St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica is a major basilica located in the Vatican City that covers an area of 5.7 acres and has the capacity to hold 60,000 people. Today, St. Peter's Basilica remains one of the largest churches ever built, and one of the holiest sites in the world.

The basilica is believed to have been built over the spot where St. Peter was buried after his martyrdom in Rome. After St. Peter was buried, later in the 4th century, Emperor Constantine began construction of a great basilica over the tomb. In the mid 15th century, Pope Nicholas V asked the architect Bernardo Rossellino to start adding to the old church. This was abandoned after a short while, but later Pope Julius II began construction on the church again. Finally, in 1615, the church was completed under Pope Paul V. Many famous artists were apart of the construction of St. Peter's Basilica, including Michelangelo, chief architect, and Bernini, who designed St. Peter's Square.

Michelangelo designed the great dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The dome is made of brick and 42.3 meters in diameter, rising 120 meters above the floor. Michelangelo's dome is parabola in shape with a vertical thrust. St. Peter's Basilica also has many other great aspects pertaining to its exterior, including the Holy Door, Door of Death, facade, and the portico. Despite the many amazing architectural features of St. Peter's Basilica, the shrine of St. Peter is still the main focus of the church today.

Some great pictures of the basilica can be found through this link:

http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Pics/StPeters.htm