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{{Short description|Catholic basilica church in Vatican City}} {{other uses}} <noinclude>{{Requested move notice|Saint Peter's Basilica|Talk:St. Peter's Basilica#Requested move 22 April 2025}} </noinclude>{{pp-pc1}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox church|denomination=[[Catholic Church|Catholic]]|sui iuris church=[[Latin Church]]|name=Saint Peter's Basilica|fullname=Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican|native_name={{unbulleted list|{{native name|it|Basilica di San Pietro}}|{{native name|la|Basilica Sancti Petri}}}}|image=Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano September 2015-1a.jpg|image_size=270px|img capt=Main [[façade]] and [[dome]] of St. Peter's Basilica, seen from [[St. Peter's Square]]|imagealt=Ornate building in the early morning with a giant order of columns beneath a Latin inscription, fourteen statues on the roofline, and large dome on top.|pushpin map=|pushpin label position=none|pushpin map alt=|coordinates={{coord|41|54|08|N|12|27|12|E|display=inline,title}}|map caption=|country=[[Vatican City]]|location=|tradition=[[Roman Rite]]|website={{URL|https://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_pietro/index_it.htm|St. Peter's Basilica}}|dedication=[[Saint Peter]]|consecrated date=18 November 1626|status=[[Major basilica|Papal major basilica]]|architect={{unbulleted list || [[Bernardo Rossellino]], [[Giuliano da Sangallo]], [[Bramante]], [[Raffaello Sanzio]], [[Giovanni Giocondo]], [[Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane]], [[Baldassarre Peruzzi]], [[Michelangelo Buonarroti]], [[Domenico Fontana]], [[Giacomo Della Porta]], [[Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola]], [[Pirro Ligorio]], [[Carlo Maderno]], [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] and [[Francesco Borromini]].}}|style=[[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]]|groundbreaking=18 April 1506|completed date={{end date|1626|11|18|df=y}}|capacity=60,000 standing <br />
or 20,000 seated<ref> {{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/150720-Vatican-360-Degree-Tour-Saint-Peters-Basilica#:~:text=Its%20capacity%20is%20enormous%E2%80%94it%20can%20hold%2020%2C000,the%20baldachin%2C%20the%20great%20canopy%20over%20the |title=Take Amazing 360° Tour of St. Peter's in Vatican City |date=2015-07-19 |website=National Geographic |access-date=2024-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223081735/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/150720-Vatican-360-Degree-Tour-Saint-Peters-Basilica | archive-date=2021-02-23}} </ref>|length={{convert|220|m|ft}}|width={{convert|150|m|ft}}|height max={{convert|136.6|m|ft}}<ref name="DomeHeight">{{cite web |title=St. Peter's Basilica - Dome |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/monumenti/basilica-di-san-pietro/cupola.html |publisher=Vatican City State |access-date=12 July 2020 |language=it |archive-date=19 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719235438/https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/monumenti/basilica-di-san-pietro/cupola.html |url-status=live }}</ref>|height nave={{convert|46.2|m|ft}}|dome dia outer={{convert|42|m|ft}}|dome dia inner={{convert|41.5|m|ft}}
<!-- -Please don't add any more specifications here. The IMPORTANT concept, that it is a very large building, has been dealt with. - -->|diocese=[[Diocese of Rome|Rome]]|archpriest=[[Mauro Gambetti]]|embedded={{Infobox designation list
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The '''Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican''' ({{langx|it|Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano}}), or simply '''Saint Peter's Basilica''' ({{langx|la|Basilica Sancti Petri}}; {{langx|it|Basilica di San Pietro|links=no}} {{IPA|it|baˈziːlika di sam ˈpjɛːtro|}}), is a church of the [[Italian Renaissance architecture|Italian]] [[High Renaissance]] located in [[Vatican City]], an independent [[microstate]] [[Enclave|enclaved]] within the city of [[Rome]], Italy. It was initially planned in the 15th century by [[Pope Nicholas V]] and then [[Pope Julius II]] to replace the ageing [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]], which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor [[Constantine the Great]]. Construction of the present [[basilica]] began on 18&nbsp;April 1506 and was completed on 18&nbsp;November 1626.<ref name="cathency">{{Harvnb|Baumgarten|1913}}</ref>

Designed principally by [[Donato Bramante]], [[Michelangelo]], and [[Carlo Maderno]], with piazza and fittings by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], St. Peter's is one of the most renowned works of Italian [[Italian Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] architecture<ref name="BF1">[[Banister Fletcher]], the renowned architectural historian calls it "the greatest creation of the Renaissance" and "...&nbsp;the greatest of all churches of Christendom" in {{Harvnb|Fletcher|1921|p=588}}.</ref> and is the [[List of largest church buildings|largest church in the world]] by interior measure.{{NoteTag|Claims made that the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro]] in Côte d'Ivoire is larger appear to be spurious, as the measurements include a rectorate, a villa and probably the forecourt. Its dome, based on that of St. Peter's Basilica, is lower but carries a taller cross, and thus claims to be the tallest domed church.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}|name=size}} While it is neither the [[mother church]] of the [[Catholic Church]] nor the [[cathedral]] of the [[Diocese of Rome]] (these equivalent titles being held by the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] in Rome), St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the [[Christianity|Christian]] world",<ref>James Lees-Milne describes St. Peter's Basilica as "a church with a unique position in the Christian world" in {{Harvnb|Lees-Milne|1967|p=12}}.</ref> and as "the greatest of all churches of [[Christendom]]."<ref name="BF1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/sights/st_peters.html|title=St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro) in Rome, Italy|website=reidsitaly.com|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-date=23 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223025429/http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/sights/st_peters.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of [[Saint Peter]], chief among [[Jesus]]'s [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] and also the first [[Bishop of Rome]] (Pope). [[Saint Peter's tomb]] is directly below the [[high altar]] of the basilica, also known as the ''Altar of the Confession''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Giuliani|first1=Giovanni|url=https://stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/GuideSPB1.htm|title=Guide to Saint Peter's Basilica|chapter-url=https://stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/GuideSPB3.htm#Confession|chapter=Altar of the Confession|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903155405/http://stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/GuideSPB3.htm#Confession|archivedate=3 September 2023|date=1995|accessdate=17 August 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> For this reason, many popes, cardinals and bishops have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period.

St. Peter's is famous as a place of [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] and for its [[Liturgy|liturgical]] functions. The pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year both within the basilica or the adjoining [[St. Peter's Square]]; these liturgies draw audiences numbering from 15,000 to over 80,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.papalaudience.org/papal-mass|title=Papal Mass|website=Papal Audience|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224234912/http://www.papalaudience.org/papal-mass|archivedate=24 February 2021|accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref> St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the [[early Christian Church]], the Papacy, the [[Protestant Reformation]] and Catholic [[Counter-Reformation]] and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.<ref name="BF">{{Harvnb|Fletcher|1921}}</ref>

St. Peter's is ranked second, after the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]], among the four churches in the world that hold the rank of [[Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas|major papal basilica]], all four of which are in Rome, and is also one of the [[Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome]]. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/11/st-peters-basilica-in-vatican-is-not-the-official-church-of-the-pope/|title=St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican Is Not The Official Church Of The Pope|last=Noreen|date=19 November 2012|website=Today I Found Out|language=en-US|access-date=14 February 2019|archive-date=15 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215155922/http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/11/st-peters-basilica-in-vatican-is-not-the-official-church-of-the-pope/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Overview ==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
[[File:PonteSantAngeloRom.jpg|alt=A view of Rome on a sunny afternoon looking along the river. A bridge crosses the river and beyond it is a hill on which the grey dome of St. Peter's rises above ancient buildings and dark pine trees.|thumb|View from the [[Tiber]] on [[Ponte Sant'Angelo]] and the Basilica. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.]]
St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River [[Tiber]] and near the [[Janiculum]] Hill and [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Hadrian's Mausoleum]]. Its central [[dome]] dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via [[St. Peter's Square]], a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall [[Colonnade|colonnades]]. The first space is oval and the second trapezoidal. The façade of the basilica, with a [[giant order]] of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two {{convert|5.55|m|adj=on}} statues of the first-century apostles to Rome, Saints [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Saint Paul|Paul]].<ref name="Pinto">Pio V. Pinto, pp. 48–59</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/StPaulStatue/StPaulStatue.htm|title=St. Peter's Square – Statue of St. Paul|publisher=saintpetersbasilica.org|access-date=22 December 2010|archive-date=26 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926100343/http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/StPaulStatue/StPaulStatue.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The basilica is [[cruciform]] in shape, with an elongated [[nave]] in the [[Latin cross]] form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the [[largest domes]] in the world. The entrance is through a [[narthex]], or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the [[Holy Door]], only opened during [[Jubilee (Christianity)|jubilees]].<ref name="Pinto" />

The interior dimensions are vast when compared to other churches.<ref name="cathency" /> One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us."<ref>{{cite book|first=Georgina|last=Masson|author-link=Georgina Masson|title=The Companion Guide to Rome|publisher=Companion Guides|date=2001|pages=615–6}}</ref>

The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The [[Baptistery]], the Chapel of the [[Presentation of the Virgin]], the larger Choir Chapel, the altar of the Transfiguration, the [[Pope Clement I|Clementine]] Chapel with the altar of [[Gregory the Great|Saint Gregory]], the [[Sacristy]] Entrance, the Altar of the Lie, the left [[transept]] with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, [[Saint Joseph]] and [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]], the altar of the [[Sacred Heart]], the Chapel of the Madonna of Column, the altar of Saint Peter and the Paralytic, the apse with the [[Chair of Saint Peter]], the altar of Saint Peter raising [[Dorcas|Tabitha]], the altar of St. Petronilla, the altar of the [[Archangel Michael]], the altar of the [[Navicella (mosaic)|Navicella]], the right transept with altars of [[Saint Erasmus]], Saints Processo and Martiniano, and [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslas]], the altar of St. Jerome, the altar of [[Saint Basil]], the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour, the larger Chapel of the [[Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church|Holy Sacrament]], the Chapel of [[Saint Sebastian]] and the Chapel of the [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]].<ref name="Pinto" /> The Monuments, in a clockwise direction, are to: [[Maria Clementina Sobieska]], The [[Monument to the Royal Stuarts|Stuarts]], [[Benedict XV]], [[Pope John XXIII|John XXIII]], St. [[Pope Pius X|Pius X]], [[Pope Innocent VIII|Innocent VIII]], [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]], [[Pope Innocent XI|Innocent XI]], [[Pope Pius VII|Pius VII]], [[Pope Pius VIII|Pius VIII]], [[Pope Alexander VII|Alexander VII]], [[Pope Alexander VIII|Alexander VIII]], [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]], [[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]], [[Pope Clement X|Clement X]], [[Pope Clement XIII|Clement XIII]], [[Benedict XIV]], St Peter (Bronze Statue), [[Gregory XVI]], [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]], [[Pope Gregory XIII|Gregory XIII]], [[Matilda of Canossa]], [[Pope Innocent XII|Innocent XII]], [[Pope Pius XII|Pius XII]], [[Pope Pius XI|Pius XI]], [[Christina of Sweden]], and [[Leo XII]].

{{anchor|Confession}}At the heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the ''Confessio'' or ''Chapel of the Confession'', named in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. [[Pope Gregory XVI]] granted a "perpetual privilege" in 1836 authorizing any Catholic priest to celebrate Mass at the altar in the chapel.<ref>Pope Gregory XVI, [https://www.vatican.va/content/gregorius-xvi/it/documents/breve-ad-beatissimi-17-luglio-1836.html Breve Ad Beatissimi], in Italian, ''Holy See'', published on 17 July 1835, accessed on 5 April 2025</ref>

The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]''. The central feature is a [[baldachin]], or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]]. The apse culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic ''Chair of Saint Peter''.

