INTRO

 The Basilica Papale di San Pietro, commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica
 One of the four major basilicas of Rome, among Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul,
and St. John Lateran
 Now the pope's principal church
 Built according to tradition above the burial site of St. Peter, one of the twelve
disciples of Jesus and the first bishop of Rome
 To maintain tradition, popes are now buried within the basilica

HISTORY

 Designed as a replacement for the old Constantinian church which had been
erected around 320 BCE
 Construction began in 1506, under Pope Julius II, and was completed in 1626,
under Pope Urban VIII
 The Christian Church was inseparably linked with the arts, becoming the greatest
sponsor and patron across Europe
 Commissioned pieces were intended to inspire religious congregations with the
Christian message; artists were instructed to represent the New Testament
precisely. (Architecture, sculptures, decorative art such as stained glass, tapestry
art, murals, mosaics, icon paintings)
 Pope Nicholas V was the first to propose the idea of replacing the old
Constantinian basilica
 He commissioned Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino to produce a
plan for the new structure
 Julius II took over as pontiff in 1503
 He decided to demolish the old basilica and replace it with a new one to house
his large tomb
 A long succession of popes, architects, designers, and stonemasons saw the
project through to completion in 1626

EXTERIOR:

 Remains one of the largest churches in the world, with its 187-meter length and
133-meter-tall cupola.
 Built of travertine stone
 452 feet high, 730 feet in length, 500 feet in width, covering an area of 2.3
hectares, and large enough for 60 000 people
  The largest Christian church in the world until 1989

MADERNO'S FACADE

 The Basilica is approached via St. Peter's Square, an elliptical forecourt encircled
by a Doric colonnade that ends at the facade
 Designed by Carlo Maderno, the facade features a giant order of Corinthian
columns (each 90 feet high) that is topped by thirteen statues - Christ, the eleven
apostles excluding Peter, and John the Baptist
 The ground level is approached by steps guarded by two 18-feet high statues of
St. Peter and Paul

DOME

 The tallest dome in the world

INTERIOR

 Latin cross plan; cruciform in shape, elongated nave that is framed by wide aisles
giving access to several chapels
 Decorate in Baroque Style
 General decorations were incrustations, stucco figures, rich gilding, mosaic
decoration, and marble figures on the pilasters, ceiling, and walls

ARCHITECTS:

