New Basilica For St Peter example essay topic

Perhaps one of the most mysterious, yet magnificent, buildings ever, St. Peter's Basilica has amazed people for hundreds of years. Its massive size can be seen for miles, and the dome is simply stunning. Inside, it contains famous work by Michelangelo, Giotto, and Bernini. St. Peter's Basilica is basically a masterpiece. However, before the "new" St. Peter's Basilica was created, there was an "old" one before it. In the early 4th century, around 330, emperor Constantine decided to erect a basilica dedicated to St. Peter on the Vatican Hill on the south side of the River.

It was very difficult to do this considering it was on the sloping side of the hill, so therefore, the floor was extend outward away from the hill. Once built, it was richly decorated with gold and mosaics inside, and marble and bronze outside. Because of its odd location, people soon believed that beneath the basilica, lay the spot where St. Peter himself was buried. It was the only logical reason for emperor Constantine's choice of where to build the basilica. In the 16th century, Constantine's basilica was starting to fall apart. It was finally demolished in 1425, leaving only the floor to mysteriously be preserved.

However, it did not take long for kings, popes, and artists to design a new basilica for St. Peter. In 1450, Nicholas V was the first to take on the task. He quickly conceived a plan that would call for something 10 times as large as anybody had ever contemplated. It would include a great dome over a central Greek cross, and be a crowning achievement of the Renaissance arts. After 96 years of construction, Nicholas V knew that in order to get the best, you needed to hire the best, so he called for the best architects around to come and share ideas. Unfortunately, after 100 years of construction, and an expenditure of $48,000,000, things were not looking good.

It became of problem of compromise, as different people wanted different things. In addition, they were having trouble finding a way to support the "proposed" great dome. As the years pasted, construction went through a quite a number of architects, such as Raphael, Bramante, and San gallo. When the final architect was, Paul, was chosen, he quickly went to action and called for Michelangelo. Old, and tired of all the fuss, Michelangelo unwillingly agreed to help. This time, however, he decided to follow the ideas and instructions of Bramante.

By following Bramante's plans, Michelangelo was able to build piers capable of supporting a dome. However, the great master architect would not live to see the finished dome, as he died in 1546. Nonetheless, Giacomo della Porta picked up right were Michelangelo left off, and finished the dome before the beginning of the next century. Finally, on November 16, 1626, the supposed 1300th anniversary of the original basilica, the new St. Peter's basilica was completed. Altogether, it took 176 years to build and cost a total amount of $48,000,000. It's has a length of 451 feet, a surface area of 163,182.2 sq. feet, and a total height of 452 feet.

Though the exterior of St. Peter's Basilica may seem simply breath-taking by itself, the interior is just as much as a treat to the eyes. Inside, the church contains some of the most beautiful and artistic works ever, perhaps the most famous being The Pieta by Michelangelo. Originally sculpted for the French ambassador, it was finished in 1499 and basically boosted Michelangelo's reputation to its climax. When the basilica was completed, it was placed in the front, first chapel on the right and has been there since. Also located in the basilica are many monuments dedicated to important characters in ancient Roman Catholic history. Such characters include Queen Christina, San Sebastian, Gregory X, Paul, Urban V, and Pius VI.

Most artwork, however, is located in the portico. The oldest piece is the Navi cella, by Giotto. Made in 1298, it is a mosaic of Christ walking on water. Unfortunately, because it has been moved and restored so many times, almost nothing remains of the original. Another famous piece of art in the portico is the Constantine, a statue of the emperor staring at the cross, by Bernini. Other then art and statues, St. Peter's Basilica is also well known for its 5 sets of doors leading into the basilica.

Each one is made of bronze and was sculpted by some of Italy's most famous sculptors. First, there are the Holy Doors, made in 1950 by Vico Consort i. These were permitted to be opened until Christmas Eve of 1999, when Pope John Paul struck the doors 3 times with a silver hammer, and was the first to enter the basilica for Christmas Eve Mass. Next, there is a set of doors made by Ven anzio Croce tti in 1968.

Then, there are the famous central doors, made by Antonio Fila rete between 1439-1445. These doors actually came from the original St. Peter's Basilica and have many different kinds of pictures and artwork on them. After the central doors, there is a set by Giacomo Man zu, in 1963. On them, contains horrifying scenes of death and martyrdom's.

Finally, the last set of doors is by Luciano Min guzzi in 1977, which contains the portrait of a hedgehog. For many years, people have always wondered and believed that St. Peter's tomb was under the basilica. It just seemed logical because they went through so much trouble to put the basilica in that one special spot. In 1939, people's beliefs were somewhat put to rest. When Pope Pius XI died in February of 1939, Pius XII became the new Pope.

He decided that the time was right to reorganize the space into a proper underground chapel, which meant lowering the floor by 3 feet. However, after the workers reached 2 1/2 feet, they hit preserved floor from the old St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope immediately called for excavators and archeologists to dig up the site. After 3 year of digging in all directions, excavators finally came upon the high altar. After given permission from the Pope, they proceeded under the high altar, and found the Red Wall, a red brick wall with a little "aedicule" in it. The workers kept going until they reached a tiny courtyard directly beneath the high altar.

Inside, there were 4 tombs of bodies from later dates. So they decided to push down. Finally, they reached a small cavity and inside, they found many bone fragments, but no skull. This proved that the skull in the basilica of Saint John Lateran really was that of Saint Peter.