The Largest Christian Church on the Planet.
My visit to St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City left me feeling conflicted. The largest Christian church on the planet was opulent. I was in awe of the size, the splendour, the history and the genius of the artwork. Equally I was dismayed by the obvious display of power and wealth in spite of, or in conflict with, the simplicity of the teachings in the bible. How can these two things be of the same cloth? Adding to the conflict was the number of homeless people sleeping in and around the piazza in front of the basilica.
That conflict aside, the history, the building, and sculpture and the intricate paintings are something to behold and must be seen as part of a bucket list!
Bernini’s Baldacchino in St Peter’s Basilica
There are a few things that took my breath away. The cavernous size of St Peter’s Bascilica is something to behold – it can accommodate 20,000 people. The amount of marble on the floor, the stunning sculptures surrounding you and the frescoes that go forever, but it’s the four-poster, solid-bronze canopy over the main altar by Bernini was almost surreal in grandeur and beauty. You can’t help but to stop and stare. The canopy is 30 metres high, or, 10 stories high although it looks small in comparison to the famous dome overhead at 138 metres high. The baldacchino (as it is called) is made from over 45,500 kilograms (around) 100,000 pounds of bronze. Simply astonishing.
The Magnificent Dome of St Peter’s Basilica
Then there is the dome above the alter. Again stand back and take it all in. Those are not paintings that you can see high overhead, but mosaics and stucco creating the finest detailed spiritual images. It is held by four enormous columns with sculptures of Matthew, Luke, John and Mark.
St Peter’s Basilica is packed with more artwork than I have ever seen in one place before, but you must make a special effort to seek our Michelangelo’s most famous masterpieces, the Pieta, which he carved when he was just 24 years old. The detail, the folds in the cloth, the fine detail of the limbs, the dramatic story that it conveys. It is an amazing piece of art. It is the only sculpture that he has signed.
St Peter’s Sculpture – just a sample…
Videos of St Peter’s Bascilica
Take a look at the videos below, they show the shear size of the basilica.