The American philosopher [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth&nbsp;... the sublime of the beautiful."<ref>Ralph Waldo Emerson, 7 April 1833</ref>

{{wide image|Saint Peter's Square - Pan by Andrew Magill 2007.jpg|1000px|Panorama of [[St. Peter's Square]]|5=center|dir=center|alt=Panorama showing the façade of St. Peter's at the centre with the arms of Bernini's colonnade sweeping out on either side. It is midday and tourists are walking and taking photographs.}}

== Status ==
St. Peter's Basilica is one of the [[Papal basilica|papal basilicas]] (previously styled "patriarchal basilicas"){{NoteTag|[[Benedict XVI]]'s theological act of renouncing the title of "[[Patriarch of the West]]" had as a consequence that Catholic Roman Rite patriarchal basilicas are today officially known as [[Papal basilicas]].}} and one of the four [[Major basilica|Major Basilicas]] of Rome the others (all of which are also Papal Basilicas) being the Basilicas of [[Archbasilica of St. John Lateran|St. John Lateran]], [[Santa Maria Maggiore|St. Mary Major]], and [[St. Paul outside the Walls]]. The rank of major basilica confers on St. Peter's Basilica precedence before all [[Minor basilica|minor basilicas]] worldwide. However, unlike all the other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the [[Vatican City|Vatican City State]], and not that of Italy.<ref>{{cite book|first=Benedict|last=Williamson|url=http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm|title=The Treaty of the Lateran|publisher=Burns, Oates, and Washbourne Limited|location=London, England|date=1929|pages=42–66|access-date=25 March 2015|archive-date=23 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523023017/http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Konzilseroeffnung_2.jpg|left|alt= Bishops vested in white are standing in the sunshine in St. Peter's Square. Most wear white mitres on their heads, except for an Eastern Catholic bishop who wears a distinctive embroidered velvet hat.|thumb|Bishops at the [[Second Vatican Council]] in 1962]]
It is the most prominent building in the [[Vatican City]]. Its dome is a feature of the skyline of Rome and covers an area of {{convert|2.3|ha|acre|abbr=off}}. One of the holiest sites of Christianity and Catholic Tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its titular, [[St. Peter]], who was the head of the [[Twelve apostles|twelve Apostles]] of [[Jesus]] and, according to tradition, the first [[Bishop of Antioch]] and later the first [[Bishop of Rome]], rendering him the first [[Pope]]. Although the New Testament does not mention St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome, tradition, based on the writings of the [[Fathers of the Church]],{{clarify|Clement of Rome was the only one close enough. This sounds rather deliberately vague. We have Clement's writing and can identify him. If unknown, let's omit|date=November 2010}} holds that his tomb is below the [[baldachin]] and the altar of the Basilica in the "Confession". For this reason, many Popes have, from the early years of the Church, been buried near Pope St. Peter in the necropolis beneath the Basilica. Construction of the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and finished in 1615. At length, on 18 November 1626 [[Pope Urban VIII]] solemnly dedicated the Basilica.<ref name="cathency" />

St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the [[Major basilica|Major Basilicas]] of Rome. This <!---STOP!--->honour<!---STOP! Do not change this spelling. It is BRITISH ENGLISH spelling, like the rest of this article.----> is held by the Pope's cathedral, the [[Archbasilica of St. John Lateran]], the [[mother church]] of all churches in communion with the [[Catholic Church]]. However, St. Peter's is functionally the Pope's principal church, as most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The "[[Chair of Saint Peter]]", or [[cathedra]], an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself, but which was a gift from [[Charles the Bald]] and used by many popes, symbolizes the continuing line of [[apostolic succession]] from St. Peter to the reigning Pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse of the Basilica, supported symbolically by the [[Doctors of the Church]] and enlightened symbolically by the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/Saint_Peters_Basilica/Interior--p--2.htm|title=St. Peter's Basilica&nbsp;– Interior of the Basilica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226171733/http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/Saint_Peters_Basilica/Interior--p--2.htm|archive-date=26 February 2009|website=Internet Portal of the Vatican City State|page=2|access-date=2 January 2009}}</ref>

As one of the constituent structures of the historically and architecturally significant Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica was inscribed as a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] in 1984 under criteria (i), (ii), (iv), and (vi).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286|title=Vatican City|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=9 August 2016|archive-date=25 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225203638/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286/|url-status=live}}</ref> With an exterior area of {{Convert|21,095|m2|ft2}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Nave/Nave.htm|title=The Nave|website=St. Peter's|access-date=9 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716034107/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Nave/Nave.htm|archive-date=16 July 2012}}</ref> an interior area of {{Convert|15,160|m2|ft2}},<ref name="CE">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Basilica of St. Peter}}</ref><ref name="Ellis, Edward Robb pg. 413">{{cite book|title=The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History|last=Ellis|first=Edward Robb|date=21 December 2004|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-7867-1436-0|page=413}}</ref> St. Peter's Basilica is the [[List of largest church buildings in the world|largest Christian church building in the world]] by the two latter metrics and the second largest by the first {{as of|2016|lc=y}}. The top of its dome, at {{convert|448.1|ft|m}}, also places it as the [[List of tallest buildings in Rome|second tallest building in Rome]] {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTZcAwAAQBAJ&q=tallest+buildings+in+rome+st.+peter%27s+basilica&pg=PT87|title=Fodor's Italy 2015|last=Fodor's Travel Guides|publisher=Travel Distribution|year=2014|isbn=978-0-8041-4291-5|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=22 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222140032/https://books.google.com/books?id=LTZcAwAAQBAJ&q=tallest+buildings+in+rome+st.+peter%27s+basilica&pg=PT87#v=snippet&q=tallest%20buildings%20in%20rome%20st.%20peter's%20basilica&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The dome's soaring height placed it among the tallest buildings of the [[Old World]], and it continues to hold the title of [[List of largest domes|tallest dome in the world]]. Though the largest dome in the world by diameter at the time of its completion, it no longer holds this distinction.<ref name="Jürgen Rasch 118">{{harvnb|Rasch|1985|p=118}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Saint Peter's burial site ===
{{Main|Saint Peter's tomb}}
[[File:Circus_of_Nero.png|thumb|A modern conjectural reconstruction of the relative locations of the circus, and the [[Old Saint Peter's Basilica|medieval]] and [[St Peter's Basilica|current]] Basilicas of St. Peter<ref>Based on "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100305113143/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/images.htm Outline of St. Peter's, Old St. Peter's, and Circus of Nero]".</ref>]]
After the [[crucifixion of Jesus]], it is recorded in the Biblical book of the [[Acts of the Apostles]] that one of his twelve disciples, Simon known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from [[Galilee]], took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the [[Christianity|Christian Church]]. The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from ''petra'' which means "stone" or "rock" in [[Greek language|Greek]], and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa", the name given to Simon by Jesus. ([[S:Bible (King James)/John#1:42|John 1:42]], and see [[S:Bible (King James)/Matthew#16:18|Matthew 16:18]])

Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, travelled to Rome and met his [[martyrdom]] there along with Paul on 13 October 64 AD during the reign of the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Nero]]. His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the [[Great Fire of Rome]]. According to [[Jerome]], Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm|title=Jerome, De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)|website=New Advent|access-date=27 May 2021|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717003620/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the [[Circus of Nero]].<ref name="JL-M">{{Harvnb|Lees-Milne|1967}}</ref>  The obelisk now stands in [[St. Peter's Square]] and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient [[Obelisks of Rome]].<ref>Frank J. Korn, ''Hidden Rome'' Paulist Press (2002)</ref>

According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the [[Vatican Hill|Mons Vaticanus]] across the [[Via Cornelia]] from the Circus, less than {{convert|150|m}} from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] was constructed over this site.<ref name="JL-M" />

The area now covered by the [[Vatican City]] had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials as for many years after the burial of [[Saint Peter]], many Christians chose to be buried near him.{{fact|date=January 2024}}

In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began under the crypt of the basilica in an area inaccessible since the ninth century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from [[Pope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]] (1594)  to [[Callixtus II]] (1123) and [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]] (590–604), built over an [[aedicula]] containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious [[murex]] purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that the bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, [[Pope Pius XII]] announced the discovery of [[Saint Peter's tomb]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Steven|last=Hijmans|title=University of Alberta Express News|work=In search of St. Peter's Tomb|url=http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=794|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060125031014/http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=794|archive-date=25 January 2006|access-date=25 December 2006}}</ref>

=== Old St. Peter's Basilica ===
[[File:Maarten_van_Heemskerck_-_Santa_Maria_della_Febbre,_Vatican_Obelisk,_Saint_Peter's_Basilica_in_construction_(1532).jpg|right|thumb|Maarten van Heemskerck – Santa Maria della Febbre, Vatican Obelisk, Saint Peter's Basilica in construction (1532)]]
[[File:Old_St_Peter's_Basilica,_Rome,_about_the_year_1450_restored_from_ancient_authorities.jpg|right|alt=A black and white engraving of a bird's-eye view of a very large cruciform church. There is a large enclosed forecourt which is fronted by buildings of different dates and styles. There is a tall bell tower and many surrounding structures. A label to the bottom left of the image gives the artist's name and original caption.|thumb|A conjectural view of the [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] by H. W. Brewer, 1891]]
{{Main|Old St. Peter's Basilica}}

Old St. Peter's Basilica was the fourth-century church begun by the [[Emperor]] [[Constantine the Great]] between 319 and 333 AD.<ref name="Cultures and Values">{{citation|last=Cunningham|first=Lawrence|title=Cultures and Values|year=2010|publisher=Clark Baxter|location=US|page=671}}</ref> It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with the addition of a [[transept]] or [[bema]], giving the building the shape of a [[tau cross]]. It was over {{convert|103.6|m|ft}} long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded [[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]]. This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of [[Saint Peter|St. Peter]], though [[Arab raid against Rome|the tomb was "smashed" in 846 AD]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Peter Partner|title=The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance, Volume 10|date=1972|publisher=University of California Press|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZ6eJuZfTAEC&q=saint+peter+rome+846+desecrating&pg=PA57|access-date=6 April 2019|quote=excavation has revealed that the tomb of the apostle was wantonly smashed|isbn=9780520021815|archive-date=22 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222140056/https://books.google.com/books?id=bZ6eJuZfTAEC&q=saint+peter+rome+846+desecrating&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q=saint%20peter%20rome%20846%20desecrating&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of the popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dietz|first=Helen|year=2005|title=The Eschatological Dimension of Church Architecture|journal=Sacred Architecture Journal|volume=10|url=http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/the_eschatological_dimension_of_church_architecture/|access-date=10 July 2008|archive-date=9 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709165515/http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/the_eschatological_dimension_of_church_architecture|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the construction of the current basilica, the name ''Old St. Peter's Basilica'' has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings.<ref name="met">{{cite journal|last=Boorsch|first=Suzanne|date=Winter 1982–1983|title=The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture|journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin|volume=40|issue=3|pages=4–8}}</ref>

=== Plan to rebuild ===
By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the [[Avignon Papacy]], the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding or at least making radical changes was [[Pope Nicholas V]] (1447–1455). He commissioned work on the old building from [[Leone Battista Alberti]] and [[Bernardo Rossellino]] and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign was frustrated by political problems and when he died, little had been achieved.<ref name="JL-M" />  He had, however, ordered the demolition of the [[Colosseum]] and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building.<ref name="JL-M" />{{NoteTag|Quarrying of stone for the Colosseum had, in turn, been paid for with treasure looted at the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|Siege of Jerusalem]] and destruction of the temple by the emperor [[Vespasian]]'s general (and the future emperor) [[Titus]] in 70 AD.<ref>Claridge, Amanda (1998). ''Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide'' (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. pp.&nbsp;276–282. {{ISBN|0-19-288003-9}}.</ref>}} The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed [[Latin cross]] with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for the choir had also been built.<ref>{{Harvnb|Betts|1993|pp=6–7}}</ref>

[[Pope Julius II]] planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by [[Michelangelo]] and placed within St Peter's.{{NoteTag|Julius II's tomb was left incomplete and was eventually erected in the Church of St Peter ad Vincola.}}  In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in the popular imagination".<ref name="BF" />  A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the [[Uffizi Gallery]]. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of [[Pope Leo X|Leo X]] (1513–1521), [[Pope Adrian VI|Adrian VI]] (1522–1523), [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]] (1523–1534), [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]] (1534–1549), [[Pope Julius III|Julius III]] (1550–1555), [[Pope Marcellus II|Marcellus II]] (1555), [[Pope Paul IV|Paul IV]] (1555–1559), [[Pope Pius IV|Pius IV]] (1559–1565), [[Pope Pius V|Pius V]] (saint) (1565–1572), [[Pope Gregory XIII|Gregory XIII]] (1572–1585), [[Pope Sixtus V|Sixtus V]] (1585–1590), [[Pope Urban VII|Urban VII]] (1590), [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]] (1590–1591), [[Pope Innocent IX|Innocent IX]] (1591), [[Pope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]] (1592–1605), [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]] (1605), [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] (1605–1621), [[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]] (1621–1623), [[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]] (1623–1644) and [[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]] (1644–1655).

