Walks in Rome (Est. 2001)
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    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
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      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
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      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
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    • Monuments >
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      • Pope Alexander VIII
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      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
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    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
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    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
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    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
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Walking Tours
of Rome

A Guide to St Peter's Basilica


St Peter's Basilica, Rome

St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in the world. It stands above the spot where St Peter is thought to have been buried. The basilica is the second church to have been erected here; the first was built by Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337) between 324 and 329.

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, and 120 years later, on November 18th 1626, the new basilica was consecrated by Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44). 
Picture
The facade, which is 114.69 metres (376.3 ft) wide and 45.55 metres (149.4 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). 
Christ the Redeemer flanked by St John the Baptist and St Andrew, facade of St Peters Basilica, Rome
Christ the Redeemer flanked by St John the Baptist and St Andrew
Christ the Redeemer by Cristoforo Stati, facade of St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Christ the Redeemer by Cristoforo Stati
The facade is crowned with thirteen colossal statues, which were executed by an assortment of sculptors between 1612 and 1614. From left to right they are: 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, St Peter's Basilica, Rome
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). 
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 relief beneath the balcony depicts Christ Consigning the Keys to Peter (1612) and is the signed work of Ambrogio Buonvicino (c. 1552-1622). The scene illustrates the words of St Matthew's Gospel: "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, facade of St Peter's Basilica, Rome
North clock
South clock, facade of St Peter's Basilica, Rome
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. ​

The Interior

Picture
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. Apse
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
45. Statue of St Helena
46. Statue of St Veronica
47.
Statue of St Andrew
48. Dome
49.
Statue of St Peter
50. Monument to Pope Pius VIII
51. Altar of the Lie
52. Altar of St Gregory the Great
53. Monument to Pope Pius VII
54. Altar of the Transfiguration
55. Monument to Pope Leo XI
56. Monument to Pope Innocent XI
57. Chapel of the Choir
58. Monument to Pope Pius X
59. Monument to Pope Innocent VIII
60. Monument to Pope John XXIII
61. Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin 
62. Monument to Pope Benedict XV
63. Monument to Maria Sobieska
64. Monument to the Stuarts
65. Chapel of the Baptistery
66. Rota Porphiretica
67. Nave

Private and SMALL-GROUP walking Tours of Rome

Copyright © David Lown 2001-2021. All Rights Reserved. 
  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque