Italy Part 1: Vatican City (Citta del Vaticano), St. Peter’s Basilica

 Vatican City is considered an independent state as the pope is given full sovereignty through the Lateran Treaty signed between Mussolini and Pius XI in 1929. Therefore, Vatican City is the smallest 'country' with stamps of its own which tourists would send postcards to themselves through the postal service. Vatican City has its own newspaper, radio station, train station as well and even its own army, the Swiss Guards.

Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City (largest church in Christianity)

Maderno's facade

Every bit of space is used to display the finest Renaissance monuments and decoration.

Dome of the Saint Peter's Basilica by Michelangelo (background)

Egyptian obelisk at the center of Saint Peter's Square, Vatican, Italy

One of the two beautiful fountains in a St. Peter's square. This one (to the right of the obelisk) is actually by Carlo Maderno.

Statue of St. Paul

Gianlorenzo Bernini's monumental colonnade with saints

To say the interior of St. Peter's is impressive would be an obvious understatement, given that it is perhaps the largest church in the world — it covers an area of 23,000 m² (5.7 acres) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people.


I think anybody who visits St. Peter's is overwhelmed by the majesty and the grandeur and the sheer size of this Basilica. When you look up at the ceiling and you see the letters, it says, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,' and you realize that the letters are actually nine feet tall and they look so small from the floor. It gives you some idea of the proportion of the Basilica.

Baldacchino, which was created by Gianlorenzo Bernini

Surrounding the baldacchino are four great piers that support the huge dome. Each pier has a large niche at its base, which is filled with a colossal statue of a saint representing each of the basilica's four major relics (Reliquae Maggiori):

NW pier - St Helena, Constantine's mother, holding a large cross

(representing the relic of the True Cross found by the saint in Jerusalem)

NE pier - St Longinus, the Roman soldier who thrust a spear in the side of Christ at the crucifixion, converted, and was later martyred

(the relic is the spear)

SE pier - St Andrew, with his trademark diagonal cross upon which he was martyred

(the relic is Andrew's head, which was returned to the Greek Orthodox Church in 1964)

SW pier - St Veronica, with the veil Christ used to wipe his face on the way to Calvary, leaving his image imprinted on it

(the relic of Veronica's veil)

The Confessio: Going down to where the excavations are, the very place where St. Peter's tomb is located. below the Papal Altar.

The beloved St. Peter Enthroned against a wild wallpaper background

The vast, opulent interior of St. Peter's

The Cathedra of St. Peter, designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini in 1666


Michelangelo's Pietà


The glass tomb of Blessed John XXIII, below the Chapel’s Altar

Monument to Pope Benedict XV (1914-22)

Set in niches within the four piers supporting the dome are the statues associated with the basilica's holy relics: St. Helena, St. Longinus, St. Andrew and St. Veronica.

St. Longinus holding the spear that pierced the side of Jesus, by Gianlorenzo Bernini (1639)

St. Veronica holding her veil with the image of Jesus' face, by Francesco Mochi

St. Helena holding the True Cross, by Andrea Bolgi)

St. Andrew with the St. Andrew's Cross, by Francois Duquesnoy

St Peter's Basillica is incredible and the best religious church/basillica I have ever seen. It's just something everyone should see, Catholic or no.

 

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