=== Financing with indulgences ===
One method employed to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of [[indulgences]] in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was [[Albrecht of Mainz|Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg]], who had to clear debts owed to the [[Roman Curia]] by contributing to the rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] preacher [[Johann Tetzel]], whose salesmanship provoked a scandal and led to the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>"[[Johann Tetzel]]", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007: "Tetzel's experiences as a preacher of indulgences, especially between 1503 and 1510, led to his appointment as general commissioner by Albrecht, archbishop of Mainz, who, deeply in debt to pay for a large accumulation of benefices, had to contribute a considerable sum toward the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Albrecht obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of a special plenary indulgence (i.e., remission of the temporal punishment of sin), half of the proceeds of which Albrecht was to claim to pay the fees of his benefices. In effect, Tetzel became a salesman whose product was to cause a scandal in Germany that evolved into the greatest crisis (the Reformation) in the history of the Western church."</ref>

=== Digital copies ===
In the 2020s, the Vatican began seeking to use digital recreations of the Basilica in order to enhance education and allow people to experience it without needing to visit in person. In 2024, the Vatican partnered with [[Microsoft]] to create an interactive 3D model of the Basilica. The model was generated with artificial intelligence using over 400,000 high-resolution photographs taken by drones. Microsoft president [[Brad Smith (American lawyer)|Brad Smith]] described the project as "one of the most technologically advanced and sophisticated projects of its kind that has ever been pursued".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mares|first=Courtney|title=Discover history of St. Peter’s Basilica in new AI-enhanced 3D model|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260451/discover-the-history-of-st-peter-s-basilica-in-new-microsoft-online-ai-enhanced-3d-model|access-date=2025-03-21|website=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref> The Vatican further collaborated with Microsoft in 2025 through the creation of another interactive version of the Basilica, this time recreated in the video game ''[[Minecraft]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mares|first=Courtney|title=New Minecraft edition has students restore St. Peter’s Basilica|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262825/a-vatican-video-game-new-minecraft-edition-has-students-restore-st-peter-s-basilica|access-date=2025-03-21|website=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref> The ''Minecraft'' map, titled "Peter is Here", was developed as part of the [[2025 Jubilee]] with the goal of engaging young audiences.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Farrant|first=Theo|date=2025-03-19|title=You can now tour the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica in Minecraft|url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/03/19/the-vatican-unveils-new-minecraft-game-for-kids-to-virtually-explore-st-peters-basilica|access-date=2025-03-21|website=euronews|language=en}}</ref>

== Architecture ==

=== Successive plans ===
Pope Julius's scheme for the grandest building in Christendom<ref name="BF" /> was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the [[Uffizi Gallery]], Florence. It was the design of [[Donato Bramante]] that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous [[Greek cross]] with a dome inspired by that of the huge circular Roman temple, the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]].<ref name="BF" /> The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a [[Roof lantern|lantern]] with its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to the Early Renaissance lantern of [[Florence Cathedral]] designed for [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]]'s dome by [[Michelozzo]].<ref name="Hartt">{{Harvnb|Hartt|2006}}</ref>

Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal [[chancel]], nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape.<ref>Bramante's plan, {{Harvnb|Gardner|Kleiner|Mamiya|2005|p=458}}</ref>

When Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with [[Giuliano da Sangallo]] and [[Giovanni Giocondo|Fra Giocondo]], who both died in 1515 (Bramante himself having died the previous year). [[Raphael]] was confirmed as the architect of St. Peter's on 1 August 1514.<ref>{{cite book|last=Golzio|first=Vincenzo|title=The Complete Work of Raphael|date=1969|publisher=Reynal and Co., [[William Morrow and Company]]|location=New York|pages=593–594}}</ref> The main change in his plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory.<ref>Raphael's plan, {{Harvnb|Fletcher|1921|p=586}}</ref>

In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and his successor [[Baldassare Peruzzi]] maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to the internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek cross plan and other features of Bramante.<ref>Peruzzi's plan, {{Harvnb|Fletcher|1921|p=586}}</ref> This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by [[Emperor Charles V]]. Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized.<ref name="BF" />

At this point [[Antonio da Sangallo the Younger]] submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends the building into a short nave with a wide façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate in both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form.<ref name="Fletcher 1996 p=722">Sangallo's plan, {{Harvnb|Fletcher|1921|p=586}}</ref> Sangallo's main practical contribution was to strengthen Bramante's piers, which had begun to crack.<ref name="JL-M" />

On 1 January 1547, in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goldscheider|1996}}</ref> He is to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as having brought the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on the job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, [[Giulio Romano (painter)|Giulio Romano]] and the refusal of [[Jacopo Sansovino]] to leave [[Venice]]. Michelangelo wrote, "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle". He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim by whatever means he saw fit.<ref name="JL-M" /><gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:SaintPierre.svg|alt=This is plan 1 of 3. The plan is based on a square, superimposed on a cross with arms of equal length. The cross makes the main sections of the church building: nave and chancel crossed by the transepts, with a circular dome over the crossing. There are four smaller domes, one in each corner of the square. The arms of the cross project beyond the square.|Bramante's plan
File:L’Architecture_de_la_Renaissance_-_Fig._8.PNG|alt= Plan 2. This plan has an extended nave with two aisles on either side of it. The main spaces of the church form a Latin cross.|Raphael's plan
File:L’Architecture_de_la_Renaissance_-_Fig._13.PNG|alt= Plan 3. This plan shows a return to the form of plan 1 but with all the various parts made bolder.|Michelangelo's plan
</gallery>

=== Michelangelo's contribution ===
[[Michelangelo]] took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]] a century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either [[Greek cross|Greek Cross]] form, like the iconic [[St. Mark's Basilica]] in Venice, or of a [[Latin cross|Latin Cross]] with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at [[Florence Cathedral]].

Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as [[Helen Gardner (art historian)|Helen Gardner]] expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity."<ref name="Gardner">{{Harvnb|Gardner|Kleiner|Mamiya|2005}}</ref>

As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with a nave by [[Carlo Maderno]]. It is the [[chancel]] end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the [[Vatican State]] and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections.<ref>Michelangelo's plan, {{Harvnb|Gardner|Kleiner|Mamiya|2005|p=458}}</ref> Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small [[vestry]] or stairwell. The effect created is of a continuous wall surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a [[giant order]] of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other, in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them, the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression.<ref name="Mignacca">Eneide Mignacca, ''Michelangelo and the architecture of St. Peter's Basilica'', lecture, Sydney University, (1982)</ref>

=== Dome: successive and final designs ===
The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of {{convert|136.57|m|ft}} from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the [[List of tallest domes|tallest dome in the world]].{{NoteTag|This claim has recently been made for Yamoussoukro Basilica, the dome of which, modelled on St. Peter's, is lower but has a taller cross.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}}} Its internal diameter is {{convert|41.47|m|ft}},<!---NOTE: This is diameter, NOT HEIGHT. Leave it at 41.47.---> slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] of [[Ancient Rome]], {{convert|43.3|m|ft}}, and [[Florence Cathedral]] of the [[Renaissance architecture|Early Renaissance]], {{convert|44|m|ft}}. It has a greater diameter by approximately {{convert|30|ft|m}} than Constantinople's [[Hagia Sophia]] church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence [[duomo]] that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of [[Christendom]].

==== Bramante and Sangallo, 1506 and 1513 ====
[[File:Caradosso_Foppa,_View_of_Saint_Peter's_(reverse),_1506,_NGA_44669.jpg|thumb|1506 medal by [[Cristoforo Foppa]] depicting Bramante's design, including two of the four flanking smaller domes<ref>{{cite book|last1=De la Croix|first1=Horst|last2=Tansey|first2=Richard G.|last3=Kirkpatrick|first3=Diane|title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages|date=1991|publisher=Thomson/Wadsworth|isbn=0-15-503769-2|edition=9th|page=[https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/641 641]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/641}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2025|reason=The reference to page 641 is incorrect to the linked source, which only has 612 total pages, but what appear to be two additional domes on the left and right sides of the image are instead just half-domes at the ends of the transept.}}]]
The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of [[concrete]], made light by the inclusion of a large amount of the volcanic stones tuff and pumice. The inner surface of the dome is deeply [[Coffering|coffered]] which has the effect of creating both vertical and horizontal ribs while lightening the overall load. At the summit is an ocular opening {{convert|8|m|ft}} across which provides light to the interior.<ref name="BF" />

Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in [[Tufa]] Concrete for which he had rediscovered a formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that in this case, the supporting wall becomes a [[Drum (architecture)|drum]] raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a [[peristyle]].

In the case of [[Florence Cathedral]], the desired visual appearance of the pointed dome existed for many years before [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]] made its construction feasible.{{NoteTag|The dome of Florence Cathedral is depicted in a fresco at [[Santa Maria Novella]] that pre-dates its building by about 100 years.}} Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in a herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with the exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome.<ref name="Hartt" />

Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realized the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a [[peristyle]] and surmounted by a spire of conic form.<ref name="Fletcher 1996 p=722" /> According to [[James Lees-Milne]] the design was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success".<ref name="JL-M" /><gallery mode="packed" heights="190">
File:Roma_S.Pietro_in_Vaticano_(zzf).jpg|alt=Engraved image in two parts. The left side shows the exterior of the dome, and the right side shows a cross-section. The dome is constructed of a single shell, surrounded at its base by a continuous colonnade and surmounted by a temple-like lantern with a ball and cross on top.|Bramante's dome
File:Roma_S.Pietro_in_Vaticano_(zzg).jpg|alt=An engraved picture showing an immensely complex design for the façade, with two ornate towers and a multitude of windows, pilasters and pediments, above which the dome rises looking like a three-tiered wedding cake.|Sangallo's design
File:Speculum_Romanae_Magnificentiae-_Elevation_Showing_the_Exterior_of_Saint_Peter's_Basilica_from_the_South_as_Conceived_by_Michelagelo_(Published_in_1569)_MET_DT203424.jpg|alt=This engraving shows the chancel end of the building much as it was built, except that the dome in this picture is completely semi-circular, not ovoid|The engraving by Stefan du Pérac was published in 1569, five years after the death of Michelangelo.
</gallery>

==== Michelangelo and Giacomo della Porta, 1547 and 1585 ====
[[File:St._Peter's_Basilica_Rome_-_20140808_2350.jpg|alt=Photo. The façade is wide and has a row of huge columns rising from the basement to support the cornice. The ribbed, ovoid dome is surmounted by a lantern topped with ball and cross. Its drum is framed by two very much smaller domes.|thumb|St. Peter's Basilica from [[Castel Sant'Angelo]] showing the dome rising behind Maderno's façade]]
[[File:S._Pietro_May_2022-15.jpg|alt= Photo looking up at the dome's interior from below. The dome is decorated at the top with a band of script. Around its base are windows through which the light streams. The decoration is divided by many vertical ribs which are ornamented with golden stars.|thumb|The dome was brought to completion by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana.]]
Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of [[Florence]], is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of {{convert|15|m|ft}} high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does the [[dome]] of Florence Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a [[Sphere|hemispherical]] dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall.<ref name="BF" /><ref name="JL-M" />

