St. Peter's Basilica (St. Peter.) peter'S Basilica Church) is also known as St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican Basilica. Built between 1506 and 1626, it is one of the most important symbols of the Catholic Church.
The architectural style of St. Peter's Basilica has a clear Renaissance classical form, which is mainly characterized by a combination of Romanesque domed vaults and Greek-style stone columns and flat lintels.
Many of the architects and artists of the Italian Renaissance – Donato Bramonte, Raphael, Michelangelo and Antonio da Sangaro the Younger – were involved in the design of St. Peter's Cathedral.
And the designer of St. Peter's Square is Bernini.
Although not the "mother church" of all Catholic churches is not the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (Pope), St. Peter's Cathedral is still regarded as the holiest site of the Catholic Church.
According to the biography of the Catholic Church, St. Peter's Basilica is the burial place of St. Peter, the head of the apostles, and most of the popes have been buried here.
St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most famous places of pilgrimage for Catholics due to its liturgical role – the Pope holds several ceremonies here each year, including the number of people inside and outside the temple, with about 15,000 to 80,000 people participating at a time.
St. Peter's Basilica has a strong association with many events in the history of the Church, the Early Church, the Papal States, the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and so on.
The appearance of the cathedral is magnificent, the front is 115 meters wide and 45 meters high, the center line is the axis and the two sides are symmetrical, 8 columns stand symmetrically in the middle, 4 square columns are arranged on both sides, there are 5 gates between the columns, there are 3 balconies on the 2nd floor, the middle one is called the blessing balcony, the door of the balcony is closed on weekdays, and the pope will appear on the blessing balcony during major religious festivals to bless the believers who come.
The flat roof of the church stands a statue of Jesus in the middle, flanked by statues of his 12 disciples, and the tall dome is beautifully decorated.
There is a clock on each side of the eaves, Greenwich Mean Time on the right and Roman time on the left.
On the left side of the church stands a tall statue of St. Peter, smiling and smiling, holding in his right hand two golden keys to heaven that Jesus gave him, and in his left hand a scroll of Jesus' decree to him. The curls on his head, the wrinkles on his face, the pinch of his beard on his chin, and the layers of robes on his body are all delicately and realistically sculpted.
St. Peter (also known as St. Peter, St. Pierre) (1 A.D. – 65 A.D.) Greek: Petros or;Hebrew: shim ōn; "hearing"；Latin: petre. The name means rock. Bethsaida, born in Galilee, was the first of Jesus' 12 disciples, and was also Jesus' favorite protégé, an early leader of the Church.
In 65 C.E., St. Peter was martyred by the Roman Emperor Nero,** who was crucified upside down at his behest – believing that he did not deserve to die in the same way as Jesus.
St. Peter's Basilica was built in honor of Peter, and St. Peter's Basilica is said to be buried in this church, and in 1940 Vatican excavators claimed that they found Peter's bones under the altar.
The open-air square in front of St. Peter's Basilica is the world-famous St. Peter's Square, the square is 340 meters long, 240 meters wide, can accommodate 300,000 people, built in 1667, it is the greatest architectural artwork in the life of the master architect Bernini.
The square has two semicircular galleries consisting of two four rows of 284 Deskin-style columns and 88 ashlar columns, like two huge arms stretched out from St. Peter's Cathedral.
Bernini's colonnade in front of St. Peter transforms the road to the church into a magnificent reception area for pilgrims to travel to the city.
Each gallery is crowned by 284 tall cobblestone columns, and is topped by 142 statues of the most famous men and women in the history of the Church.
In the middle of the square stands a 41-metre-high Egyptian obelisk, which was originally brought from Egypt by the Roman Emperor Caligula to decorate the circular square next to the palace.
In 1586, Pope Sistine V ordered the stele to be moved to St. Peter's Square. It is said that more than 900 workers, 150 horses and 47 lifting devices were mobilized for this purpose, and it took nearly five months to complete the relocation.
The obelisk is flanked by a beautiful fountain, a trickling spring that symbolizes the water of life that God has given to the faithful.
The church was originally built by Constantine the Great in 326-333 on the site of St. Peter's Tomb called Old St. Peter's Basilica and was inaugurated in 333.
After Constantine's son Cons succeeded to the throne, in order to further use the power of ** religion to serve the empire, ** religion was determined to be the state religion of the empire, in order to show his reverence for God, Kong Si knocked down the original simple St. Peter's church and built a cathedral several times the original size in the same place.
Over the next decade or so, St. Peter's Basilica underwent several expansions and reconstructions – Constantine's first church was Greek temple-style, which later evolved into Romanesque, and its flat cross structure changed from Greek to Latin (short and longitudinal), but its central position remained the same regardless of the style and structure - Peter's tomb was always at the center of the cross.
St. Peter's Basilica is a rectangular church, and the whole building presents a basilica structure, which is very traditional and sacred.
The main hall of the church is 186 meters long, with a total area of 15,000 square meters and a capacity of 60,000 people.
The interior of the whole nave is in the shape of a cross, at the intersection of the crosses is the center of the church, the underground of the center point is the tomb of St. Peter, and on the ground is the altar of the Pope, above which is a golden canopy, and above the canopy is the dome at the top of the church.
The surroundings of the dome and the top of the entire temple are covered with beautiful patterns and reliefs. A ray of sunlight shines into the temple from the dome, adding a mystical touch to the solemn, gloomy church, which is like a gateway to heaven.
