Saint Peter's Basilica
Saint Peter’s Basilica is a catholic church located within the Vatican
City, and overlooking Saint Peter’s Square.
The famous square, where pilgrims gather every day, is a marvellous
example of Baroque architecture and town planning.
The giant oval order of columns stretching across the end of the square
symbolizes two huge arms embracing the devotees.
As Bernini stated "Being almost like a matrix for all the other churches,
Saint Peter’s Basilica ought to have a colonnade welcoming everyone,
from the catholic believers to confirm their faith, to the heretics to
reunite them with the Church, to the infidels show them the true faith".The
triple colonnade relates to a topic of the Old Testament, where Ezekiel
describes the area outside God's Temple as a porticus incta portici
triplici, as well as a symbol of the Trinity Dogma.
As it is said in the paper records, the concave shape of the square
creates a "theatre" effect, because when the square is flocked with
people the crowd can see themselves, like in a cavea.
Saint Peter’s Basilica is the main papal basilica, the centre of the
Catholic religion, and is often referred to as the biggest church in the
world. The main catholic events, including the Pope proclamation, take
place there.
Architects like Bramante, Rapahel, Michelangelo, Maderno, and Bernini
designed the Basilica, and several other artists embellished it with
their statues and works of art.
In the right aisle is Michelangelo's Pietà (1499), a white marble
masterpiece now protected by a glass frame after being seriously damaged
by a mentally disordered person in 1972. In the left aisle is the Chapel
of the baptistery, designed by Carlo Fontana and decorated with mosaic
tiles. The aisle also contains the tombs of Pius X, John XXIII, and
Benedict XV.
DID YOU KNOW...? Saint Peter’s Dome is not only the symbol of the
Basilica itself but also of Rome and the Vatican City. It was built in
only two years' time by Giacomo della Porta according to Michelangelo’s
designs. It consists of two vaults placed one on top of the other, being
the internal one thicker and the external one a protection of the former.
The same design was used by Brunelleschi for the Dome of Florence.
Visiting Saint Peter’s Dome will allow you to enjoy one of the most
suggestive views of Rome, as long as you will toil for it. In fact, the
elevator will take you up to a certain height, and then you will have to
proceed on foot 330 steps up! Going up is not easy and as you proceed
the walls get narrower, so we advise anybody who suffers from
claustrophobia or vertigo against visiting it.
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