St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Basilica, rising at the heart of Vatican City, holds the largest church interior in the world - the record for floor area belongs to Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire - and is the spiritual centre of the Roman Catholic Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the supreme achievements of Renaissance and Baroque art. Built over the traditional tomb of St Peter, it was shaped over more than a century by the greatest masters of the age, including Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini. Its vast, awe-inspiring interior gleams with marble, gold and monumental sculpture, holding treasures like Michelangelo's sublime Pietà, Bernini's soaring bronze baldachin, and above all his own colossal dome, which can be climbed for breathtaking views over the Vatican and Rome.

History

Catholic tradition holds that Saint Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero, crucified head downwards near the Egyptian obelisk of Nero's circus, the obelisk that now stands in St Peter's Square, and buried nearby, and Constantine the Great began the first basilica over his reputed grave between 319 and 333. Popes Nicholas V and Julius II planned to replace the ageing old church in the 15th century, and the new one was begun on 18 April 1506 and completed on 18 November 1626, designed above all by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo and Carlo Maderno, with the piazza and fittings by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is one of the most famous works of Italian Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure (Wikipedia, St. Peter's Basilica).

The main sights

• The interior - the vast, awe-inspiring marble and gilded nave.
• Michelangelo's Pietà - the sublime marble sculpture.
• The dome - Michelangelo's dome, climbed for panoramic views.
• Bernini's baldachin - the soaring bronze canopy over the altar.

When to go

Year-round, though spring and autumn are more comfortable than the hot, crowded summer; the basilica is busy most of the day, so arriving early, near opening, means shorter security queues and a calmer visit. As a working church and the seat of the papacy, modest dress covering shoulders and knees is strictly required for entry.

Good to know

St Peter's is one of the most visited sites on earth, so long security queues and dense crowds are the norm, especially in summer and around papal events, and a strict dress code is enforced; early arrival greatly helps. It is also, above all, a sacred place of worship to be treated with respect. As the greatest church in Christendom, though, a sublime masterpiece of art and architecture holding treasures like the Pietà and crowned by Michelangelo's dome, St Peter's is genuinely awe-inspiring and unmissable.

Nearby

St Peter's Square, the Vatican Museums and the city of Rome are close by.

Key facts