The whole hall is stunningly ornate—tall stone pillars and walls, vaulted ceilings, colorful motifs, lifelike statues, elaborate reliefs, and a brightly lit floor of colored marble.
The famous large vaulted roof of the church is a masterpiece of Michelangelo, with a double structure, dark on the outside and bright on the inside.
The dome was designed by Bramante in 1506 and succeeded by Raphael after his death in 1514. Six years later, Raphael also died, and the dome was canceled for the sake of the contrast of light at the entrance of the church, drawing on the Gothic design of the church's roof, emphasizing the contrast between dark and light, and using rose windows. Michelangelo later took over the work at the age of 71 and restored the dome in the name of "love for God, for the Virgin, for St. Peter".
Below the dome and in the hall is the great ---masterpiece of Bernini, known as the "father of Baroque art", a bronze canopy.
The bronze canopy is supported by four spiral copper columns, and the unique shape of the twisted thick cylinder is eye-catching.
The semicircular balustrade in front of the canopy is eternally lit with 99 permanent lamps, while below is the Apostolic Altar and the tomb of St. Peter, in front of which is a kneeling statue of Pope Kuo VI by the neoclassical sculptor Canoba.
Only the Pope could celebrate Mass in front of pilgrims on this altar, facing the rising sun.
At the end of the main hall, there is a large stained glass window with a wingspan of 15 meters long.
Underneath the stained-glass dove is a huge gilded "St. Peter's Chair" by Bernini.
On the back of the chair are two cherubs, holding the key to heaven and the papal triple crown.
Legend has it that this wooden chair was the real throne of St. Peter, and was later verified to have been given to King Tychar II of the Carolingians.
On the right side of the main hall, the Holy Martyrdom in the Chapel of Mother's Love, known as the most elegant work in the church, is Michelicchiro's masterpiece when he was 24 years old. And it's the only signed work by Michelangelo, whose name is on the frieze that spans the chest of the Madonna.
St. Peter's Church is not only a magnificent architectural temple, it is home to hundreds of artistic treasures and is regarded as a priceless asset.
It is said that all the portraits were made of marble of different colors, and the project was very large.
The square was crowded with people from all over the world, and we were able to enter St. Peter's Basilica after a long and spectacular queue in St. Peter's Square.
The gate on the left side of the cathedral is guarded by royal guards, dressed in ancient knightly costumes with red, yellow and blue stripes, and holding halberds. They were all Swiss - it is said that in the early 16th century, Pope Clement VII was attacked by the Holy Roman Empire, and in order to defend the pope, more than 100 Swiss guards died outside the church, and the pope at that time was so moved that he decided to hire Swiss guards to defend the church for generations, and modern young Swiss are proud to be the royal guards of the Vatican.
We walked up the side steps to the entrance of the church.
Standing at the entrance of the church and looking towards the square, you can see the street leading to the Ponte Sant'Angelo.
Entering the cathedral, you first pass through a corridor, the white marble pillars with light patterns are carved with delicate patterns, and the long corridor vault has many statues, and the entire yellow-brown top is covered with three-dimensional patterns and patterns.
Through another door, you enter the main hall of the church.
As soon as I entered the main hall, from the ceiling to the wall to the floor, I was incomparably amazed - the murals and sculptures of many famous artists of the European Renaissance such as Michelangelo and Raphael, and all kinds of world-class art treasures that can only be seen in books and TV in ordinary times appeared in front of my eyes.
There are many huge statues and reliefs in the main hall, and the left and right sides of the main hall are small halls one after another, and each small hall is decorated with frescoes, reliefs, and statues.
The radiant dome on the ceiling of the church** is Michelangelo's great masterpiece - the Great Dome.
Standing under the dome designed by Michelangelo and looking up, you will feel how small everything in the lobby is.
With a circumference of 71 meters, the dome is the highest point in Rome.
Visitors can take the elevator up the stairs to the top for a panoramic view of the city.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were not able to go to the dome to see this spectacular scene.
Beneath the dome is Bernini's great masterpiece, the bronze canopy.
Ornate decoration on top of a bronze canopy.
Inside the bronze canopy is also a golden dove of the Holy Spirit.
The small halls are also gorgeously decorated, so gorgeous that we look up and down, left and right, and marvel at it.
There are beautiful sculptures on the doors, on the walls, on the windows, in the corners and corners.
Even the corners of the windows were glittering with gold.
Walking around St. Peter's Basilica, I was already dazzled and distracted by its peerless artistic treasures.
As soon as we left the Vatican Gate, we returned to the streets of Rome - we were clearly out of the country again!Ha ha.
Looking back at the smallest country in the world, I don't know why, but I have a faint sense of loss in my heart - the magnificence of St. Peter's Basilica makes me faintly feel a taste of politics, power, and desire, while the taste of equality and fraternity advocated by ** religion is rarely ......
I guess it has something to do with the fact that I've seen a lot of movies about the negative image of churches and popes, right?
What's more, it has also deeply hurt the great scientists I admire who have made great contributions to the development of human science.
Of course, it has certainly played a pivotal role in the history of human civilization.
At sunset, it stands quietly in the brilliant sunset, beside the rows of Roman pines, looking so elegant and beautiful.
How I hope that it can be like the treasures of ancient Greece, in addition to its external beauty, it can make more use of its influence to bring more civilization and progress to the world, and expound the democracy, freedom, equality, and fraternity that Jesus pursued.
The popular science knowledge and part of this article are from the encyclopedia and the documentaries "Treasures of Ancient Greece" and "Deciphering Ancient Rome".