St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica Sancti Petri in Vaticano) is next to the Vatican Museum the highlight of the Vatican City, not only for Catholics and Christians. It is not the only one, but the largest pontifical basilica in Rome and one of the largest and most important churches in the world. It was built over the tomb of the apostle Peter, after which it was named.
Whoever stands in St. Peter's Square, at first only sees the eastern facade of St. Peter's Basilica, which measures around 115 meters in width, and about 45 meters in height. On the second floor of the facade there are five balconies. From the middle balcony, the so-called Benedictine Loggia, the Pope gives the blessing Urbi et orbi.
On the forecourt to St. Peter's Basilica you can see the sculptures of Peter and Paul. Before entering St. Peter's Basilica, one arrives at the 70-meter-high portico, designed by Carlo Maderno between 1607 and 1614. At the two ends of the portico two equestrian statues are erected depicting Charlemagne and Constantine the Great.
Inside St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica covers an area of 211 meters long and 132 meters wide. And despite the huge interior, the rush of visitors is so great that you always feel crowded, which is a shame given the many details. All the more important is a good preparation or a professional leadership. After entering the basilica, the eye can immediately see the huge canopy and the imposing dome above, with a staircase of 537 steps leading up to it. Of the hundreds of statues and sculptures, Michelangelo's Pietà is likely to be the first port of call for most visitors in a chapel on the north aisle, as it is in the direction of the entrance to the right.
Michelangelo was commissioned to do this work in 1492 and completed it after 7 years of work in 1499, when he was just 25 years old. Since an attack on the sculpture in 1972, the chapel has unfortunately been secured with bulletproof glass and is only accessible to selected visitors. Therefore, you can only see the most beautiful and graceful sculpture of all time through a glass pane. An open replica of the Pietà can be seen in the Vatican Museum. Equally outstanding is the canopy directly under the main dome of St. Peter's Basilica, which stands above the tomb of St. Peter. In addition, there are numerous other treasures and details to discover in St. Peter's Basilica, so that you can spend 1 to 2 hours here.