St. Peter’s
St. Peters is located in the Vatican City, it is a Roman Catholic Church. It is a major Basilica. It was built by Donato Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger , Michelangelo , Giacomo della Porta. It was completed in 1626. It has a capacity of 60,000+ people.
The Basilica of Saint Peter, officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly called Saint Peter's Basilica, is one of four major basilicas of Rome (St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, Santa Maria Maggiore and St. Paul outside the Walls). It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City and built on the ruins of Old Saint Peter's Basilica. Its dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline. Saint Peter's is also incidentally the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, whereas the Lateran Basilica is the patriarchal basilica of Rome. Possibly the largest church building in Christianity, it covers an area of 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom in the Catholic tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Catholic tradition, also the first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome. Although the New Testament does not mention Peter's presence or martyrdom in Rome, Catholic tradition holds that his tomb is below the baldachin and altar; for this reason, many Popes, starting with the first ones, have been buried there. Construction on the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506 and was completed in 1626.
Although the Vatican basilica is not the Pope's official seat (Saint John Lateran), it is most certainly his principal church, as most Papal ceremonies take place at St. Peter's due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City walls. The basilica also holds a relic of the Cathedra Petri, which is, according to Catholic tradition, the episcopal throne of the basilica's namesake when he supposedly led the Roman church, but which is no longer used as the Papal cathedra. It is believed that a piece of this cathedra, or chair, is contained within the altarpiece, designed by Bernini.
St Peter’s Square
Directly to the east of the church is St Peter's Square (Piazza di San Pietro), built by Gianlorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667. It is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade with two pairs of Doric columns which form its breadth, each bearing Ionic entablatures. The colonnade wraps around the square, embracing the faithful in "the motherly arms of the church". This is an excellent example of Baroque architecture, where creativity is coupled with flexible guidelines. In the center of the colonnade is a 25.5 metre (83.6 ft) tall obelisk. Domenico Fontana finished moving the obelisk to its present location on September 28, 1586 by order of Pope Sixtus V. The obelisk dates back to the 13th century BC in Egypt, and was moved to Rome in AD 37 to stand in the Circus of Nero some 250 metres (820 ft) away. Including the cross on top and its base, the obelisk reaches 40 metres (131 ft). The Vatican obelisk is notable for being the second largest standing obelisk and the only one that remained standing since it was erected during the Roman Empire. An original bronze globe on top of the structure was removed when the obelisk was re-erected in St Peter's Square by Domenico Fontana. There are also two fountains in the square, the north one by Maderno (1613) and the southern one by Bernini (1675). The square is reached mainly through the Via della Conciliazione built by Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties.
Dome
There is a widespread assumption that the dome, or cupola, as it presently stands, was designed by Michelangelo, who became chief architect in 1546. In fact, Michelangelo's design called for a spherical dome. At the time of his death (1564), only the drum set, the base on which a dome rests, had been completed. The dome proper was redesigned and vaulted by the architect Giacomo della Porta, with the assistance of Domenico Fontana, who was probably the best engineer of the day. Fontana built the lantern the following year, and the finial was placed in 1593. Many are fascinated by the ability of the artist of who created it.
As built, the double dome is brick, 42.3 meters (138.8 ft) in interior diameter (almost as large as the Pantheon), rising to 120 meters (394 ft) above the floor. In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. (Visitors who climb the spiral stairs between the dome shells can glimpse them.) The four piers of the crossing that support it are each 18 metres (59 ft) across. It is not simply its vast scale (136.57 m or 448.06 ft from the floor of the church to the top of the added cross) that makes it extraordinary. Della Porta's dome is not a hemisphere, but a paraboloid: it has a vertical thrust, which is made more emphatic by the bold ribbing that springs from the paired Corinthian columns, which appear to be part of the drum, but which stand away from it like buttresses, to absorb the outward thrust of the dome's weight. The grand arched openings just visible in the illustration but normally invisible to viewers below, enable access (but not to the public) all around the base of the drum; they are dwarfed by the monumental scale of their surroundings. Above, the vaulted dome rises to Fontana's two-stage lantern, capped with a spire.
The egg-shaped dome exerts less outward thrust than a lower hemispheric one (such as Mansart's at Les Invalides) would have done. The dome conceived by Donato Bramante at the outset in 1503 was planned to be carried out with a single masonry shell, a plan discovered to be infeasible. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger came up with the double shell, and Michelangelo improved upon it. The piers at the crossing, which were the first masonry to be laid, and which were intended to support the original dome, were a constant concern, too slender in Bramante's plan, they were redesigned several times as the dome plans evolved.
The façade is 114.69 metres (376.28 ft) wide and 45.55 metres (149.44 ft) high. On top are statues of Christ, John the Baptist, and eleven of the apostles; The statues of St Peter and St Paul are in front of the parish. Two clocks are on either side of the top, the one on the left has been operated electrically since 1931, its oldest bell dating to 1288.
Between the façade and the interior is the portico. Mainly designed by Maderno, it contains an 18th century statue of Charlemagne by Cornacchini to the south, and an equestrian sculpture of Emperor Constantine by Bernini (1670) to the north. The southernmost door, designed by Giacomo Manzù, is called the "Door of the Dead". The door in the center is by Antonio Averulino (1455), and preserved from the previous basilica.
The northernmost door is the "Holy Door" in bronze by Vico Consorti (1950), which is by tradition, only opened for great celebrations such as Jubilee years. Above it are inscriptions, the top reading PAVLVS V PONT MAX ANNO XIII, and the one just above the door reading GREGORIVS XIII PONT MAX. In between are white slabs commemorating the most recent openings.
(major portions of this info is obtained from www.wikipedia.com)
