It is located respectively 1 km from the Ottaviano stop and 1.5 km from the Cipro stop, right where our apartments are located. If you are staying in one of our apartments or if you are in Rome right now, you should definitely visit S. Peter’s area. Here you can find 5 interesting things about San Peter’s Basilica in Vatican that maybe you didn’t know.
- 1. It is the largest Catholic Church in the world and the biggest of the Papal Basilicas
St. Peter's Basilica is a building that measures 218 meters of length and 136 meters of height including its dome; it covers an area of 23,000 m2. To realise the huge dimensions of this church, along the central aisle you can note some golden stars inserted in the marble, which indicate the total length of many churches in the world.
- 2. Michelangelo’s Dome
The Dome of St Peter’s Basilica has become one of the symbols of Rome over the years. This huge building was designed by Michelangelo who took care of it and followed the construction works till the day of his death: unfortunately, he was unable to see his project finished. It was finished by Giacomo della Porta many years later.
- 3. It stands on St. Peter sepulchre
The construction of the Basilica began in 1506, but its origins are much older. It stands on the site where the Emperor Constantine had built a Christian Basilica in the IV century.
- 4. Visual illusions
The first optical illusions we meet are those related to the ‘Colonnato di San Pietro’: the 284 columns have been positioned in such a way as to create perspective games. In fact, right from the centre of San Peter’s square, it seems to have only one row of colums (all the others disappear behind the first line); furthermore, if we walk throughout the Colonnade, the columns will look like move away and get closer. Another illusion is given by the light: in this case columns will seem to have different colors. Another visual illusion refers to the Dome: if we look at the Dome standing behind the Obelisc we will be able to ‘see’ a Triangle formed by the golden sphere and the milesstones.
- 5. The Vatican Grottoes
You maybe don’t know about the presence of the Vatican Grottoes under the central aisle of the Basilica, three meters deep. They are located exactly between the Constantinian Basilica and the current one. There you can admire lots of works of art, the sepulchres of previous Popes and, above all, the original Saint Peter’s tomb, who according to the legend, was martyred in the Vatican Area, right where the Basilica was built.
- 6. How to visit St. Peter's Basilica
Visiting the Basilica is free, but given the high number of visitors it is recommended to book a guided tour (group or audio-guide)