The Vatican's largest building and 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 Vatican
The history of this building is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence of Christianity as a whole. At the time of Nero, in the territory where this temple is now located, there was a circus in the arena of which all the 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 that the martyr be crucified head down. Peter's disciples took off his body on a dark night and buried him in a nearby grotto. After almost 300 years, a basilica was built on the resting place of Peter, and only in the 15th century did the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral begin.
The architect Barmante, architects and masters of art Rafael, Sangallo, Peruzzi, Michelangelo took part in the design and construction of the building, and each of them introduced something new into the design of the cathedral, embodied his 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 is the Cathedral of Peter in the Vatican
The appearance of the structure and its interior are striking in 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 at intervals of 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 arch is 44 m. On the dome of the work of Michelangelo, with a height of about 120 m, 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 was buried, but it is not facing the east, as in other churches, but to the west.
In the numerous chapels of St. Peter's Basilica are the tombs and tombs of the rulers of the empire and the popes of different times, their statues and sculptures, Christian relics, including the Spear of fate, which Jesus was crucified on the cross.
