Facts about The Saint Peter Basilica in Vatican

June 9, 2012 | In: Art facts

One of the most impressive monuments in Europe, the Saint Peter Basilica in Vatican guards the city of Vatican and houses one of the most important people in the world, the Pope.

The St. Peter Basilica is the largest Christian cathedral in the world, popularly named St. Peter’s Church. It’s got this name because it is known that it stands over the tomb of Saint Peter, being the second church in history to be built over a church.

The cathedral is cross shaped, having a length of 700 feet (215 m) and it widens 450 feet (140 m) at its widest spot.
It has a very vast area, coming to around 60.000 square feet or more (18.000 square meters).
The height of the center aisle is 150 feet (60 m).

The magnificent St. Peter Basilica dome has been painted by the famous Michelangelo. The dome reaches almost 400 ft (120 m) from the ground, and has a 140 feet (40 m) diameter.

In the year 325, Constantine the Great began the construction of this church, in sign of acceptance for the Christian religion. Later, the Romans used it as a meeting hall.

The church was divided in to the nave with four rows of columns, having two aisles on either side of the nave.

In 1452 many pilgrims visited the church and decided that the church needed serious restorations. The pope Nicholas V began the work and it was finished in 1506. But it all was just effortless labor, and in that same year, the Pope Julius decided to totally rebuild the cathedral.

The building we see today is entirely rebuilt, but in many corners of it, we can still find signs of the early construction.