The Basilica of San Pietro, known officially as the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), is a Renaissance church in the Vatican City, located in Piazza San Pietro. Although the basilica is technically not in Italy, you can easily visit it during your trip to Rome, and that is why we included it among the tourist attractions of the Eternal City. The Saint Peter’s Basilica is the largest of the four papal basilicas of Rome, and is considered the largest church in the world both for its size and for its importance as the center of Catholicism. However, it is not the cathedral church of the Roman diocese, since this title belongs to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, which is also the mother of all the Catholic churches in the world. SHORT HISTORY On this site, there was another church built during the 4th century by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, where, according to tradition, the first apostle of Jesus, Saint Peter, was buried after he was crucified by the emperor Nero. In the 15th century, under Pope Nicholas V, the Constantinian basilica underwent a radical transformation. Read more [...]
Tag: Carlo Fontana in Rome
Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo (People’s Square) is a large square in Rome, located at the foot of the Pincian Hill, near the Villa Borghese gardens. SHORT HISTORY Until the end of the 19th century, when it assumed its current shape, Piazza del Popolo was a modest square with a trapezoidal shape. At the time of the Napoleonic occupation, the architectural and urban aspect of the square was revised by the architect Giuseppe Valadier. Thanks to his intervention, the square assumed the current elliptical shape, completed by a double exedra, decorated with numerous fountains and statues. In 1818, Valadier removed the old fountain of Giacomo Della Porta, and replaced it with a new structure – four fountains in the form of lions, around the base of the obelisk. Valadier continued its work of renewal the square by arranging also the slopes of the Pincian Hill, connecting Piazza del Popolo and the hill with wide ramps, adorned by trees. ARCHITECTURE Piazza del Popolo houses three churches. Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo is the oldest one, located next to the gate with the same name, Porta del Popolo. The church was built in the 11th century by Pope Pasquale II, but Read more [...]
Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto is a church in Rome, located in Piazza del Popolo, between Via del Corso and Via del Babuino. Although there are some differences, the edifice is popularly known as the twin church of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, located nearby. The Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto has an elliptical plan and a dodecagonal dome, while its twin has a circular plan and an octagonal dome. SHORT HISTORY In the 17th century, the Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto replaced a small church which belonged to the Carmelite friars of the province of Monte Santo, in Sicily, hence the name. The construction began in 1662 on the initiative of Pope Alexander VII after a design by Carlo Rainaldi. Following the death of the pope in 1667, the construction works were interrupted. The works were resumed in 1673, under the direction of Carlo Fontana and the supervision of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and the structure was completed in 1679. The bell-tower of the church, built on a design by Francesco Navone, was finished in 1761. In 1953, the church became the seat of the Mass of the artists, an initiative conceived by Read more [...]