The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving the drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each {{convert|18|m|ft}} across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant [[Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola|Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola]] with [[Giorgio Vasari]] appointed by [[Pope Pius V]] as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585 the energetic [[Pope Sixtus V]] appointed [[Giacomo della Porta]] who was to be assisted by [[Domenico Fontana]]. The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate.<ref name="JL-M" />

Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him, also left a large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways. The major change restored an earlier design, in which the outer dome appears to rise above, rather than rest directly on the base.<ref>{{cite book|last1=De la Croix|first1=Horst|last2=Tansey|first2=Richard G.|last3=Kirkpatrick|first3=Diane|title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages|date=1991|publisher=Thomson/Wadsworth|isbn=0-15-503769-2|edition=9th|page=[https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/663 663]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/gardnersartthrou00gard/page/663}}</ref> Most of the other changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of [[Finial|finials]] around the spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo.<ref name="JL-M" />

A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one.<ref name="Gardner" />  In an engraving in [[Galasso Alghisi]]' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qP5PAAAAcAAJ&q=Alghisi|title=Galassi Alghisii Carpens., apud Alphonsum II. Ferrariae Ducem architecti, opus|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403022925/https://books.google.com/books?id=qP5PAAAAcAAJ&q=Alghisi|archivedate=3 April 2023|first1=Galasso|last1=Alghisi|first2=Dominicus|last2=Thebaldius|year=1563|url-status=live}} pp. 44, 147 of Google PDF download.</ref> Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of the engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However, Lees-Milne cites Giacomo della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself was capable.<ref name="JL-M" />

Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments, "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo]&nbsp;... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into the drum and dome, the whole building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit."<ref name="Gardner" />

It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all the previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome ''must'' appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's angles and restraining its projections.<ref name="Mignacca" /> If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of the integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the [[Classicism]] of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the [[Baroque architecture|architecture of the Baroque]].<ref name="Mignacca" />

==== Completion ====
Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana brought the dome to completion in 1590, the last year of the reign of [[Sixtus V]]. His successor, [[Gregory XIV]], saw Fontana complete the lantern and had an inscription to the honour of Sixtus V placed around its inner opening. The next pope, [[Clement VIII]], had the cross raised into place, an event which took all day, and was accompanied by the ringing of the bells of all the city's churches. In the arms of the cross are set two lead caskets, one containing a fragment of the [[True Cross]] and a relic of [[St. Andrew]] and the other containing medallions of the Holy Lamb.<ref name="JL-M" />

In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times, the earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral.{{Cn|date=June 2023}}

Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters {{convert|1.4|m|ft}} high:

{{blockquote|TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM ET TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM<br />("...&nbsp;you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.&nbsp;... and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven&nbsp;..." [[Vulgate]], {{bibleverse||Matthew|16:18–19|4}}.)}}

Beneath the lantern is the inscription:

{{blockquote|S. PETRI GLORIAE SIXTVS PP. V. A. M. D. XC. PONTIF. V.<br />(To the glory of St Peter; Sixtus V, pope, in the year 1590, the fifth of his pontificate.)}}

==== Discovery of Michelangelo draft ====
On 7 December 2007, a fragment of a red chalk drawing of a section of the dome of the basilica, almost certainly by the hand of Michelangelo, was discovered in the Vatican archives.<ref name="bbc_sketch">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7133116.stm|title=Michelangelo 'last sketch' found|work=BBC News|date=7 December 2007|access-date=8 December 2007|archive-date=20 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620000116/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7133116.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The drawing shows a small precisely drafted section of the plan of the entablature above two of the radial columns of the cupola drum. Michelangelo is known to have destroyed thousands of his drawings before his death.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=[[BBC]]|title=Rare Michelangelo sketch for sale|date=14 October 2005|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4343488.stm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926055418/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4343488.stm|archivedate=26 September 2022|accessdate=9 February 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> The rare survival of this example is probably due to its fragmentary state and the fact that detailed mathematical calculations had been made over the top of the drawing.<ref name="bbc_sketch" />

=== Addition of nave and facade ===
[[File:StPetersplan_OttoLeuger1904.jpg|right|thumb|Michelangelo's plan extended with Maderno's nave and narthex]]
On 18 February 1606, under [[Pope Paul V]], the dismantling of the remaining parts of the Constantinian basilica began.<ref name="JL-M" /> The marble cross that had been set at the top of the pediment by [[Pope Sylvester I|Pope Sylvester]] and [[Constantine the Great]] was lowered to the ground. The timbers were salvaged for the roof of the [[Borghese Palace]] and two rare black [[marble]] columns, the largest of their kind, were carefully stored and later used in the [[narthex]]. The tombs of various popes were opened, treasures removed and plans made for re-interment in the new basilica.<ref name="JL-M" /> The Pope had appointed [[Carlo Maderno]] in 1602. He was a nephew of [[Domenico Fontana]] and had demonstrated himself as a dynamic architect. Maderno's idea was to ring Michelangelo's building with chapels, but the Pope was hesitant about deviating from the master's plan, even though he had been dead for forty years. The ''Fabbrica'' or building [[committee]], a group drawn from various nationalities and generally despised by the [[Curia]] who viewed the basilica as belonging to Rome rather than Christendom, were in a quandary as to how the building should proceed. One of the matters that influenced their thinking was the [[Counter-Reformation]] which increasingly associated a [[Greek cross|Greek Cross]] plan with paganism and saw the [[Latin cross|Latin Cross]] as truly symbolic of Christianity.<ref name="JL-M" /> The central plan also did not have a "dominant orientation toward the east."<ref name="Pile">{{Harvnb|Pile|2005|p=131}}</ref>

Another influence on the thinking of both the Fabbrica and the Curia was a certain guilt at the demolition of the ancient building. The ground on which it and its various associated chapels, [[Vestry|vestries]] and [[Sacristy|sacristies]] had stood for so long was hallowed. The only solution was to build a nave that encompassed the whole space. In 1607 a committee of ten architects was called together, and a decision was made to extend Michelangelo's building into a nave. Maderno's plans for both the nave and the [[facade]] were accepted.

The building of the nave began on 7 May 1607, and proceeded at a great rate, with an army of 700 labourers being employed. The following year, the façade was begun, in December 1614 the final touches were added to the [[stucco]] decoration of the vault and early in 1615 the partition wall between the two sections was pulled down. All the rubble was carted away, and the nave was ready for use by [[Palm Sunday]].{{sfn|Lees-Milne|1967|ps=, "[http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/JLM/SaintPeters-9.htm#nave Maderno's Nave]"}}

==== Maderno's facade ====
[[File:Basilica_di_San_Pietro_in_Vaticano_September_2015-1a.jpg|alt=Ornate building in the early morning with a giant order of columns beneath a Latin inscription, fourteen statues on the roofline, and large dome on top.|thumb|Maderno's façade, with the statues of Saint Peter (left) and Saint Paul (right) flanking the entrance stairs]]
The facade designed by Maderno, is {{convert|114.69|m|ft}} wide and {{convert|45.55|m|ft}} high and is built of [[travertine]] stone, with a giant order of Corinthian columns and a central pediment rising in front of a tall [[Attic style|attic]] surmounted by thirteen statues: [[Christ]] flanked by eleven of the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]] (except Saint Peter, whose statue is left of the stairs) and [[John the Baptist]].{{NoteTag|[[:File:San Pietro in Vaticano 001.JPG|Another view of the façade statues]]. From left to right: ① Thaddeus, ② Matthew, ③ Philip, ④ Thomas, ⑤ James the Elder, ⑥ [[John the Baptist]] (technically a 'precursor' and not an apostle); ⑦ Christ (centre, the only one with a halo); ⑧ Andrew, ⑨ [[John the Apostle]], ⑩ James the Younger, ⑪ Bartholomew, ⑫ [[Simon the Zealot|Simon]] and ⑬ Matthias. ({{cite web |url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Facade/Facade.htm |title=Unofficial architecture site |website=saintpetersbasilica.org |access-date = 1 June 2011}})}} The inscription below the [[cornice]] on the {{convert|1|m|ft}} tall [[frieze]] reads:

{{blockquote|IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII<br />(In honour of the [[Apostle Peter|Prince of Apostles]], [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)}}

(Paul V (Camillo Borghese), born in Rome but of a Sienese family, liked to emphasize his "Romanness".)

The facade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's. The reasons for this, according to James Lees-Milne, are that it was not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. Lees-Milne describes the problems of the façade as being too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the [[attic]] story. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the facade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the facade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance.<ref name="JL-M" />

==== Bernini's Towers ====
[[Pope Urban VIII|Pope Urban]] had long been a critic of Bernini's predecessor, Carlo Maderno. His disapproval of the architect's work stemmed largely from  Maderno's design for the longitudinal nave of St. Peters, which was widely condemned for obscuring Michelangelo's dome. When the Pope gave the commission to Bernini he therefore requested that a new design for the facade's bell towers to be submitted for consideration. Baldinucci describes Bernini's tower as consisting of "two orders of columns and pilasters, the first order being [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]]" and "a third or attic story formed of pilasters and two columns on either side of the open archway in the center".

Pope Urban desired the towers to be completed by a very specific date: 29 June 1641, the feast day dedicated to [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul|Saints Peter and Paul]]. To this end an order was issued which stated that "all work should take a second seat to that of the campanile". The south tower was completed on time even in spite of these issues, but records show that in the wake of the unveiling the Pope was not content with what he saw and he ordered the top level of Bernini's tower removed so that the structure could be made even grander. The tower continued to grow, and as the construction began to settle, the first cracks started to appear followed by Urban's infamous public admonishment of his architect.

In 1642 all work on both towers came to a halt. Bernini had to pay the cost for the demolition; eventually the idea of completing the bell towers was abandoned.
[[File:San_Pietro_in_Vaticano_4.jpg|left|alt=Photo shows view of vestibule with three huge doorways leading to the church's interior. The doors are framed by columns and have pediments. The floor is of inlaid marble. The nearest doorway is closed by two huge ancient bronze doors. A group listens to a tour guide while one woman examines the doors.|thumb|The narthex]]

==== Narthex and portals ====
Behind the façade of St. Peter's stretches a long portico or "[[narthex]]" such as was occasionally found in Italian churches. This is the part of Maderno's design with which he was most satisfied. Its long barrel vault is decorated with ornate stucco and gilt, and successfully illuminated by small windows between pendentives, while the ornate marble floor is beamed with light reflected in from the piazza. At each end of the narthex is a theatrical space framed by ionic columns and within each is set a statue, an [[Equestrian statue of Charlemagne (Cornacchini)|equestrian statue of Charlemagne]] (18th century) by [[Agostino Cornacchini|Cornacchini]] in the south end and ''[[The Vision of Constantine (Bernini)|The Vision of Constantine]]'' (1670) by [[Bernini]] in the north end.

Five portals, of which three are framed by huge salvaged antique columns, lead into the basilica. The central portal has a [[bronze]] door created by [[Filarete|Antonio Averulino]] c.&nbsp;1440 for the old basilica<ref>{{cite book|last=Decker|first=Heinrich|title=The Renaissance in Italy: Architecture • Sculpture • Frescoes|year=1969|orig-year=1967|publisher=The Viking Press|location=New York|page=279}}</ref> and somewhat enlarged to fit the new space.

