Editing St. Peter's Basilica (section)

==Overview==
[[File:PonteSantAngeloRom.jpg|thumb|View from the [[Tiber]] on [[Ponte Sant'Angelo]] and the Basilica. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.|alt=A view of Rome on a sunny afternoon looking along the river. A bridge crosses the river and beyond it is a hill on which the grey dome of St. Peter's rises above ancient buildings and dark pine trees.]]

St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River [[Tiber]] and near the [[Janiculum]] Hill and [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Hadrian's Mausoleum]]. Its central [[dome]] dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via [[St. Peter's Square]], a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall [[colonnade]]s. The first space is oval and the second trapezoidal. The façade of the basilica, with a [[giant order]] of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two {{convert|5.55|m|adj=on}} statues of the first-century apostles to Rome, Saints [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Saint Paul|Paul]].<ref name=Pinto/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/StPaulStatue/StPaulStatue.htm |title=St. Peter's Square – Statue of St. Paul |publisher=saintpetersbasilica.org |access-date=22 December 2010 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926100343/http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/StPaulStatue/StPaulStatue.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The basilica is [[cruciform]] in shape, with an elongated [[nave]] in the [[Latin cross]] form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the [[largest domes]] in the world. The entrance is through a [[narthex]], or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the [[Holy Door]], opened only during [[Jubilee (Christianity)|jubilees]].<ref name=Pinto/>

The interior dimensions are vast when compared to other churches.<ref name="cathency"/> One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us."<ref>{{cite book |first=Georgina |last=Masson|author-link=Georgina Masson |title=The Companion Guide to Rome |publisher=Companion Guides |date=2001 |pages=615–6}}</ref>

The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The [[Baptistery]], the Chapel of the [[Presentation of the Virgin]], the larger Choir Chapel, the altar of the Transfiguration, the [[Pope Clement I|Clementine]] Chapel with the altar of [[Gregory the Great|Saint Gregory]], the [[Sacristy]] Entrance, the Altar of the Lie, the left [[transept]] with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, [[Saint Joseph]] and [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]], the altar of the [[Sacred Heart]], the Chapel of the Madonna of Column, the altar of Saint Peter and the Paralytic, the apse with the [[Chair of Saint Peter]], the altar of Saint Peter raising [[Dorcas|Tabitha]], the altar of St. Petronilla, the altar of the [[Archangel Michael]], the altar of the [[Navicella (mosaic)|Navicella]], the right transept with altars of [[Saint Erasmus]], Saints Processo and Martiniano, and [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslas]], the altar of St. Jerome, the altar of [[Saint Basil]], the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour, the larger Chapel of the [[Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church|Holy Sacrament]], the Chapel of [[Saint Sebastian]] and the Chapel of the [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]].<ref name=Pinto>Pio V. Pinto, pp. 48–59</ref> The Monuments, in a clockwise direction, are to: [[Maria Clementina Sobieska]], The [[Monument to the Royal Stuarts|Stuarts]], [[Benedict XV]], [[Pope John XXIII|John XXIII]], St. [[Pope Pius X|Pius X]], [[Pope Innocent VIII|Innocent VIII]], [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]], [[Pope Innocent XI|Innocent XI]], [[Pope Pius VII|Pius VII]], [[Pope Pius VIII|Pius VIII]], [[Pope Alexander VII|Alexander VII]], [[Pope Alexander VIII|Alexander VIII]], [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]], [[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]], [[Pope Clement X|Clement X]], [[Pope Clement XIII|Clement XIII]], [[Benedict XIV]], St Peter (Bronze Statue), [[Gregory XVI]], [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]], [[Pope Gregory XIII|Gregory XIII]], [[Matilda of Canossa]], [[Pope Innocent XII|Innocent XII]], [[Pope Pius XII|Pius XII]], [[Pope Pius XI|Pius XI]], [[Christina of Sweden]], and [[Leo XII]].

{{anchor|Confession}}At the heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the ''Confessio'' or ''Chapel of the Confession'', named in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. [[Pope Gregory XVI]] granted a "perpetual privilege" in 1836 authorizing any Catholic priest to celebrate Mass at the altar in the chapel.<ref>Pope Gregory XVI, [https://www.vatican.va/content/gregorius-xvi/it/documents/breve-ad-beatissimi-17-luglio-1836.html Breve Ad Beatissimi], in Italian, ''Holy See'', published on 17 July 1835, accessed on 5 April 2025</ref>

The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]''. The central feature is a [[baldachin]], or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]]. The apse culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic ''Chair of Saint Peter''.

The American philosopher [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth&nbsp;... the sublime of the beautiful."<ref>Ralph Waldo Emerson, 7 April 1833</ref>

{{wide image|Saint Peter's Square - Pan by Andrew Magill 2007.jpg|1000px|5=center|dir=center|alt=Panorama showing the façade of St. Peter's at the centre with the arms of Bernini's colonnade sweeping out on either side. It is midday and tourists are walking and taking photographs.|Panorama of [[St. Peter's Square]]}}