A Guide to
​St Peter's Basilica

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The Nave

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Nave

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The barrel-vaulted nave is 90 metres long, 26 metres wide and 44.5 metres high. It consists of four bays, which are divided by pairs of pilasters, 25 metres high.

St Peter of Alcantara & St Lucy Filippini

Between each pair of pilasters are two niches, which house statues of saints who founded religious orders or institutes. 

On the right:
St Teresa of Avila, Discalced Carmelites (Statue by Filippo Della Valle, 1754).
St Madeleine Sophie Barat, Society of the Sacred Heart (Enrico Quattrini, 1934).

St Vincent de Paul, Lazarists (Pietro Bracci, 1754).
St John Eudes, Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Silvio Silva, 1932).

St Philip Neri, Oratorians (Giovanni Battista Maini, 1734).
St John Baptist de la Salle, Brothers of the Christian Schools (Cesare Aureli, 1904).

St John Bosco, Salesians (Pietro Canonica, 1936).

On the left:
St Peter of Alcántara, Alacantarini (Francisco Vergara Bartual, 1713). 
St Lucy Filippini, Maestre Pie Filippini (Silvio Silva, 1949).

St Camillus de Lellis, Camillians (Pietro Pacilli, 1753).
St Louis de Montfort, Company of Mary (Giacomo Parisini, 1948).

St Ignatius of Loyola, Jesuits (Camillo Rusconi, 1733).
St Anthony Zaccaria, Barnabites (Cesare Aureli, 1909).

St Francis of Paola, Minim friars (Giovanni Battista Maini, 1732).
St Peter Fourier, Congregation of Notre Dame (Louis Noel Nicoli, 1899).

Two of the Allegorical Statues of Virtues

In the spandrels of each of the bay arches are two allegorical stucco statues of the Virtues. They were mostly added between 1647 and 1649 under the supervision of Bernini. However, the four statues of Faith, Charity,  Justice and Fortitude were created in 1599 and 1600 by Ambrogio Buonvicino and Camillo Mariani. 

Left: Ecclesiastical Authority &  Divine Justice; Virginity & Obedience; Humility & Patience;  Justice (1599) & Fortitude. (1600). 

Right: Fortitude & Mercy; Constancy & Clemency; Peace & Innocence; Faith (1599) & Charity (1599). 

Coat of Arms of Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55)

The image of the dove with a sprig of laurel in its beak, which we see at the top and bottom of the sides of each pier, is part of the coat of arms of Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55), a member of the Pamphilj family, who commissioned Bernini to complete the decoration of the nave. In addition to the cherubs, doves and symbols of the papacy (such as the tiara and the keys), there is also a huge image in opus sectile of the pope's coat of arms, embedded in the pavement in the centre of the nave. ​

Medallion of St Peter

The marble medallions of 56 of the early saint-popes, which are represented in chronological order on the piers of the nave and the sides of the lateral chapels, were designed by Bernini for Pope Innocent XI (r. 1676-89). The medallions are the work of many sculptors. The series begins with St Peter, located on the side of the third pier on the left, and concludes with Pope St Benedict II, on a pier next to the Chapel of the Pieta.

The long Latin inscription (black letters on a gold background), which starts above the statue of St Peter and runs around the top of the entire nave, declares: QVODCVMQVE LIGAVERIS SVPERTERRAM ERIT LIGATVM ET IN COELIS ET QVODCVMQVE SOLVERIS SVPERTERRAM ERIT SOLVTVM ET IN COELIS EGO ROGAVI PRO TE O PETRE VT NON DEFICIAT FIDES TVA ET TV ALIQVANDO CONVERSES CONFIRMA FRATRES TVOS (Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed also in Heaven. I have prayed for thee O Peter, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren). The text is adapted from the gospels of St Luke (22.32) and St Matthew (16:19).

Coat of Arms of Pope Pius VI

The decoration of the twenty-seven-metre-wide barrel vault (44.5 m high) was commissioned by Pope Pius VI (r. 1775-99), whose coat of arms adorns the central roundel.  ​​​

Porphyry Disc in the Nave

St Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world, at least in terms of its length (186.36 meters), a fact that is inscribed in the very fabric of the building. There are a series of markers in the nave which note the lengths of its nearest rivals. 

Plaque Marking the Size of St Peter's Basilica

A few feet in front of the central door is a large, red porphyry disc, one of a total of six, which once ran up the centre of the nave in the old basilica. Five of the discs have disappeared and the one which has survived would originally have been located in front of the main altar. It was on this stone that Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, knelt to be crowned by Pope Leo III (r. 795-816) on Christmas Eve, 800. Another fifteen emperors would be crowned on the same disc. By the time the present basilica was built such coronations had come to an end. ​​

One of The Two Holy Water Stoups

The two holy-water stoups (acquasentiere) were commissioned by Pope Benedict XIII (r. 1724-30) and designed by Agostino Cornacchini (1686-1754). The shells of yellow marble are the work of Giuseppe Lirone, while the two-metre tall chubby cherubs were carved by Francesco Moderati and Giovanni Battista de Rossi.

Coat of Arms of Pope Pius XI

The Holy Year of Redemption, which was proclaimed by Pius XI (r. 1922-39) for 1933, is marked by a large depiction of the pope's coat of arms in the floor of the nave.

Upper Section of the Counter-facade

One of the two clocks on the counter-facade is a six-hour-clock. The six-hour-clock (sistema orario a sei ore), which is also known as the sistema alla romana or the sistema all' italiana, was a system of time-keeping that was used before the introduction of the twenty-four hour clock. A new day started with the recital of the Ave Maria at the end of twilight, approximately half an hour after sunset; the following twenty-four hours were divided into four six-hour-cycles. 

Each of the three doors of the nave is surmounted by a large tablet of dedication. The tablet on the left, although it bears the name of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21), was actually erected by Pope Urban VIII to replace one erected by Paul V. In essence, the Latin inscription declares that Paul V completed the church begun by Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13), adding the facade and portico. 

The tablet in the centre was erected by Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55) and the inscription celebrates the pope's embellishment of the nave and aisles. 

 The tablet on the right was erected by Pope Urban VIII (r. 1633-44) and the inscription hails the pope's consecration of the basilica (which took place on November 18th 1626) and his embellishment of the choir, altars and chapels. It also makes a specific reference to the erection of Bernini's baldacchino.  

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