==== Maderno's nave ====
[[File:St-peters-basilica-interior-pannini-1731.jpg|alt=A painting of the interior of the vast building with arcades, and a coffered ceiling|thumb|Maderno's nave, looking towards the chancel, as painted by [[Giovanni Paolo Pannini]], 1731]]
To the single bay of Michelangelo's Greek Cross, Maderno added a further three bays. He made the dimensions slightly different from Michelangelo's bay, thus defining where the two architectural works meet. Maderno also tilted the axis of the nave slightly. This was not by accident, as suggested by his critics. An ancient [[List of obelisks in Rome|Egyptian obelisk]] had been erected in the square outside, but had not been quite aligned with Michelangelo's building, so Maderno compensated, in order that it should, at least, align with the Basilica's façade.<ref name="JL-M" />

The nave has huge paired [[Pilaster|pilasters]], in keeping with Michelangelo's work. The size of the interior is so "stupendously large" that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building.<ref name="JL-M" />{{NoteTag|The word "stupendous" is used by a number of writers trying to adequately describe the enormity of the interior. These include James Lees-Milne and Banister Fletcher.}} The four [[Cherub|cherubs]] who flutter against the first piers of the nave, carrying between them two [[holy water]] basins, appear of quite normal cherubic size, until approached. Then it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 metres high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies. The aisles each have two smaller [[Chapel|chapels]] and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. These are lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, [[Gilding|gilt]], [[sculpture]] and [[mosaic]]. Remarkably, all of the large altarpieces, with the exception of the Holy Trinity by Pietro da Cortona in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, have been reproduced in mosaic.  Two precious paintings from the old basilica, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of the Column are still being used as altarpieces.

Maderno's last work at St. Peter's was to design a crypt-like space or "Confessio" under the dome, where the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]] and other privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer to the burial place of the apostle. Its marble steps are remnants of the old basilica and around its [[Baluster|balustrade]] are 95 bronze lamps.

=== Influence on church architecture ===
The design of St. Peter's Basilica, and in particular its dome, has greatly influenced [[church architecture]] in [[Western Christianity|Western Christendom]]. Within Rome, the huge domed church of [[Sant'Andrea della Valle]] was designed by Giacomo della Porta before the completion of St Peter's Basilica, and subsequently worked on by Carlo Maderno. This was followed by the domes of [[San Carlo ai Catinari]], [[Sant'Agnese in Agone]], and many others. [[Christopher Wren]]'s dome at [[St Paul's Cathedral]] ([[London]], England), the domes of [[Karlskirche]] ([[Vienna]], Austria), [[St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana)|St. Nicholas Church]] ([[Prague]], Czech Republic), and the [[Pantheon, Paris|Pantheon]] ([[Paris]], France) all pay [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] to St Peter's Basilica.

The 19th and early-20th-century architectural revivals brought about the building of a great number of churches that imitate elements of St Peter's to a greater or lesser degree, including [[St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago]], [[St. Josaphat's Basilica]] in [[Milwaukee]], [[Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh]] and [[Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral]] in [[Montreal]], which replicates many aspects of St Peter's on a smaller scale. [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodernism]] has seen free adaptations of St Peter's in the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń]], and the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro]].

== Bernini's furnishings ==
[[File:The_Chair_of_Saint_Peter_adjusted.JPG|alt=Pews before the ornate, gold-leafed throne of St. Peter|thumb|The apse with St. Peter's Cathedral supported by four Doctors of the Church]]

=== Pope Urban VIII and Bernini ===
As a young boy [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] (1598–1680) visited St. Peter's with the painter [[Annibale Carracci]] and stated his wish to build "a mighty throne for the apostle". His wish came true. As a young man, in 1626, he received the patronage of [[Pope Urban VIII]] and worked on the embellishment of the Basilica for 50 years. Appointed as Maderno's successor in 1629, he was to become regarded as the greatest architect and sculptor of the [[Baroque]] period. Bernini's works at St. Peter's include the [[baldachin]] (baldaquin, from Italian: ''baldacchino''), the Chapel of the Sacrament, the plan for the niches and [[Loggia|loggias]] in the piers of the dome and the [[Chair of Saint Peter|chair of St. Peter]].<ref name="JL-M" /><ref name="Gardner" />

==== Baldacchino and niches ====
{{Main|St. Peter's Baldachin}}

Bernini's first work at St. Peter's was to design the [[St. Peter's Baldachin|baldacchino]], a pavilion-like structure {{convert|28.74|m|ft}} tall and claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, which stands beneath the dome and above the altar. Its design is based on the [[Ciborium (architecture)|''ciborium'']], of which there are many in the churches of Rome, serving to create a sort of holy space above and around the table on which the [[Sacrament]]<!-- -Caps needed in this sense- --> is laid for the [[Eucharist]] and emphasizing the significance of this ritual. These ''ciboria'' are generally of white marble, with inlaid coloured stone. Bernini's concept was for something very different. He took his inspiration in part from the [[baldachin]] or canopy carried above the head of the pope in processions, and in part from eight ancient columns that had formed part of a screen in the old basilica. Their twisted [[Solomonic columns|barley-sugar shape]] had a special significance as they were modelled on those of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple of Jerusalem]] and donated by the [[Constantine the Great|Emperor Constantine]]. Based on these columns, Bernini created four huge columns of bronze, twisted and decorated with laurel leaves and bees, which were the emblem of Pope Urban.
[[File:2025-03-10_St._Peter's_Basilica_baldacchino.jpg|left|alt= Photo shows the baldachin standing in the centre of the church, viewed looking towards the nave. There is an altar beneath it which has a red and gold frontal cloth decorated with large crosses.|thumb|The altar with Bernini's baldacchino]]
The baldacchino is surmounted not with an architectural pediment, like most baldacchini, but with curved Baroque brackets supporting a draped canopy, like the brocade canopies carried in processions above precious iconic images. In this case, the draped canopy is of bronze, and all the details, including the olive leaves, bees, and the portrait heads of Urban's niece in childbirth and her newborn son, are picked out in gold leaf. The baldacchino stands as a vast free-standing sculptural object, central to and framed by the largest space within the building. It is so large that the visual effect is to create a link between the enormous dome which appears to float above it, and the congregation at floor level of the basilica. It is penetrated visually from every direction, and is visually linked to the ''[[Chair of Saint Peter|Cathedra Petri]]'' in the apse behind it and to the four piers containing large statues that are at each diagonal.<ref name="JL-M" /><ref name="Gardner" />

As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the huge piers, begun by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo, hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four [[Balcony|balconies]]. There was much dismay from those who thought that the dome might fall, but it did not. On the balconies Bernini created showcases, framed by the eight ancient twisted columns, to display the four most precious relics of the basilica: the [[Holy Lance|spear of Longinus]], said to have pierced the side of Christ, the [[veil of Veronica]], with the miraculous image of the face of Christ, a fragment of the [[True Cross]] discovered in [[Jerusalem]] by Constantine's mother, [[Helena (empress)|Helena]], and a relic of [[Andrew the Apostle|Saint Andrew]], the brother of Saint Peter. In each of the niches that surround the central space of the basilica was placed a huge statue of the saint associated with the relic above. Only ''Saint Longinus'' is the work of Bernini.<ref name="JL-M" /> (See below)

==== Cathedra Petri and Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament ====
{{Main|Chair of Saint Peter}}
[[File:Cathedrapetri+gloria.jpg|alt=The chair-shaped bronze reliquary which holds the throne of St Peter is much larger than a normal chair, is ornate in shape and decorated with relief sculpture and gold leaf. The "Gloria" which surrounds a round window is a sculpture of clouds and sun-rays, surrounded by angels, the whole lot being covered in gleaming gold leaf.|thumb|Bernini's Cathedra Petri and ''Gloria'']]
Bernini then turned his attention to another precious relic, the so-called ''[[Cathedra Petri]]'' or "throne of St. Peter" a chair which was often claimed to have been used by the apostle, but appears to date from the 12th century. As the chair itself was fast deteriorating and was no longer serviceable, [[Pope Alexander VII]] determined to enshrine it in suitable splendor as the object upon which the line of successors to Peter was based. Bernini created a large bronze throne in which it was housed, raised high on four looping supports held effortlessly by massive bronze statues of four [[Doctors of the Church]], Saints [[Ambrose]] and [[Augustine]] representing the Latin Church and [[Athanasius]] and [[John Chrysostom]], the Greek Church. The four figures are dynamic with sweeping robes and expressions of adoration and ecstasy. Behind and above the cathedra, a blaze of light comes in through a window of yellow [[alabaster]], illuminating, at its centre, the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The elderly painter, [[Andrea Sacchi]], had urged Bernini to make the figures large, so that they would be seen well from the central portal of the nave. The chair was enshrined in its new home with great celebration of 16 January 1666.<ref name="JL-M" /><ref name="Gardner" />

Bernini's final work for St. Peter's, undertaken in 1676, was the decoration of the Chapel of the Sacrament.<ref name="Basilica Info">{{cite web|last=Kilby|first=Peter|title=St Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)|url=http://www.rome.info/vatican/st-peters-basilica/|access-date=27 July 2011|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511140900/https://www.rome.info/vatican/st-peters-basilica/|url-status=live}}</ref> To hold the sacramental Host, he designed a miniature version in gilt bronze of Bramante's [[San Pietro in Montorio#The Tempietto|Tempietto]], the little chapel that marks the place of the death of St. Peter. On either side is an angel, one gazing in rapt adoration and the other looking towards the viewer in welcome. Bernini died in 1680 in his 82nd year.<ref name="JL-M" /> {{clear}}

== St. Peter's Piazza ==
{{Main|St. Peter's Square}}<!-- -NOTE:This section uses the well-known Italian word "piazza" because the English translation to "square" is a misnomer.- -->
[[File:Basilica_di_San_Pietro_(notte).jpg|left|alt=Behind a large monolithic obelisk, the facade of St. Peter's Basilica, lit by floodlights, rising majestically against the night sky|thumb|St. Peter's Basilica and the piazza at night]]
To the east of the basilica is the ''Piazza di San Pietro'', ([[Saint Peter's Square|St. Peter's Square]]). The present arrangement, constructed between 1656 and 1667, is the [[Baroque]] inspiration of Bernini who inherited a location already occupied by an Egyptian [[obelisk]] which was centrally placed, (with some contrivance) to Maderno's facade.{{NoteTag|The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis by an unknown pharaoh of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt ({{Circa|2494 BC}} – 2345 BC).}} The [[obelisk]], known as "The Witness", at {{convert|25.31|m|ft}} and a total height, including base and the cross on top, of {{convert|40|m|ft}}, is the second largest standing obelisk, and the only one to remain standing since its removal from Egypt and re-erection at the [[Circus of Nero]] in 37&nbsp;AD, where it is thought to have stood witness to the [[crucifixion]] of Saint Peter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Obelisk/Obelisk.htm|title=St. Peter's, the Obelisk|website=saintpetersbasilica.org|access-date=22 December 2010|archive-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705231011/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Obelisk/Obelisk.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Its removal to its present location by order of [[Pope Sixtus V]] and engineered by [[Domenico Fontana]] on 28 September 1586, was an operation fraught with difficulties and nearly ending in disaster when the ropes holding the obelisk began to smoke from the friction. Fortunately this problem was noticed by Benedetto Bresca, a sailor of [[Sanremo]], and for his swift intervention, his town was granted the privilege of providing the palms that are used at the basilica each [[Palm Sunday]].<ref name="JL-M" />
[[File:Fountain_of_Carlo_Maderno_night.jpg|alt=View of one fountain which rises in two tiers from a sculptured pool. The fountain is playing and the water is sparkling.|thumb|One of the two fountains which form the axis of the piazza]]
The other object in the old square with which Bernini had to contend was a large [[fountain]] designed by Maderno in 1613 and set to one side of the obelisk, making a line parallel with the facade. Bernini's plan uses this horizontal axis as a major feature of his unique, spatially dynamic and highly symbolic design. The most obvious solutions were either a rectangular piazza of vast proportions so that the obelisk stood centrally and the fountain (and a matching companion) could be included, or a trapezoid piazza which fanned out from the facade of the basilica like that in front of the [[Palazzo Pubblico]] in [[Siena]]. The problems of the square plan are that the necessary width to include the fountain would entail the demolition of numerous buildings, including some of the Vatican, and would minimize the effect of the facade. The [[trapezoid]] plan, on the other hand, would maximize the apparent width of the facade, which was already perceived as a fault of the design.<ref name="Gardner" />
[[File:Vatican_City_and_St._Peter_Square_evening_twilight_aerial_view.jpg|left|thumb|Evening aerial view of the piazza and facade]]
Bernini's ingenious solution was to create a piazza in two sections. That part which is nearest the basilica is trapezoid, but rather than fanning out from the facade, it narrows. This gives the effect of countering the visual perspective. It means that from the second part of the piazza, the building looks nearer than it is, the breadth of the facade is minimized and its height appears greater in proportion to its width. The second section of the piazza is a huge elliptical circus which gently slopes downwards to the obelisk at its centre. The two distinct areas are framed by a colonnade formed by doubled pairs of columns supporting an [[entablature]] of the simple [[Tuscan order|Tuscan Order]].

