Basilica di San Pietro, Rome

Before you rises Basilica di San Pietro, a Catholic basilica within Vatican City, bearing Saint Peter’s name. Take in the broad façade and the dome above it: this dome is a defining element of Rome’s skyline. The present church rose over a long campaign, begun on the eighteenth of April fifteen oh six and completed on the eighteenth of November sixteen twenty-six.

It replaced an earlier basilica commissioned by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. Bramante, Michelangelo, and Carlo Maderno were among the principal designers, while Bernini created the piazza and much of its ceremonial furnishing. Its architecture brings together Renaissance design and the more theatrical Baroque manner.

Although it is among Catholicism’s most important shrines, this is not Rome’s cathedral; that distinction belongs to San Giovanni in Laterano. Catholic tradition places Saint Peter’s burial beneath the high altar. Within, Bernini’s enormous canopy marks the Papal Altar, making the altar a focal point for worship and pilgrimage. The basilica belongs to the Vatican City World Heritage Site.