Roman Catholic Church: St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican City

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St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City
Topic: Roman Catholic Church

GPS: N41° 54.125; E012° 27.498

Quick Description: 

View of St. Peter's Basilica and the obelisk from the Piazza in Vatican City.

Long Description:

St. Peter's Basilica stands on the site where, traditionally, the apostle Peter, the first pope, was buried. St. Peter's tomb is under the main altar and many other popes are buried in the basilica as well. Originally founded by Constantine in 324, St. Peter's Basilica was rebuilt and expanded in the 16th century by Renaissance masters including Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini. The expansion added the magnificent piazza, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with its colonnade of 140 statues of saints. Construction on the current building began under Pope Julius II in 1506 and was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V.

In 1585, Pope Sixtus I had a 25.5-meter-tall Egyptian obelisk from the 13th-century BC erected in the center of the square. The obelisk once stood at the nearby Nero's Circus.