The part of the colonnade that is around the ellipse does not entirely encircle it, but reaches out in two arcs, symbolic of the arms of "the Catholic Church reaching out to welcome its communicants".<ref name="Gardner" />  The obelisk and Maderno's fountain mark the widest axis of the ellipse. Bernini balanced the scheme with another fountain in 1675. The approach to the square used to be through a jumble of old buildings, which added an element of surprise to the vista that opened up upon passing through the colonnade. Nowadays a long wide street, the [[Via della Conciliazione]], built by [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] after the conclusion of the [[Lateran Treaties]], leads from the [[Tiber|River Tiber]] to the [[Town square|piazza]] and gives distant views of St. Peter's as the visitor approaches, with the basilica acting as a [[terminating vista]].<ref name="JL-M" />

Bernini's transformation of the site is entirely Baroque in concept. Where Bramante and Michelangelo conceived a building that stood in "self-sufficient isolation", Bernini made the whole complex "expansively relate to its environment".<ref name="Gardner" /> Banister Fletcher says "No other city has afforded such a wide-swept approach to its cathedral church, no other architect could have conceived a design of greater nobility&nbsp;... (it is) the greatest of all atriums before the greatest of all churches of Christendom."<ref name="BF" />
[[File:St_Peter's_Square,_Vatican_City_-_April_2007.jpg|center|alt=At the front of the view are the backs of thirteen large statues that stand in along the edge of the façade. Beyond them can be seen the piazza which is in three parts. The nearest appears square, while the second widens into an oval surrounded on each side by the huge grey columns on the colonnade, and with the obelisk at its centre. Beyond that is a further square surrounded by pale pink buildings. A wide street leads from the square, at the end of which can be seen the river, a bridge and castle.|thumb|View of Rome from the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica]]

== Clocks ==
The top of the facade of St. Peter's Basilica has two clocks and several sculptures. The clocks were created to replace Bernini's bell towers which had to be torn down due to insufficient support. The left hand clock shows Rome time, the right hand one shows European mean time. The statues are Christ the Redeemer, St. John the Baptist and 11 Apostles. From the left: St. Thadeus, St. Matthew, St. Philip, St. Thomas, St. James the Greater, St. John the Baptist, The Redeemer, St. Andrew, St. John the Evangelist, St. James the Lesser, St. Bartholomew, St. Simeon, and St. Matthias. Above the Roman clock is the [[Coat of arms of Vatican City|coat of arms for the city-state of Vatican City]] since 1931 held by two angels.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

== Bells ==
The Basilica has 6 bells, placed in the room under the Roman clock, only 3 of them are visible from ground level while the rest are hidden behind the [[Bourdon (bell)|bourdon]]. They range from the smallest which is 260&nbsp;kg to the massive [[Bourdon (bell)|bourdon]] that approximately weighs 9 tonnes. From 1931, the bells are operated electrically, thus permitting even the largest bell to be tolled from a distance. The oldest bell '''Rota''' dates from 1288 and the bourdon called '''Campanone''' is rung at Christmas and Easter, on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and every time the Pope imparts the "[[Urbi et Orbi]]" blessing to the city and to the world. Campanone also announces the death of the pope and an election of a new pope.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Bell#
!Name
!Mass
!Date cast
|-
|1
|Campanella
|260&nbsp;kg
|1825
|-
|2
|Ave Maria
|280&nbsp;kg
|1932
|-
|3
|Predica
|850&nbsp;kg
|1893
|-
|4
|Rota
|2 t
|1288
|-
|5
|Campanoncino (Mezzana, Benedittina)
|4 t
|1725
|-
|6
|Campanone
|9 t
|1785
|}

== Treasures ==

=== Tombs and relics ===
{{Main list|List of extant papal tombs}}
[[File:Basilica_di_san_pietro.JPG|alt=White and orange marble rings a circular, decorated bronze vent|thumb|[[Air vent|Air vents]] for the crypt in St. Peter's Basilica]]
There are over 100 [[Tomb|tombs]] within St. Peter's Basilica (extant to various extents), many located beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, Saint [[Ignatius of Antioch]], Holy Roman Emperor [[Otto II]], and the composer [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]]. Exiled Catholic British royalty [[James Francis Edward Stuart]] and his two sons, [[Charles Edward Stuart]] and [[Henry Benedict Stuart]], Cardinal Bishop of Frascati, are buried here, having been granted asylum by [[Pope Clement XI]]. Also buried here are [[Maria Klementyna Sobieska|Maria Clementina Sobieska]], wife of [[James Francis Edward Stuart]], Queen [[Christina of Sweden]], who abdicated her throne in order to convert to [[Catholicism]], and [[Countess]] [[Matilda of Tuscany]], supporter of the Papacy during the [[Investiture Controversy]]. The most recent interment was [[Pope Benedict XVI]], on 5 January 2023. Beneath, near the [[crypt]], is the recently discovered vaulted fourth-century "[[Tomb of the Julii]]". (See below for some descriptions of tombs).

=== Artworks ===

==== Towers and narthex ====

* In the towers to either side of the facade are two clocks. The clock on the left has been operated electrically since 1931. Its oldest bell dates from 1288.
* One of the most important treasures of the basilica is a mosaic set above the central external door. Called the "Navicella", it is based on a design by [[Giotto]] (early 14th century) and represents a ship symbolizing the Christian Church.<ref name="Pinto" /> The mosaic is mostly a 17th-century copy of Giotto's original.
* At each end of the narthex is an equestrian figure, to the north [[Constantine the Great]] by Bernini (1670) and to the south [[Equestrian statue of Charlemagne (Cornacchini)|Charlemagne]] by [[Agostino Cornacchini|Cornacchini]] (18th century).<ref name="Pinto" />
* Of the five portals from the narthex to the interior, three contain notable doors. The central portal has the Renaissance bronze door by [[Antonio di Pietro Averlino|Antonio Averulino]] (called Filarete) (1455), enlarged to fit the new space. The southern door, the ''[[Door of the Dead in St. Peter's Basilica|Door of the Dead]]'', was designed by 20th-century sculptor [[Giacomo Manzù]] and includes a portrait of Pope John XXIII kneeling before the crucified figure of Saint Peter.
* The northernmost door is the "Holy Door" which, by tradition, is walled-up with bricks, and opened only for holy years such as the [[Jubilee (Christian)|Jubilee year]] by the Pope. The present door is bronze and was designed by [[Vico Consorti]] in 1950 and cast in [[Florence]] by the [[Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry]]. Above it are inscriptions commemorating the opening of the door: PAVLVS V PONT MAX ANNO XIII and GREGORIVS XIII PONT MAX.

Recently installed commemorative plaques read above the door as follows: {{blockquote|PAVLVS VI PONT MAX HVIVS PATRIARCALIS VATICANAE BASILICAE PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXV<br />(Paul VI, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed the holy door of this patriarchal Vatican basilica in the jubilee year of 1975.)}} {{blockquote|IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. PORTAM SANCTAM ANNO IVBILAEI MCMLXXVI A PAVLO PP VI RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVB HVMANE REDEMP MCMLXXXIII–MCMLXXXIV<br />(John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, opened and closed again the holy door closed and set apart by Pope Paul VI in 1976 in the jubilee year of human redemption 1983–1984.)}} {{blockquote|IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M. ITERVM PORTAM SANCTAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO MAGNI IVBILAEI AB INCARNATIONE DOMINI MM–MMI<br />(John Paul II, Pontifex Maximus, again opened and closed the holy door in the year of the great jubilee, from the incarnation of the Lord 2000–2001.)}} {{blockquote|FRANCISCVS PP. PORTAM SANCTAM ANNO MAGNI IVB MM–MMI A IOANNE PAVLO PP. II RESERVATAM ET CLAVSAM APERVIT ET CLAVSIT ANNO IVB MISERICORDIAE MMXV–MMXVI<br />(Pope Francis opened and closed again the holy door, closed and set apart by Pope John Paul II in the year of the great jubilee 2000–2001, in the jubilee year of Mercy 2015–2016.)}}

Older commemorative plaques are removed to make way for the new plaque when the holy door is opened and sealed.

==== Nave ====

* On the first piers of the nave are two Holy Water basins held by pairs of [[Cherub|cherubs]] each 2 metres high, commissioned by [[Pope Benedict XIII]] from designer [[Agostino Cornacchini]] and sculptor Francesco Moderati, (1720s).
* Along the floor of the nave are markers showing the comparative lengths of other churches, starting from the entrance.
* On the decorative pilasters of the piers of the nave are medallions with relief depicting 56 of the first popes.
* In niches between the pilasters of the nave are statues depicting 39 founders of religious orders.
* Set against the north east pier of the dome is a statue of ''Saint Peter Enthroned'', sometimes attributed to late 13th-century sculptor [[Arnolfo di Cambio]], with some scholars dating it to the fifth century. One foot of the statue is largely worn away by [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]] kissing it for centuries.
* The sunken Confessio leading to the [[Vatican Grottoes]] (see above) contained a large kneeling statue by [[Canova]] of [[Pope Pius VI]], who was captured and mistreated by [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte's]] army.  This has now been moved to the back (eastern) end of the grottoes.
* In the Confessio is the ''Niche of the Pallium'' ("Niche of Stoles") which contains a bronze urn, donated by [[Pope Benedict XIV]], to contain white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on the feastday of St. Agnes.
* The High [[Altar]] is surmounted by Bernini's [[baldachin]]. (See above)
* Set in niches within the four piers supporting the dome are the larger-than-life statues associated with the basilica's primary holy relics: [[Helena (empress)|Saint Helena]] holding the [[True Cross]] and the [[Nail (relic)|Holy Nails]], by [[Andrea Bolgi]]; [[Saint Longinus]] holding the [[Holy Lance|spear that pierced the side of Jesus]], by Bernini (1639); [[Andrew the Apostle|Saint Andrew]] with the [[Saltire|St. Andrew's Cross]], by [[Francois Duquesnoy]] and [[Saint Veronica]] holding her [[Veil of Veronica|veil with the image of Jesus' face]], by [[Francesco Mochi]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Saint_Helena.jpg|alt= A marble statue showing a matronly woman in a sweeping cloak supporting a cross which stands beside her and presenting a set of nails to the viewer with her left hand|''Saint Helena'' by Andrea Bolgi 
File:Saint_Longinus.jpg|alt= This statue shows a Roman soldier, with a cloak furling around him, gazing upward while he supports a long spear with his right hand and throws out his other hand in amazement.|''Saint Longinus'' by Bernini 
File:Saint_Andreas.jpg|alt= This statue shows an elderly man, bare-chested, and draped, looking up despairingly as he supports a large cross, arranged diagonally.|''Saint Andrew'' by Francois Duquesnoy 
File:Saint_veronica.jpg|alt= This statue shows the saint as a young woman, who, with a sweeping dramatic gesture, displays a cloth on which there is an image of the face of Jesus.|''Saint Veronica'' by Francesco Mochi 
</gallery>

==== North aisle ====

* In the first chapel of the north aisle is Michelangelo's ''Pietà''.{{NoteTag|The statue was damaged in 1972 by Lazlo Toft, a Hungarian-Australian, who considered that the veneration shown to the statue was idolatrous. The damage was repaired and the statue subsequently placed behind glass.}}
* On the first pier in the right aisle is the monument of [[Queen Christina of Sweden]], who abdicated in 1654 in order to convert to Catholicism.
* The second chapel, dedicated to [[Saint Sebastian]], contains the statues of popes [[Pope Pius XI|Pius XI]] and [[Pope Pius XII|Pius XII]]. The space below the altar used to be the resting place of [[Pope Innocent XI]] but his remains were moved to the ''Altar of the Transfiguration'' on 8 April 2011. This was done to make way for the body of [[Pope John Paul II]]. His remains were placed beneath the altar on 2 May 2011.
* The large chapel on the right aisle is the ''Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament'' which contains the tabernacle by Bernini (1664) resembling Bramante's ''Tempietto'' at [[San Pietro in Montorio]] supported by two kneeling angels and with behind it a painting of the [[Holy Trinity]] by [[Pietro da Cortona]].
* Near the altar of ''Our Lady of Succour'' are the monuments of popes [[Pope Gregory XIII|Gregory XIII]] by [[Camillo Rusconi]] (1723) and [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]].
* At the end of the aisle is an altar containing the relics of [[Saint Petronilla]] and with an altarpiece ''The Burial of St Petronilla'' by [[Guercino]] (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1623.

