Editing St. Peter's Basilica (section)

=== Plan to rebuild ===
By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the [[Avignon Papacy]], the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding or at least making radical changes was [[Pope Nicholas V]] (1447–1455). He commissioned work on the old building from [[Leone Battista Alberti]] and [[Bernardo Rossellino]] and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign was frustrated by political problems and when he died, little had been achieved.<ref name="JL-M" />  He had, however, ordered the demolition of the [[Colosseum]] and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building.<ref name="JL-M" />{{NoteTag|Quarrying of stone for the Colosseum had, in turn, been paid for with treasure looted at the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|Siege of Jerusalem]] and destruction of the temple by the emperor [[Vespasian]]'s general (and the future emperor) [[Titus]] in 70 AD.<ref>Claridge, Amanda (1998). ''Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide'' (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. pp.&nbsp;276–282. {{ISBN|0-19-288003-9}}.</ref>}} The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed [[Latin cross]] with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for the choir had also been built.<ref>{{Harvnb|Betts|1993|pp=6–7}}</ref>

[[Pope Julius II]] planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by [[Michelangelo]] and placed within St Peter's.{{NoteTag|Julius II's tomb was left incomplete and was eventually erected in the Church of St Peter ad Vincola.}}  In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in the popular imagination".<ref name="BF" />  A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the [[Uffizi Gallery]]. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of [[Pope Leo X|Leo X]] (1513–1521), [[Pope Adrian VI|Adrian VI]] (1522–1523), [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]] (1523–1534), [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]] (1534–1549), [[Pope Julius III|Julius III]] (1550–1555), [[Pope Marcellus II|Marcellus II]] (1555), [[Pope Paul IV|Paul IV]] (1555–1559), [[Pope Pius IV|Pius IV]] (1559–1565), [[Pope Pius V|Pius V]] (saint) (1565–1572), [[Pope Gregory XIII|Gregory XIII]] (1572–1585), [[Pope Sixtus V|Sixtus V]] (1585–1590), [[Pope Urban VII|Urban VII]] (1590), [[Pope Gregory XIV|Gregory XIV]] (1590–1591), [[Pope Innocent IX|Innocent IX]] (1591), [[Pope Clement VIII|Clement VIII]] (1592–1605), [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]] (1605), [[Pope Paul V|Paul V]] (1605–1621), [[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]] (1621–1623), [[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]] (1623–1644) and [[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]] (1644–1655).