 The lengthy and intermittent progress of its construction illustrates the changing
course of High Renaissance art towards a break from strict, antique precedent to
the freer eclectic tendencies of Mannerism, and ultimately the Baroque
 15th Century
 The Constantian Basilica, also known as the Old St. Peter's Basilica, was falling
apart
 The pope of the time, Nicholas V, decided to have it restored, entrusting the task
to Bernardo Rossellino, under the supervision of Leon Battista Alberti
 The project he proposed was somewhat bold; Rossellino wanted to demolish the
old church and build a new one
 Nicholas V approved the project but died soon after when all that had been built
was only a wall erected on the outside of Old St. Peter's
 The 7 popes that succeeded him chose instead to enrich the existing building
 Pope Julius II was rather ambitious, commissioning Michelangelo to sculpt his
tomb that came to be an enormous, pyramid-shaped, monument that featured 40
life-sized statues
 However, there was not enough space inside the Constantinian church to fit the
tomb
 Apart from creating a space for his funerary monument, Julius II wanted to deal
with the increasingly precarious conditions of the old basilica and give the
general public a new, majestic place of worship
 Bramante was the architect responsible for this project; he proposed a Greek-
cross plan, towered over by a large central dome
 The first stone was laid in 1506; however, between 1513 and 1514, both the
pope and Bramante passed, completing only the four pillars meant to support the
dome
 The new pontiff, Leo X, relied on the skill of Raphael at the time. Unfortunately,
Raphael's idea of altering the shape of the plan into a Latin cross was ceased
due to his untimely death
 Its interior would have featured an intricate play of light and shadow
 Following Raphael, chief architect Antonio da Sangallo widened Bramante's
floor plan so that it would cover the entire surface of the old basilica, which was
considered to be sacred ground
 To achieve this goal, Sangallo positioned the facade between two bell towers
and connected it to the main body of the church by a vestibule
 Pope Paul III requested for Sangallo to make a wooden model of his project,
which itself took eight years and cost as much as an actual church; this model
can be found today in one of the basilica's octagons
 Michelangelo Buonarroti took over the assignment following Sangallo's death
 At the time, he was already over 70 years old and initially had no plans of
accepting the pope's offer until he was forced to
 Michelangelo was not an admirer of his predecessor's work and so demolished
many parts that had been built
 He went back to Bramante's original plans and designed an enormous cupola as
the central element of the basilica, taking inspiration from that of Duomo of
Florence, designed by Brunelleschi
  Upon his death, all that was missing from the new basilica were the corner
chapels, the facade, and the cupola, of which only the drum and its columns had
been completed
 In 1587, the task of completing the cupola was passed onto Giacomo della
Porta and his assistant Domenico Fontana, which took only two years to
complete
 Carlo Maderno took over in 1603, and at the time, the new basilica still
coexisted with its old counterpart
 There was a growing number of people who opposed the demolition of the old
church, suggesting that it be still part of the structure
 Nevertheless, Pope Paul V decided to demolish the old walls that were already
starting to crumble
 The pope also has Maderno extend the eastern wing of the new church, thus
covering the surface of the old Basilica; the facade now projected forward
 Maderno also created a three-naved structure to connect the facade to
Michelangelo's structure, that way the basilica acquired a longitudinal Latin-cross
shape
 The cupola was then positioned further away from the entrance, framed between
the two bell towers since the facade was too flat for the cupola to stand out
 Neither Maderno nor Lorenzo Bernini succeeded in building the towers, as the
underlying soil was too soft
 Finally, in 1626, the construction was completed and was consecrated by Pope
Urban VIII
 The remaining task of finalizing the interior was handed to Bernini. He created
two grand altars and a bronze canopy, the Baldacchino, found above the altar in
the transept, which took care of two practical concerns: filling the space between
the floor and the cupola without blocking the view of the other altar in the apse
 Among Bernini's contributions were the flooring of the basilica, the chair of St.
Peter (Cathedra Petri), the adornment of the cupola's four pillars, sculptures, and
tombs, and the magnificent colonnade outside

EXTRA INFO:

 Note that it is called a papal basilica rather than a cathedral since it is not the
seat of a bishop: the Arch Basilica of St. John Lateran is actually the cathedral
church of Rome. The latter functions as the principal church for worshippers who
live in Rome, whereas the former serves as the focal point for all pilgrims who
come to Rome, as well as locals.
 The Sampietrini, a specialist group of workers who maintain the Basilica,
continually scale and inspect the building's surfaces
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

 The Basilica is built in the traditional Renaissance architecture

Cupola

Vatican Grottoes

Contains more than 100 tombs, as well as chapels, dedicated to the popes and saints
and are adorned with frescos, sarcophagi, paintings, and inscriptions

St Peter's Tomb

St. Peter was said to be crucified in Caligula's Circus back in 64 CE and buried at a spot
on the Vatican Hill. Eventually, during the reign of Constantinople. a church was built on
the tomb of St. Peter, which later became the basilica we know today

Pieta

A Carrara marble structure by Michelangelo that depicts Jesus after his crucifixion in the
lap of Mother Mary

Baldachin

A Baroque-style canopy that roofs over the altar under the dome and directly above St.
Peter's tomb, becoming the focal point of the hall

The bronze structure was the first of Bernini's work in the Basilica; it took nine years to
complete and was finished in 1634

Cathedra Petri/ Chair of St. Peter/ Seat of the Bishop

An ancient oaken chair that has been repaired and decorated by Bernini, located in the
apse of the basilica and enveloped in a spectacular display of bronze statues of saints,
angels, and the depiction of the holy spirit through a stained glass painting of a dove

SOURCES:

https://www.st-peters-basilica-tickets.com/st-peters-basilica/
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/saint-peters-basilica.htm
https://www.voxmundi.eu/the-architects-of-saint-peters-basilica/