==== South aisle ====

* The first chapel in the south aisle is the baptistry, commissioned by [[Pope Innocent XII]] and designed by [[Carlo Fontana]], (great nephew of Domenico Fontana). The font was carved from the lid of the purple porphyry [[sarcophagus]] which had once held the remains of the Emperor [[Hadrian]], and is surmounted with a gilt-bronze figure of the "[[Lamb of God]]". Fontana's reworked [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] sarcophagus lid font replaced an earlier font, which was re-purposed from the sarcophagus of [[Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus|Probus]], the fourth-century [[Praefectus urbi|Prefect of Rome]], and which was used for baptisms from the 15th century until the late 17th century, when Fontana's work was completed.
* Against the first pier of the aisle is the [[Monument to the Royal Stuarts]]: [[James Francis Edward Stuart|James Stuart]], known as the "Old Pretender" and his sons, [[Charles Edward Stuart|Charles Edward]], known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", and [[Henry Benedict Stuart|Henry]], a cardinal. The tomb is a [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-Classical]] design by [[Canova]] unveiled in 1819. Opposite it is the memorial of James Francis Edward Stuart's wife, [[Maria Klementyna Sobieska|Maria Clementina Sobieska]].
* The second chapel is that of the ''Presentation of the Virgin'' and contains the memorials of [[Pope Benedict XV]] and [[Pope John XXIII]].
* Against the piers are the tombs of [[Pope Pius X]] and [[Pope Innocent VIII]].
* The large chapel off the south aisle is the ''Choir Chapel'' which contains the altar of the ''[[Immaculate Conception]]''.
* At the entrance to the [[Sacristy]] is the tomb of [[Pope Pius VIII]]
* The south transept contains the altars of [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]], [[Saint Joseph]] and the ''Crucifixion of Saint Peter''.
* The tomb of Fabio Chigi, [[Pope Alexander VII]], towards the end of the aisle, is the work of Bernini and called by Lees-Milne "one of the greatest tombs of the [[Baroque]] Age". It occupies an awkward position, being set in a niche above a doorway into a small vestry, but Bernini has utilized the doorway in a symbolic manner. Pope Alexander kneels upon his tomb, facing outward. The tomb is supported on a large draped shroud in patterned red marble, and is supported by four female figures, of whom only the two at the front are fully visible. They represent [[Charity (virtue)|Charity]] and [[Truth]]. The foot of Truth rests upon a globe of the world, her toe being pierced symbolically by the thorn of Protestant England. Coming forth, seemingly, from the doorway as if it were the entrance to a tomb, is the skeletal winged figure of [[Death]],<!-- -NOTE: Death requires a capital letter in this sense.- --> its head hidden beneath the shroud, but its right hand carrying an [[hourglass]] stretched upward towards the kneeling figure of the pope.<ref name="JL-M" />
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Rome_basilica_st_peter_004_adjusted.JPG|alt=A pair of bronze doors divided into sixteen panels containing reliefs depicting scenes mainly from the life of Jesus and stories that he told.|The Holy Door is opened only for great celebrations.
File:0_Monument_funéraire_du_pape_Alexandre_VII_-_St-Pierre_-_Vatican_(1).jpg|alt=A large memorial set in a niche. The marble figure of a kneeling pope is surrounded by allegoric marble figures, and sculptured drapery surfaced with patterned red stone.|The tomb of Alexander VII, by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], 1671–1678<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Docs/seminarians4.htm|website=saintpetersbasilica.org|title=The Seminarian GuidesNorth American College, Rome|access-date=29 July 2009|archive-date=3 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703193942/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Docs/seminarians4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
File:Rome_basilica_st_peter_011c_adjusted.jpg|alt=Peter is shown as a bearded man in draped garment like a toga. He is seated on a chair made of marble, and has his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing while in his left hand he holds two large keys. Behind the statue, the wall is patterned in mosaic to resemble red and gold brocade cloth.|The bronze statue of Saint Peter holding the keys of heaven, attributed to [[Arnolfo di Cambio]]
File:Michelangelo's_Pietà,_St_Peter's_Basilica_(1498–99).jpg|alt=This marble statue shows the Virgin Mary seated, mourning over the lifeless body of Jesus which is supported across her knees.|The [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|''Pietà'']] by [[Michelangelo]], 1498–1499, is in the north aisle.
</gallery>

== Archpriests since 1053 ==
[[File:Cardinals_at_StPeters.jpg|alt=The cardinals, all in bright red robes, are grouped near the baldachin.|thumb|Cardinals at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in Saint Peter's Basilica two days before a [[papal conclave]], 16 April 2005]]
List of [[Archpriest|archpriests]] of the Vatican Basilica:<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church|title=Essay of a General List of Cardinals (494-2022)|url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/essay.htm|publisher=Salvador Miranda|access-date=22 February 2024|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815045218/https://cardinals.fiu.edu/essay.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first1=Werner|last1=Maleczek|title=Papst und Kardinalskolleg von 1191 bis 1216 : die Kardinäle unter Coelestin III. und Innocenz III|trans-title=Pope and College of Cardinals from 1191 to 1216: the cardinals under Celestine III. and Innocence III|language=de|url=https://archive.org/details/papstundkardinal0000male|location=Wien [Vienna]|publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften [Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences]|date=1984|isbn=978-3-7001-0660-9|via=[[Internet Archive]]}} corrections of Miranda for the period before 1190 until 1254</ref>
[[File:Francis_Inauguration_fc06.jpg|alt= The exterior of the basilica on a sunny day. In the foreground, hundreds of robed priests look towards a podium where there is an altar, and a group of white robed figures attends the Pope.|thumb|The inauguration of [[Pope Francis]] in 2013]]
{{columns-list|* Giovanni (1053)
* [[Deusdedit of San Pietro in Vincoli|Deusdedit]] (1092)
* Azzo (1103–1104)
* Rustico de' Rustici ({{Circa|1128|1131}})
* Griffone (1138–1139)
* Pietro ({{Circa|1140}}?–1144)
* Bernard (1145?–1176?)
* Giovanni da Sutri (1176/78–1180)
* Ugolino di Segni ({{Circa|1191|1200–1206}})
* Guido Pierleoni (1206/7–1228)
* [[Stefano de Normandis dei Conti|Stefano Conti]] (1229–1254)
* Riccardo Annibaldi (1254–1276)
* [[Pope Nicholas III|Giovanni Gaetano Orsini]] (1276–1277)
* [[Matteo Rosso Orsini (cardinal)|Matteo Rosso Orsini]] (1278–1305)
* [[Napoleone Orsini Frangipani]] (1306–1342)
* [[Annibaldo di Ceccano]] (1342–1350)
* Guillaume de La Jugie (1362–1365)
* Rinaldo Orsini (1366–1374)
* Hugues de Saint-Martial (1374–1378)
* Philippe d'Alençon (1378–1397)
* Cristoforo Maroni (1397–1404)
* [[Angelo II Acciaioli|Angelo Acciaioli]] (1404–1408)
* Antonio Calvi (1408–1411)
* Pedro Fernandez de Frias (1412–1420)
* [[Antonio Correr (cardinal)|Antonio Correr]] (1420–1429)
* [[Lucido Conti]] (1429–1434)
* [[Giordano Orsini (died 1438)|Giordano Orsini]] (1434–1438)
* [[Giuliano Cesarini]] (1439–1444)
* [[Pope Paul II|Pietro Barbo]] (1445–1464)
* Richard Olivier (1464–1470)
* [[Giovanni Battista Zeno]] (1470–1501)
* [[Juan López (cardinal)|Juan López]] (1501)
* [[Ippolito d'Este]] (1501–1520)
* Marco Cornaro (1520)
* Franciotto Orsini (1520–1530)
* [[Francesco Cornaro (1478–1543)|Francesco Cornaro]] (1530–1543)
* [[Alessandro Farnese (cardinal)|Alessandro Farnese]] (1543–1589)
* Giovanni Evangelista Palotta (1589–1620)
* [[Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese]] (1620–1633)
* [[Francesco Barberini (seniore)|Francesco Barberini]] (1633–1667)
* [[Carlo Barberini]] (1667–1704)
* [[Francesco Nerli (iuniore)]] (1704–1708)
* [[Annibale Albani]] (1712–1751)
* [[Henry Benedict Stuart]] (1751–1807)
* [[Romualdo Braschi-Onesti]] (1807–1817)
* [[Alessandro Mattei]] (1817–1820)
* [[Pietro Francesco Galleffi]] (6 May 1820&nbsp;– 18 June 1837)
* [[Giacomo Giustiniani]] (1 July 1837&nbsp;– 24 February 1843)
* [[Mario Mattei]] (11 March 1843&nbsp;– 7 October 1870)
* [[Niccola Paracciani Clarelli]] (8 October 1870&nbsp;– 7 July 1872)
* [[Edoardo Borromeo]] (10 July 1872&nbsp;– 30 November 1881)
* [[Edward Henry Howard]] (12 December 1881&nbsp;– 16 September 1892)
* [[Francesco Ricci Paracciani]] (6 October 1892&nbsp;– 9 March 1894)
* [[Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro]] (21 March 1894&nbsp;– 16 December 1913)
* [[Rafael Merry del Val]] (12 January 1914&nbsp;– 26 February 1930)
* [[Eugenio Pacelli]] (25 March 1930&nbsp;– 2 March 1939)
* [[Federico Tedeschini]] (14 March 1939&nbsp;– 2 November 1959)
* [[Domenico Tardini]] (14 November 1959&nbsp;– 30 July 1961)
* [[Paolo Marella]] (14 August 1961&nbsp;– 8 February 1983)
* [[Aurelio Sabattani]] (8 February 1983&nbsp;– 1 July 1991)<ref name=noe/>
* [[Virgilio Noè]] (1 July 1991<ref name=noe>{{cite book |title=Acta Apostolicae Sedis |url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-83-1991-ocr.pdf |page=631 |date=1991 |volume=LXXXIII |access-date=30 June 2020 |archive-date=16 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516094114/https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-83-1991-ocr.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> – 24 April 2002)<ref name=march/>
* [[Francesco Marchisano]] (24 April 2002<ref name=march>{{cite press release |access-date=30 June 2020 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2002/04/24/0215/00650.html |date=24 April 2002 |language=it |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 24.04.2002 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608084949/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2002/04/24/0215/00650.html |url-status=live }}</ref> – 31 October 2006)<ref name=comas/>
* [[Angelo Comastri]] (31 October 2006<ref name=comas>{{cite press release |access-date=30 June 2020 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2006/10/31/0542/01545.html |date=31 October 2006 |language=it |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 31 October 2006 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607144231/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2006/10/31/0542/01545.html |url-status=live }}</ref> – 20 February 2021)<ref name=gambetti>{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/02/20/210220c.html |access-date=20 February 2021 |date=20 February 2021 |title=Resignations and Appointments, 20.02.2021 |archive-date=9 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609152102/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/02/20/210220c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
**Comastri was named Coadjutor Archpriest on 5 February 2005<ref>{{cite press release |access-date=30 June 2020 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2005/02/05/0072/00181.html |date=5 February 2005 |language=it |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 05.02.2005 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607161806/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2005/02/05/0072/00181.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Mauro Gambetti]] (20 February 2021<ref name=gambetti/> – present)|colwidth=22em}}

