The largest building in the Vatican and the largest Christian church is St. Peter's Basilica. The history of this building is no less fascinating and attractive than its unique and amazing beauty.
History of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
The history of this building is inextricably linked with the history of the formation of Christianity as a whole. At the time of Nero, on the territory where this temple is now located, there was a circus, in the arena of which all admirers and preachers of Christianity were put to death. According to legend, in 67 AD, the apostle Peter was to be executed here. Nero insisted that his execution be different from the execution of Jesus and the martyr was crucified with his head down. Peter's disciples removed his body on a dark night and buried him in a nearby grotto. Almost 300 years later, a basilica was built at the place of Peter's resting place, and only in the 15th century the construction of St. Peter's Basilica began.
Architect Barmante, architects and masters of art Raphael, Sangallo, Peruzzi, Michelangelo took part in the design and construction of the building, and each of them contributed something new to the project of the cathedral, embodied their ideas and ideas in the decoration of the temple. After the death of the then Pope Nicholas V, construction was frozen and resumed only in 1506. The square in front of the cathedral in the form of an ellipse, framed by a colonnade of 140 statues and an obelisk in the center, was created only in the middle of the 17th century.
What is remarkable about Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican
The appearance of the building and its interior decoration amaze with grandeur and grandeur. The top of the facade of the cathedral, more than 40 meters high, is decorated with huge statues of Christ and the apostles. Five huge gates lead inside the building, but one of the entrances is walled up from the inside and opens every 25 years, on the birthday of Christ.
The total area of the cathedral is about 20,000 square meters. m, and the height of its vault is 44 m. On the dome by Michelangelo, about 120 m high, there are images of the four apostles - Mark, Matthew, John and Luke.
The main altar of this Christian church is located just above the place where the Apostle Peter is buried, but it faces not to the east, as in other churches, but to the west.
In the numerous chapels of St. Peter's Cathedral there are tombs and gravestones of the rulers of the empire and the popes of different times, their statues and sculptures, Christian relics, including the Spear of Destiny, which killed Jesus, crucified on the cross.
Interesting facts about St. Peter's Basilica
Despite the general misconception that this temple is the largest in area and height, there is a building that surpasses it in all these parameters - this is a cathedral in the capital of the African state of Cote d'Ivoire, the city of Yamoussoukro.
In St. Peter's Cathedral, if we consider it as an architectural structure and nothing more, two opposing concepts are intertwined - Greek and Latin, which are expressed in the way the cross is executed as a symbol of Christianity. The Greek cross is an equilateral figure, while the Latin cross has a longer longitudinal bar.
The Swiss Guards, who represent the armed forces of the Vatican State and on whose shoulders are the protection of order in the territory of St. Peter's Basilica, are dressed in uniforms created according to sketches by Michelangelo.
