Walks in Rome (Est. 2001)
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    • Altars >
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      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
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    • Pieta
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    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
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      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
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    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
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    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
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Walking Tours of Rome

A Guide to St Peter's Basilica


Statue of St Peter


Bronze statue of St Peter, St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Bronze statue of St Peter

Statue of St Peter

Most scholars date the statue to the time of the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (c.1240-c.1310), but not all agree that he was its creator. Over the centuries, St Peter's toes have been almost worn away by the millions of pilgrims who have kissed or touched it.
​

The wall behind the statue is decorated with what looks, at first sight, to be a piece of velvet brocade, but which is, as closer inspection reveals, a mosaic.

The medallion portrait of Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-78), high up on the wall above the statue of St Peter, is also a mosaic. Pius IX earned this place of honour when, on June 16th, 1871, he became the first pope to reign for twenty-five years. This was thought at the time to equal the number of years that St Peter had reigned as the first Pope, an achievement recorded in the inscription: 'PIO IX PONT MAX QVI PETRI ANNOS IN PONTIFICATV ROMANO VNVS AEQVAVIT CLERVS VATICANVS SACRAM ORNAVIT SEDEM XVI KAL QUINT A MDCCCLXXI' ('The Vatican Clergy embellished the sacred seat for Pius the Ninth, Pontifex Maximus, who alone in the Roman pontificate has equalled the years of Peter, on the sixteenth day before the calends of Quintilis, 1871').  

Pius IX would reign for more than thirty-one years, making his pontificate the longest in history. 

Bronze statue of St Peter & Medallion to Pope Pius IX, St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Bronze statue of St Peter & Medallion to Pope Pius IX

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