== Specifications ==
[[File:Базилика_Светог_Петра,_Ватикан.jpg|thumb|[[Crepuscular rays]] are seen in St. Peter's Basilica at certain times each day.]]
{{columns-list|* Cost of construction of the basilica: more than 46,800,052 [[ducats]]<ref name="scotti">"Since Nicholas V twenty-seven popes over a span of 178 years had imagined this day. They had already spent 46 800 052 ducats (...) And still the building was not done. The basic construction was complete, but the last genius (Bernini) to put his signature on the Basilica was just beginning his work." in {{Harvnb|Scotti|2007|p=241}}.</ref>
* Geographic orientation: chancel west, nave east
* Total length: {{convert|730|ft|m}}
* Total width: {{convert|500|ft|m}}
* Interior length including vestibule: {{convert|693.8|ft|m}},<ref name="cathency"/> more than {{frac|1|8}} mile.
* Length of the transepts in interior: {{convert|451|ft|m}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* Width of nave: {{convert|90.2|ft|m}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* Width at the tribune: {{convert|78.7|ft|m}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* Internal width at transepts: {{convert|451|ft|m}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* Internal height of nave: {{convert|151.5|ft|m}} high<ref name="cathency"/>
* Total area: {{convert|227070|ft2|m2}}, more than {{convert|5|acre|m2}}.
* Internal area: {{convert|163182.2|ft2|acre m2|2}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* Height from pavement to top of cross: {{convert|448.1|ft|m}}<ref name="DomeHeight" />
* Façade: {{convert|167|ft|m}} high by {{convert|375|ft|m}} wide
* Vestibule: {{convert|232.9|ft|m}} wide, {{convert|44.2|ft|m}} deep, and {{convert|91.8|ft|m}} high<ref name="cathency"/>
* The internal columns and pilasters: {{convert|92|ft|m}} tall
* The circumference of the central piers: {{convert|240|ft|m}}
* Outer diameter of dome: {{convert|137.7|ft|m}}<ref name="cathency"/>
* The drum of the dome: {{convert|630|ft|m}} in circumference and {{convert|65.6|ft|m}} high, rising to {{convert|240|ft|m}} from the ground
* The lantern: {{convert|63|ft|m}} high
* The ball and cross: {{convert|8|and|16|ft|m}}, respectively
* St. Peter's Square: {{convert|1115|ft|m}} long, {{convert|787.3|ft|m}} wide<ref name="cathency"/>
* Each arm of the colonnade: {{convert|306|ft|m}} long, and {{convert|64|ft|m}} high
* The colonnades have 284 columns, 88 pilasters, and 140 statues<ref name="cathency"/>
* Obelisk: {{convert|83.6|ft|m}}. Total height with base and cross, {{convert|132|ft|m}}.
* Weight of obelisk: {{convert|360.2|short ton|kg lb}}<ref name="cathency"/>|colwidth=30em}}

== See also ==
[[File:Rom,_Vatikan,_Petersdom_-_Silhouette_bei_Sonnenuntergang_3.jpg|alt=The dark silhouette of St. Peter's dome set against the orange, evening sky and setting sun.|thumb|[[Silhouette]] of St. Peter's Basilica at sundown (view from [[Castel Sant'Angelo]]).]]

* [[Architecture of cathedrals and great churches]]
* [[Architecture of Rome]]
* [[History of early modern period domes]]
* [[List of tallest domes]]
* [[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]
* [[List of basilicas in Italy]]
* [[List of oldest church buildings]]
* [[List of Roman Catholic basilicas]]
* [[List of tallest buildings in Rome]]
* [[List of tallest structures built before the 20th century]]
* [[List of tourist attractions in Rome]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot|40em}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|indent=y|colwidth=30em}}

* {{cite journal|last=Bannister|first=Turpin|year=1968|title=The Constantinian Basilica of Saint Peter at Rome|journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians|volume=27|issue=1|pages=3–32|author-link=Turpin Bannister|oclc=19640446|doi=10.2307/988425|jstor=988425}}{{subscription required|date=December 2012}}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Basilica of St. Peter|title=Basilica of St. Peter|first=Paul Maria|last=Baumgarten}}
* {{cite journal|last=Betts|first=Richard J.|year=1993|title=Structural Innovation and Structural Design in Renaissance Architecture|journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians|volume=52|number=1|jstor=990755|pages=5–25|doi=10.2307/990755}}
* {{cite journal|last=Boorsch|first=Suzanne|year=1982|title=The Building of the Vatican: The Papacy and Architecture|journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin|location=New York|volume=XL|issue=3|oclc=39642638|pages=4–64|doi=10.2307/3258914|jstor=3258914}}
* {{cite book|last=Dzyubanskyy|first=Taras|title=The Development of the Cult of St. Peter in the Vatican: from the poor man's grave to the largest basilica in the world|location=Lviv|publisher=Artos|year=2010|isbn=9789662154535}}
* {{cite journal|last=Finch|first=Margaret|year=1991|title=The Cantharus and Pigna at Old Saint Peter's|journal=Gesta|volume=30|issue=1|pages=16–26|doi=10.2307/767006|jstor=767006|s2cid=155861160}}{{subscription required|date=December 2012}}
* {{cite book|last1=Fletcher|first1=Banister F.|title=History of Architecture on the Comparative Method for the student, craftsman, and amateur|publisher=Batsford|location=London|orig-date=1896|year=1921|edition=6th, enlarged|author-link=Banister Flight Fletcher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XhFAQAAMAAJ|access-date=22 February 2024|archive-date=1 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101193110/https://books.google.com/books?id=0XhFAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last=Frommel|first=Christoph|year=1986|title=Papal Policy: The Planning of Rome during the Renaissance in The Evidence of Art: Images and Meaning in History|journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History|location=Cambridge|volume=17|issue=1|pages=39–65|issn=0022-1953|doi=10.2307/204124|jstor=204124|url=http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/6975/1/Frommel_Papal_policy_1988.pdf|access-date=6 September 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727231150/http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/6975/1/Frommel_Papal_policy_1988.pdf|url-status=live}}{{subscription required|date=December 2012}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gardner|first1=Helen|author-link=Helen Gardner (art historian)|last2=Kleiner|first2=Fred S.|last3=Mamiya|first3=Christin J.|title=Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective|publisher=Wadsworth|location=Belmont|year=2005|edition=12th|isbn=978-0-495-00479-0|volume=2|pages=499–500, 571–575}}
* {{cite book|last=Goldscheider|first=Ludwig|title=Michelangelo|url=https://archive.org/details/michelangelopain0000gold|url-access=registration|publisher=Phaidon|location=Oxford|year=1996|isbn=978-0-7148-3296-8|edition=6th}}
* {{cite book|last=Hartt|first=Frederick|title=History of Italian Renaissance Art|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Englewood Cliffs|year=2006|isbn=978-0-13-188247-8|edition=6th|author-link=Frederick Hartt}}
* {{cite book|last1=Hintzen-Bohlen|first1=Brigitte|title=Rome and the Vatican City|first2=Jürgen|last2=Sorges|publisher=Könemann|location=Köln|year=2001|isbn=978-3-8290-3109-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Korn|first=Frank J.|title=Hidden Rome|publisher=Paulist Press|location=New York|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8091-4109-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Lanciani|first=Rodolfo|title=Pagan and Christian Rome|year=1892|publisher=Houghton, Mifflin and Company|location=Boston and New York|chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/3*.html|chapter=Chapter III: Christian Churches|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826191648/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/3%2A.html|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Lees-Milne|first=James|title=Saint Peter's – the story of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|location=London|year=1967|oclc=1393052|url=http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/JLM/SaintPeters-1.htm|author-link=James Lees-Milne|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420105331/http://stpetersbasilica.info/Docs/JLM/SaintPeters-1.htm|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last=McClendon|first=Charles|year=1989|title=The History of the Site of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome|journal=Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal|volume=25|pages=32–65|issn=0079-0958|doi=10.2307/1567138|jstor=1567138}}
* {{cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Nikolaus|title=An Outline of European Architecture|author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Baltimore|year=1963|isbn=978-0-14-020109-3|edition=7th|oclc=2208913|url=https://archive.org/details/outlineofeuropea00pevs}}
* {{cite book|last=Pile|first=John F.|title=A History of Interior Design|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|location=London|year=2005|isbn=978-1-856-69418-6|edition=second|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVQJvcI1XeoC|access-date=19 October 2019|archive-date=22 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222140143/https://books.google.com/books?id=YVQJvcI1XeoC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Pinto|first=Pio|title=The Pilgrim's Guide to Rome|publisher=Harper & Row|location=San Francisco|year=1975|isbn=978-0-06-013388-7|url=https://archive.org/details/pilgrimsguidetor00pint}}
* {{cite book|last=Scotti|first=R. A.|title=Basilica: the Splendor and the Scandal – Building of St. Peter's|publisher=Plume|location=New York|year=2007|isbn=978-0-452-28860-7|url=https://archive.org/details/basilicasplendor00rasc}}
* {{Citation|last=Rasch|first=Jürgen|year=1985|title=Die Kuppel in der römischen Architektur. Entwicklung, Formgebung, Konstruktion|periodical=Architectura|volume=15|pages=117–139}}
* {{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/11/1118_vaticanmain.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011120052619/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/11/1118_vaticanmain.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 November 2001|title=Inside the Vatican|date=28 October 2010|orig-year=2004|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]|work=National Geographic News|access-date=30 December 2008}}
* {{cite web|title=Saint Peter's – Truth Unveiled: Bernini's Bell Towers and the Allegory of Truth: Urban VIII's Bell Towers|url=http://bernini2013.org/truth-unveiled-by-time/urban-viiis-bell-towers/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610233733/http://bernini2013.org/truth-unveiled-by-time/urban-viiis-bell-towers/|archive-date=10 June 2014}}

{{refend}}

== External links ==

* {{Official website|https://www.basilicasanpietro.va/en/}} {{in lang|it}}
* [https://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_pietro/vr_tour/index-en.html "Virtual Reality Tour of the Basilica of Saint Peter"]
* [http://www.stpetersbasilica.info St Peter's Basilica.info] ‒ unofficial website on the basilica, with images and text from different books.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150720001706/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150720-Vatican-360-Degree-Tour-Saint-Peters-Basilica/ 360 Degree Photographs Inside Saint Peter's Basilica]
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?q=vatican&ll=41.901806,12.455138&spn=0.004081,0.007298&t=h&hl=en Google Maps]: Vatican ‒ Satellite image of the Basilica
* [https://cbarnard2.wixsite.com/beggarsrome/copy-of-s-cecilia-in-trastevere-4 "Beggar's Rome"] - A self-directed virtual tour of St. Peter's Basilica and other Roman churches
* [https://stpetersbasilica.info/Confessio/Confessio.htm Confessio by Carlo Maderno]

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