3. The Basilica of Saint Peter is the largest Catholic church. On the floor of the nave, moving from the entrance to the apse, one sees the goldstars placed in marble: theyindicate the total length(mea sured from the apse of St. Peter) of several large church as around the world. The leadership apparently had been removed in 1989 from the Basilica of Our Ladyof Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire, it ’s building inspired by the forms of the Roman basilica and propaganda called the "largest basilica in the world": in reality it is only the "world's tallest basilica" (168 m), while the building is considerably smaller than that of St. Peter. Home

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8. The construction of St. Peter's Basilica was begun on April 18, 1506 under Pope Julius II and completed in 1626, during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII, and the arrangement of the square in front ended only in 1667. However, this is a reconstruction, since the same site, before the current basilica, it rose another dating from the fourth century, built by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in the place where he opened the Circus of Nero and where Tradition has it that St. Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus, was buried after his crucifixion. Today we can only imagine the grandeur of this building, captured only in certain artistic works: the system, enriched over the centuries with precious works of art, was five aisles and had similarities with that of the basilica of Saint. Paul Outside the walls, of which 27 had 120 altars dedicated to Our Lady. Home

9. The Basilica of Saint Peter is one of the largest buildings in the world: 218 meters long and 136 meters high up to the dome, the total area is approximately 23,000 square meters. Despite this appearance betrays the idea of an isolated building in the center of a vast square, as you probably thought he had Michelangelo Buonarroti, the presence of elevated steps, which do not interfere with the perimeter of the basilica, also allows to understand the complex ramifications of temple.. This configuration is essentially Michelangelo Buonar roti and was maintained in the longitudinal body added by Carlo Maderno. Instead, along the aisles, at 45 altars and chapels in the 11 that start inside the basilica, have hosted several masterpieces of immense historical and artistic value, as several works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and others from the early Christian church, such as bronze statue of St. Peter, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio. Home

10. The arrangement of the square (1656-1667) is due, as said, the genius of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who made this his most famous work of architecture. The space was then divided into two parts: the first, inverted trapezoidal with the longest side along the front, which, thanks to the unique perspective effect, assumed a mores lender, the second oval with the Column architrave. Bernini appeared in the draft central clove "interrupting the noble "in continuation of the colonnade, which, if realized, would hide the square and the basilica from the frontal view. The aspirations of Bernini never found later, so much so that, with the opening of the Way of Reconciliation (1936- 1950) and the gutting of the Borgo district, the facade of the basilica became a monumental fifth at the end of a long straight. Home

11. Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger (Latin: Benedict as XVI, Mark am Inn, April 16, 1927) is from 19 April 2005, the bishop of Rome, the 265 the Pope of the Catholic Church and the absolute monarch of Vatican City. As such, Primate of Italy, head of the piscopal college, in addition to their other titles of the Roman Pontiff. He was elected pope by the conclave April 19, 2005, after the death of John Paul II. It is the seventh German pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church, the latter was Stephen IX (1057- 1058). Home

12. To all the works necessary for its construction and artist cache elements, was in charge of an institution, the Reverend Fabric a Sancti Petri, which recently opened Vatican archives to scholars: among the precious documents listed there are thousands of notes, drafts, contracts, receipts, correspondences, which constitute a record of all sui generis on the everyday practice of the artists involved. It should be noted that the immense yard of the church did not pass unnoticed by the popular Roman culture: to move the materials to the site at which they would pay no customs duty will affect every single item stands AUFA. (For Usum Fabric: to be used in the manufacture of St. Peter). In popular tradition, Roman was born just the verb form "Auffe "or "Auffe",, to mean someone who wants to obtain goods or services for free. Also in Rome, even today, when it comes to work permanently in the pipeline is used to compare the Fabric of Saint Peter. Home

13. By Chiara