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89-616: Truman's plans to build a balcony off the Yellow Oval Room were controversial. Truman argued that the addition of a balcony would provide shade for the first floor portico , avoiding the need for awnings , and would balance the White House's south face by breaking up the long verticals created by the columns. Truman had previously had a request for an extension to the West Wing rejected by Congress. Though Truman had told Howell G. Crim ,

178-446: A giant order of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 5.55-metre (18.2 ft) statues of the first-century apostles to Rome, Saints Peter and Paul . The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in

267-420: A building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi

356-516: A century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either Greek Cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, or of a Latin Cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at Florence Cathedral . Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss

445-424: A continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world . Its internal diameter is 41.47 metres (136.1 ft), slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of

534-399: A continuous wall surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other, in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them, the huge cornice ripples in

623-476: A formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that in this case, the supporting wall becomes a drum raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a peristyle . In the case of Florence Cathedral , the desired visual appearance of

712-573: A large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including Michelangelo 's Pietà . The central feature is a baldachin , or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini . The apse culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic Chair of Saint Peter . The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of

801-403: A large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways. The major change restored an earlier design, in which the outer dome appears to rise above, rather than rest directly on the base. Most of the other changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around

890-476: A nave by Carlo Maderno . It is the chancel end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the Vatican State and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent

979-437: A regular balcony will have doors that open onto a small patio with railings, a small patio garden or skyrise greenery . A French balcony is a false balcony, with doors that open to a railing with a view of the courtyard or the surrounding scenery below. Sometimes balconies are adapted for ceremonial purposes, e.g. that of St. Peter's Basilica at Rome , when the newly elected pope gives his blessing urbi et orbi after

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1068-599: A scandal and led to the Protestant Reformation . Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery , Florence. It was the design of Donato Bramante that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of

1157-627: Is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's Mausoleum . Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via St. Peter's Square , a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades . The first space is oval and the second trapezoidal. The façade of the basilica, with

1246-613: Is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City , an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome , Italy. It was initially planned in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the ageing Old St. Peter's Basilica , which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great . Construction of the present basilica began on 18 April 1506 and

1335-405: Is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade , usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartments and cruise ships. The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden, closed balcony projecting from a wall. In contrast, a Juliet balcony does not protrude out of the building. It

1424-704: Is held by the Pope's cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , the mother church of all churches in communion with the Catholic Church . However, St. Peter's is functionally the Pope's principal church, as most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The " Chair of Saint Peter ", or cathedra , an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself, but which

1513-689: Is normal for balconies to be named descriptively. For example, slide-on cassette balconies referring to the modern method used to install aluminum balconies or cast-in-situ balconies relating to concrete balconies poured on a construction site. St. Peter%27s Basilica This is an accepted version of this page The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( Italian : Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano ), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( Latin : Basilica Sancti Petri ; Italian: Basilica di San Pietro [baˈziːlika di sam ˈpjɛːtro] ),

1602-421: Is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of 15 metres (49 ft) high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does

1691-404: Is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections. Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry or stairwell. The effect created is of

1780-445: Is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory. In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and his successor Baldassare Peruzzi maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to

1869-508: Is usually part of an upper floor, with a balustrade only at the front, resembling a small loggia . A modern Juliet balcony often involves a metal barrier placed in front of a high window that can be opened. In the UK, the technical name for one of these was officially changed in August 2020 to a Juliet guarding . Juliet balconies are named after William Shakespeare 's Juliet who, in traditional staging of

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1958-584: The Diocese of Rome (these equivalent titles being held by the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome), St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world", and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom ." Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter , chief among Jesus 's apostles and also

2047-523: The Pantheon of Ancient Rome , 43.3 metres (142 ft), and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance , 44 metres (144 ft). It has a greater diameter by approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) than Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what

2136-583: The White House Chief Usher , and J. B. West , Crim's assistant, of his ideas for a balcony, he had kept his plans secret until the announcement by his press secretary, Charlie Ross . The plans were executed by William Adams Delano , who had carried out alterations to the house during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge . Critics of the proposal, including members of the Commission of Fine Arts , argued that

2225-408: The conclave . Inside churches, balconies are sometimes provided for the singers, and in banqueting halls and the like for the musicians. In theatres, the balcony was formerly a stage box, but the name is now usually confined to the part of the auditorium above the dress circle and below the gallery. Balconies are part of the sculptural shape of the building allowing for irregular facades without

2314-419: The dome of Florence Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a hemispherical dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall. The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving

2403-603: The second tallest building in Rome as of 2016 . The dome's soaring height placed it among the tallest buildings of the Old World , and it continues to hold the title of tallest dome in the world . Though the largest dome in the world by diameter at the time of its completion, it no longer holds this distinction. After the crucifixion of Jesus, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the Acts of

2492-703: The Apostles that one of his twelve disciples, Simon known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from Galilee , took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church . The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from petra which means "stone" or "rock" in Greek , and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa",

2581-993: The Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin , the larger Choir Chapel, the altar of the Transfiguration, the Clementine Chapel with the altar of Saint Gregory , the Sacristy Entrance, the Altar of the Lie, the left transept with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas , the altar of the Sacred Heart , the Chapel of the Madonna of Column, the altar of Saint Peter and

2670-629: The Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than 150 metres (490 ft) from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica

2759-646: The Classic Greek style of the building would be undermined in order to create a leisure space for the First Family . The commission's chairman, civil engineer and landscape architect Gilmore David Clarke , wrote to Truman to voice his opposition to the balcony. Truman responded, restating his belief that the residence would be enhanced by the project especially as it presented an opportunity to replace unattractive awnings, which he said collected dirt and constituted an eyesore, with wooden shades that could be rolled up under

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2848-460: The Early Renaissance lantern of Florence Cathedral designed for Brunelleschi's dome by Michelozzo . Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel , nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with

2937-687: The Paralytic, the apse with the Chair of Saint Peter , the altar of Saint Peter raising Tabitha , the altar of St. Petronilla, the altar of the Archangel Michael , the altar of the Navicella , the right transept with altars of Saint Erasmus , Saints Processo and Martiniano, and Saint Wenceslas , the altar of St. Jerome, the altar of Saint Basil , the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour,

3026-423: The addition of a transept or bema , giving the building the shape of a tau cross . It was over 103.6 metres (340 ft) long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded atrium . This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter , though the tomb was "smashed" in 846 AD . It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of

3115-409: The apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape. When Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra Giocondo , who both died in 1515 (Bramante himself having died the previous year). Raphael was confirmed as the architect of St. Peter's on 1 August 1514. The main change in his plan

3204-623: The architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex , or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door , only opened during jubilees . The interior dimensions are vast when compared to other churches. One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by

3293-584: The balcony was completed, several of those who had opposed the project wrote to the President acknowledging that the balcony had in fact improved the south face of the Residence. In a September 2012 interview in Vanity Fair , President Barack Obama listed the balcony as his and his wife Michelle Obama 's favorite spot in the White House. Balcony A balcony (from Italian : balcone , "scaffold" )

3382-516: The bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb . Old St. Peter's Basilica was the fourth-century church begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great between 319 and 333 AD. It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with

3471-400: The building into a short nave with a wide façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form. Sangallo's main practical contribution

3560-512: The building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of indulgences in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg , who had to clear debts owed to the Roman Curia by contributing to the rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel , whose salesmanship provoked

3649-496: The choir had also been built. Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter's. In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in

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3738-519: The cost of irregular internal structures. In addition to functioning as an outdoor space for a dwelling unit, balconies can also play a secondary role in building sustainability and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Balconies have been shown to provide an overhang effect that helps prevent interior overheating by reducing solar gain , and may also have benefits in terms of blocking noise and improving natural ventilation within units. Balconies can be made out of various materials; historically , stone

3827-503: The cross are set two lead caskets, one containing a fragment of the True Cross and a relic of St. Andrew and the other containing medallions of the Holy Lamb. In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times,

3916-448: The crypt of the basilica in an area inaccessible since the ninth century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from Clement VIII (1594) to Callixtus II (1123) and Gregory I (590–604), built over an aedicula containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious murex purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that

4005-402: The dome to completion in 1590, the last year of the reign of Sixtus V . His successor, Gregory XIV , saw Fontana complete the lantern and had an inscription to the honour of Sixtus V placed around its inner opening. The next pope, Clement VIII , had the cross raised into place, an event which took all day, and was accompanied by the ringing of the bells of all the city's churches. In the arms of

4094-438: The drum and dome, the whole building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit." It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all

4183-440: The drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each 18 metres (59 ft) across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola with Giorgio Vasari appointed by Pope Pius V as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585

4272-407: The earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral. Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) high: TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM ET TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM ("... you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... and I will give you the keys of

4361-537: The early years of the Church, been buried near Pope St. Peter in the necropolis beneath the Basilica. Construction of the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and finished in 1615. At length, on 18 November 1626 Pope Urban VIII solemnly dedicated the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the Major Basilicas of Rome. This honour

