St Peter's Basilica

(Local Name: San Pietro in Vaticano) The most famous church in Christendom is St Peter's, dedicated to the Apostle who is believed to have been the first Bishop of Rome, and whose successor each Pope, as supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church, feels himself to be.

The history of St Peter's reflects the history of the Papacy. The original church of St Peter was dedicated by Pope Sylvester I in A.D. 326, thanks to the patronage of the Emperor Constantine. It must have been evident at that time that the site, on the slopes of the Vatican hill, was a difficult one to build on, involving considerable differences of level which had to be allowed for in the foundations; and in addition it was well outside the city. That this inconvenient site was nevertheless selected for the building of St Peter's suggests - with some archeological evidence in support - that it was honored in the long memory of Rome as the position of the Apostle's tomb; for Peter was traditionally believed to have been martyred in 64 or 67 in the Imperial gardens on the Vatican hill. Old St Peter's, a five-aisled basilica of the classical type which we know from medieval descriptions, was frequently restored and richly embellished, but after the Pope's return from exile in Avignon and the western schism (when there were a number of Popes at the same time) it was in an advanced stage of dilapidation. Pope Nicholas V accordingly resolved in 1452 to build an entirely new church and to seek the help of all Christendom in building it. (One source of income for this purpose was the sale of indulgences, which provoked Martin Luther to his protest.) Construction began in 1506 and was pushed ahead with all speed, but the completion and embellishment of the church involved every Pope from Julius II (1503-13) to Pius VI (1775-99). A number of architects took part in the work. The first plan was prepared by Bramante, who was accused of embezzlement of funds and the use of poor materials; then followed Raphael, Fra Giocondo, Giuliano da Sangallo, Baldassare Peruzzi, Antonio da Sangallo and finally Michelangelo, who took over in 1547 at the age of 72. He was responsible in particular for the design of the dome, the drum of which was completed by the time he died in 1564. Other architects were Vignola Ligorio, della Porta, Fontana and Maderna (who at Paul V's request, extended the original centralized building towards the square by the addition of a nave).