Editing St. Peter's Basilica (section)

==== Maderno's facade ====
[[File:Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano September 2015-1a.jpg|thumb|Maderno's façade, with the statues of Saint Peter (left) and Saint Paul (right) flanking the entrance stairs|alt=Ornate building in the early morning with a giant order of columns beneath a Latin inscription, fourteen statues on the roofline, and large dome on top.]]

The facade designed by Maderno, is {{convert|114.69|m|ft}} wide and {{convert|45.55|m|ft}} high and is built of [[travertine]] stone, with a giant order of Corinthian columns and a central pediment rising in front of a tall [[Attic style|attic]] surmounted by thirteen statues: [[Christ]] flanked by eleven of the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]] (except Saint Peter, whose statue is left of the stairs) and [[John the Baptist]].{{NoteTag|[[:File:San Pietro in Vaticano 001.JPG|Another view of the façade statues]]. From left to right: ① Thaddeus, ② Matthew, ③ Philip, ④ Thomas, ⑤ James the Elder, ⑥ [[John the Baptist]] (technically a 'precursor' and not an apostle); ⑦ Christ (centre, the only one with a halo); ⑧ Andrew, ⑨ [[John the Apostle]], ⑩ James the Younger, ⑪ Bartholomew, ⑫ [[Simon the Zealot|Simon]] and ⑬ Matthias. ({{cite web |url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Facade/Facade.htm |title=Unofficial architecture site |website=saintpetersbasilica.org |access-date = 1 June 2011}})}} The inscription below the [[cornice]] on the {{convert|1|m|ft}} tall [[frieze]] reads:

{{blockquote|IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII<br />(In honour of the [[Apostle Peter|Prince of Apostles]], [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612, the seventh of his pontificate)}}

(Paul V (Camillo Borghese), born in Rome but of a Sienese family, liked to emphasize his "Romanness".)

The facade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's. The reasons for this, according to James Lees-Milne, are that it was not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. Lees-Milne describes the problems of the façade as being too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the [[attic]] story. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the facade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the facade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance.<ref name="JL-M" />