4450-572: The earth ... the sublime of the beautiful." St. Peter's Basilica is one of the papal basilicas (previously styled "patriarchal basilicas") and one of the four Major Basilicas of Rome the others (all of which are also Papal Basilicas) being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran , St. Mary Major , and St. Paul outside the Walls . The rank of major basilica confers on St. Peter's Basilica precedence before all minor basilicas worldwide. However, unlike all

4539-456: The effect of creating both vertical and horizontal ribs while lightening the overall load. At the summit is an ocular opening 8 metres (26 ft) across which provides light to the interior. Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in Tufa Concrete for which he had rediscovered

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4628-460: The energetic Pope Sixtus V appointed Giacomo della Porta who was to be assisted by Domenico Fontana . The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate. Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him, also left

4717-426: The engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However, Lees-Milne cites Giacomo della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself

4806-440: The exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome. Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realized the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended

4895-573: The first Bishop of Rome ( Pope ). Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the high altar of the basilica, also known as the Altar of the Confession . For this reason, many popes, cardinals and bishops have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period. St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout

4984-464: The greatest building of its age. St. Peter's is ranked second, after the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran , amongst the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major papal basilica , all four of which are in Rome, and is also one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome . Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop. St. Peter's

5073-597: The heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the Confessio or Chapel of the Confession , in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains

5162-430: The huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon . The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a lantern with its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to

5251-528: The ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity." As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with

5340-563: The integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the Classicism of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the architecture of the Baroque . Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana brought

5429-531: The internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other features of Bramante. This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by Emperor Charles V . Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized. At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends

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5518-460: The job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice . Michelangelo wrote, "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim by whatever means he saw fit. Michelangelo took over

5607-690: The larger Chapel of the Holy Sacrament , the Chapel of Saint Sebastian and the Chapel of the Pietà . The Monuments, in a clockwise direction, are to: Maria Clementina Sobieska , The Stuarts , Benedict XV , John XXIII , St. Pius X , Innocent VIII , Leo XI , Innocent XI , Pius VII , Pius VIII , Alexander VII , Alexander VIII , Paul III , Urban VIII , Clement X , Clement XIII , Benedict XIV , St Peter (Bronze Statue), Gregory XVI , Gregory XIV , Gregory XIII , Matilda of Canossa , Innocent XII , Pius XII , Pius XI , Christina of Sweden , and Leo XII . At

5696-518: The name given to Simon by Jesus. ( John 1:42 , and see Matthew 16:18 ) Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, travelled to Rome and met his martyrdom there along with Paul on 13 October 64 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero . His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome . According to Jerome , Peter

5785-440: The new balcony. Contemporary political cartoonists satirized the President's balcony project, suggesting that it might even cost him the 1948 presidential election . Plans for the balcony were approved by architect William Adams Delano . No request was made to Congress for the $ 16,050.74 (equivalent to $ 203,546.5 in 2023) cost of constructing the balcony, as Truman had saved a sufficient sum from his household account. Once

5874-503: The other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State , and not that of Italy. It is the most prominent building in the Vatican City . Its dome is a feature of the skyline of Rome and covers an area of 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres). One of the holiest sites of Christianity and Catholic Tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its titular, St. Peter , who

5963-417: The period of the Avignon Papacy , the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding or at least making radical changes was Pope Nicholas V (1447–1455). He commissioned work on the old building from Leone Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign

6052-399: The peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form. According to James Lees-Milne the design

6141-415: The play Romeo and Juliet , is courted by Romeo while she is on her balcony—although the play itself, as written, makes no mention of a balcony, but only of a window at which Juliet appears. Various types of balcony have been used in this famous scene; the "balcony of Juliet" at Villa Capuleti in Verona is not a Juliet balcony, as it protrudes from the wall of the villa (see photograph below). A unit with

6230-432: The pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible. Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in a herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with

6319-415: The popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building. Since the construction of the current basilica, the name Old St. Peter's Basilica has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings. By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during

6408-831: The popular imagination". A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the Uffizi Gallery . A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of Leo X (1513–1521), Adrian VI (1522–1523), Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III (1534–1549), Julius III (1550–1555), Marcellus II (1555), Paul IV (1555–1559), Pius IV (1559–1565), Pius V (saint) (1565–1572), Gregory XIII (1572–1585), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV (1590–1591), Innocent IX (1591), Clement VIII (1592–1605), Leo XI (1605), Paul V (1605–1621), