 | Saint Peter's Basilica
Saint Peter's Basilica, covering approximately 5.7 acres with a capacity of 60,000, is one of the largest churches in the world. In the 15th century it was decided that the old basilica on the site should be rebuilt, and construction on the current building began in 1506 under Pope Julius II and was not completed until 1615 under Pople Paul V. The first chief architect was Donato Bramante, and many other famous architects, including Michelangelo who designed the dome, worked on the structure. Tradition holds that the church was constructed on the tomb of Saint Peter, which is below a baldachin and altar which are within the church. For this reason, many popes, starting with the first, are buried there.
|
 | The Pieta
The Pieta of Michelangelo pictures the Virgin Mary holding Jesus' dead body after his crucifixion and is regarded as one of the finest sculptures of all time. Orinally made as a funeral monument for the French Cardinal Jean de Billheres, it was moved to its current location in Saint Peter's Basilica in the 18th century. Michelangelo completed the sculpture when he was only 23, prompting a remark from another sculptor that Michelangelo did not sculpt it. In a fit of anger, Michelangelo carved the phrase MICHELANGUS BONAROTUS FLORENTINUS FACIEBAT ("Michelangelo Bonarotus, the Florentine, made this.")- it is the only worked he ever signed. On May 21, 1972 a mentally disturbed man named Laslo Toth attacked the Pieta with a hammer while shouting "I am Jesus Christ." The statue was carefully restored and today sits behind bullet proof glass.
|
 | The Baldachin of Saint Peter
Pope Urban VIII commissioned Bernini to build the baldachin to mark the spot below which was long believed to be the location of Saint Peter's tomb. The area, however, was not excavated until Pope Pius XII approved plans to excavate on the site. Excavations occurred between 1939 and 1949, resulting in the discovery of a complex of mausoleums under the foundation of the basilica dating to the 2nd century A.D. One small monument was believed to mark the Tomb of Saint Peter, and did in fact contain physical remains. The arcaheologists were convinced that they had found the remains of Saint Peter, and the pope's personal physician when asked to analyze the remains said they belonged to a man between the ages of 65-70. In 1950, Pope Pius annouced that "without a doubt" the Tomb of Peter had been found (he also mentioned the bones, but with less certainty). Later testing on the bones by more highly tranied scholars, however, revealed that they actually included the remains of 2 men in their 50, a woman in her 70s, and scores of animal bones. Later, however, an epigraphist by the name of Margherita Guarduci who was studying graffiti on the site learned of some bones that had been discovered in another nearby cavity (The man in charge of the excavations, Monseignor Ludwig Kaas, had ordered they be placed in storage because he felt the archaeologists were tampering with them). In 1962, it was determined that these bones belonged to a male who was 5 feet 7 inches tall aged between 60 and 70. In 1964, Pope Paul VI announced that the bones of Peter had been identified "in a manner which we believe convincing." Although the true identity of the bones will never be known with absolute certainy, the site remains an important Catholic monument.
|
 | Saint Peter's Square
Bernini redesigned the area outside of Saint Peter's Basilica between the years 1656-1667 during the reign of Pope Alexander VII. Two colonnades, eliptical in shape, surround the area with an obelisk at its center. The colonnades consist of four rows of Doric style columns, supporting a roof on top of which are the statues of 140 Saints. As one nears the entrance of Saint Peter's the colonnades assume the shape of a trapezoid, creating a frame drawing one to the entrance. Bernini himself said that he intended the colonnades to create the impression that a visitor was being embraced by "the motherly arms of the church."
|
 | The Vatican Obelisk
This Egytpian obelisk was brought to Rome by the emperor Caligula in 37 A.D. for his circus and once stood in the arena that came to be known as the Circus of Gaius and Nero (Gaius was the actual name of the emperor Caligula), the arena where Saint Peter was executed. Pope Sixtus V commissioned Domenico Fontana to move the obelisk to its present location in the center of Saint Peter's Square, an act that was considered an engineering marvel. During the Middle Ages, a ball which stood atop the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar (the ball is now in a museum).
|
 | The Entrance to the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums display the extensive artistic and sculptural collections of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican Museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century when he purchased the famous Laocoon sculpture and displayed it in the Vatican. Throughout the years more and more items were added to the collection (including famous works such as the Prima Porta Augustus and Raphael's School of Athens) and additional galleries were constructed. Also part of the museum complex is the Sistine Chapel, in which one can view Michelangelo's frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and his famous portrayal of the Last Judgment.
|
 | The Laocoon
The Laocoon sculpture was the first item to become part of the Vatican collection. Laocoon was a priest of Apollo, who warned the Trojans not to accept the gift of the Trojan horse. Laocoon, when his advice was not heeded, threw his spear into the side of the Trojan horse, prompting Poseidon or Apollo to send sea serpents to strangle Laocoon and his sons. The Trojans interpreted this as a sign that the horse was not to be harmed and decided to bring it into the city. Pliny the Elder states that the sculpture was the work of three sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agensander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus. It was found near the remains of the infamous Domus Aurea ("Golden House") of Nero before it was purchased by the Vatican.
|