St. Peter’s Basilica | History, Architects, Relics, Art, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

Also called:

New St. Peter’s Basilica

News •

St. Peter’s Basilica, present basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City (an enclave in Rome), begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed in 1615 under Paul V. It is designed as a three-aisled Latin cross with a dome at the crossing, directly above the high altar, which covers the shrine of St. Peter the Apostle. St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture and features many notable Baroque elements. It is often regarded as the greatest building of its age.

The edifice—the church of the popes—is a major pilgrimage site. Frequently drawing crowds of tens of thousands of Catholics, both the basilica and its adjoining St. Peter’s Square are used for a number of liturgies presided over by the pope throughout the year. Together with the Basilica of St. John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano), the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (all three of which are in Rome), St. Peter’s Basilica is one of only four churches in the world that hold the rank of major basilica. Until 1989 St. Peter’s was the largest church in Christendom. In that year it was exceeded in size by the newly built basilica in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

The idea of building the church was conceived by Pope Nicholas V (reigned 1447–55), who was prompted by the state in which he found Old St. Peter’s Basilica—walls leaning far out of the perpendicular and frescoes covered with dust. In 1452 Nicholas ordered Bernardo Rossellino to begin the construction of a new apse west of the old one, but the work stopped with Nicholas’s death. Paul II, however, entrusted the project to Giuliano da Sangallo (see Sangallo family) in 1470.

On April 18, 1506, Julius II laid the first stone for the new basilica. It was to be erected in the form of a Greek cross according to the plan of Donato Bramante. On Bramante’s death (1514) Leo X commissioned as his successors Raphael, Fra Giovanni Giocondo, and Giuliano da Sangallo, who modified the original Greek cross plan to a Latin cross with three aisles separated by pillars. The architects after Raphael’s death in 1520 were Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, Baldassarre Peruzzi, and Andrea Sansovino.

After the sack of Rome in 1527, Paul III (1534–49) entrusted the undertaking to Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, who returned to Bramante’s plan and erected a dividing wall between the area for the new basilica and the eastern part of the old one, which was still in use. On Sangallo’s death (1546) Paul III commissioned the aged Michelangelo as chief architect, a post he held under Julius III and Pius IV. At the time of Michelangelo’s death in 1564, the drum for the massive dome was practically complete. He was succeeded by Pirro Ligorio and Giacomo da Vignola. Gregory XIII (1572–85) placed Giacomo della Porta in charge of the work. The dome, modified from Michelangelo’s design, was finally completed at the insistence of Sixtus V (1585–90), and Gregory XIV (1590–91) ordered the erection of the lantern above it. Clement VIII (1592–1605) demolished the apse of Old St. Peter’s and erected the new high altar over the altar of Calixtus II.

Paul V (1605–21) adopted Carlo Maderno’s plan, giving the basilica the form of a Latin cross by extending the nave to the east, thus completing the 615-foot- (187-meter-) long main structure. Maderno also completed the facade of St. Peter’s and added an extra bay on each end to support campaniles. Although Maderno left designs for these campaniles, only one was built, and that was of a different design executed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1637. Under the commission of Alexander VII (1655–67), Bernini designed the elliptical piazza, outlined by colonnades, that serves as the approach to the basilica.

Relics and art

Visit St. Peter's Basilica and learn about the history and architectural styles of this holy placeTake a tour of St. Peter's Basilica in this video.

See all videos for this article

Bernini arranged prominent niches for four of the important holy relics housed (or once housed) within the basilica: the Veil of Veronica, part of the True Cross, a piece of the Holy Lance, and the skull of St. Andrew the Apostle. Bernini had these relics inserted into loggias built into the piers on which the dome rests. Each loggia is adorned with a bas-relief of Carrara marble to illustrate the relic within and features two ancient columns decorated with vine leaves, which were once part of the old basilica.

In addition to these four relics of the early church, the basilica and the grottos below hold the bodies or relics of numerous saints and popes. About 90 popes are buried in the papal tombs, including the first pope, St. Peter the Apostle; popes buried within the church itself are St. Leo I, St. Gregory the Great, Urban VIII, St. Pius X, St. John XXIII, and St. John Paul II. Relics of major saints include those of St. Luke the Evangelist, St. Simon the Apostle, St. Jude the Apostle, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. John Chrysostom.

The interior of St. Peter’s is filled with many masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art, among the most famous of which are Michelangelo’s Pietà, the baldachin by Bernini over the main altar, the statue of St. Longinus in the crossing, the tomb of Urban VIII, and the bronze cathedra of St. Peter in the apse.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by René Ostberg.