peter's Basilica - Details, St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica - The dome, St. Peter's Basilica - Entrances, St. Peter's Basilica - Interior, St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous, St. Peter's Basilica - Notes and references

Read more here: » St. Peter's Basilica: Encyclopedia II - St. Peter's Basilica - Details

Despite a frequent confusion due to the similar names, the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (famous for hosting the precious Michelangelo's "Moses") is a different church, situated on the other side of the Tiber river. The Guinness Book of Records currently lists Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro - which was largely inspired by St. Peter's Basilica - as the largest church, surpassing St. Peter's when it was completed in 1989. The validity of this, however, continues to be debated. However, you can fit the St ...

See also:

St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica - History, St. Peter's Basilica - Details, St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica - The dome, St. Peter's Basilica - Entrances, St. Peter's Basilica - Interior, St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous, St. Peter's Basilica - Notes and references

Read more here: » St. Peter's Basilica: Encyclopedia II - St. Peter's Basilica - Miscellaneous