A Guide to St Peter's Basilica in Rome

A Guide to
St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica

The Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano stands on the site where St Peter is thought to have been buried. The present basilica is the second church to have been erected here; the first was built by Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337).

Constantine’s basilica stood for more than a thousand years until Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13) instructed the architect Donato Bramante (1444-1514) to design and build a new church. The first stone was laid on April 18th 1506. 120 years later, on November 18th 1626, the new basilica was consecrated by Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44).

Inscription to Pope Paul V

The facade, which is 114 metres (376 ft) wide and 45 metres (150 ft) high, was designed by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) and built between 1608 and 1612, during the reign of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21). It is emblazoned with a long inscription, which proclaims, in letters one-metre-high: IN · HONOREM · PRINCIPIS · APOST · PAVLVS · V · BVRGHESIVS· ROMANVS · PONT · MAX · AN · MDCXII · PONT · VII (In honour of the Prince of Apostles, Paul V, Borghese, Roman, Pontifex Maximus, the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate).

Coat of arms of Pope Paul V

The facade sports the coat of arms of Pope Paul V.

Christ the Redeemer flanked by St John the Baptist and St Andrew

The facade is crowned with thirteen six-metre-high statues, which were executed between 1612 and 1614 by a host of sculptors. In addition to Christ, the statues depict the twelve apostles, with John the Baptist replacing Peter.

Christ the Redeemer by Cristoforo Stati

From left to right, the statues depict: St Thaddeus (Carlo Fancelli), St Matthew (Bernardino Cennini), St Philip (Simeon Drouin), St Thomas (Simeon Drouin), St James the Great (Egidio Moretti), St John the Baptist (Simeon Drouin), Christ the Redeemer (Cristoforo Stati), St Andrew (Carlo Fancelli), St John the Evangelist (Antonio Valsoldo), St James the Less (Cristoforo Stati), St Bartholomew (Egidio Moretti), St Simon (Bernardino Cennini), St Matthias (Giuseppe Fontana).

Benediction Loggia

In the centre of the facade is the Benediction Loggia. Twice a year, at Easter and at Christmas, the Pope steps out onto the balcony to deliver his blessing Urbi e Orbi (to the City and to the World).

It is also on this balcony that a new Pope is first introduced to the world, with the words: 'Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, habemus papem' ('I announce to you with great joy, we have a Pope').

Christ Consigning the Keys to Peter by Ambrogio Buonvicino, facade of St Peter's Basilica, Rome

Christ Consigning the Keys to Peter (1612) by Ambrogio Buonvicino

The sculpture beneath the balcony depicts Christ Consigning the Keys to Peter (1612) and is the signed work of Ambrogio Buonvicino (c. 1552-1622), a sculptor from Milan. He proudly declares: AMBROSIVS BONVICINVS MEDIOLANE FACIEBAT.

Inscription, Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter by Buonvicino, Facade of St Peter's Basilica, Rome

Inscription by Buonvicino

The sculpture illustrates a passage from St Matthew's Gospel when Christ addresses Peter: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," (16:19, KJV).

North clock

South clock

The two elaborately ornate clocks, at either end of the facade, were designed by the Roman architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839) and added in 1790.

Beneath the clock on the left is the campanone (great bell), which was blessed by Pope Pius VI (r. 1775-99) in 1786. It is rung at Christmas, Easter, the Feast Day of St Peter and St Paul (June 29th), and each time the pope delivers his 'Urbi e Orbi' ('to the City and the World') blessing.

A detail of the facade

The Interior

1: Portico
a: Door of Death
b: Door of Good and Evil
c: Central Door
d: Door of the Sacraments
e: Holy Door
2: Pieta by Michelangelo
3: Monument to Queen Christina
4: Monument to Pope Leo XII
5. Monument to Pope Pius XI
6. Altar of St Sebastian
7. Monument to Pope Pius XII
8. Monument to Matilda of Canossa
9. Monument to Pope Innocent XII
10. Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
11. Monument to Pope Gregory XIV
12. Monument to Pope Gregory XIII
13. Altar of St Jerome
14. Monument to Pope Gregory XVI
15. Altar of the Madonna of Succour
16. Altar of St Basil
17. Monument to Pope Benedict XIV
18. North Transept
19. Altar of St Wenceslas
20. Altar of St Processus and St Martinian

21. Altar of St Erasmus
22. Monument to Pope Clement XIII
23. Altar of the Navicella
24. Altar of St Michael the Archangel
25. Altar of St Petronilla
26. Monument to Pope Clement X
27. Altar of St Peter Raising Tabitha
28. Tribune
29. Cathedra Petri
30. Monument to Pope Paul III
31. Monument to Pope Urban VIII
32. Monument to Pope Alexander VIII
33. Altar of St Peter Healing the Cripple
34. Altar of Pope Leo the Great
35. Altar of the Madonna of the Column
36. Monument to Pope Alexander VII
37. Altar of the Sacred Heart
38. South transept
39. Altar of St Thomas
40. Altar of St Joseph
41. Altar of the Crucifixion of St Peter
42. Baldacchino
43. Confessio
44. Statue of St Longinus

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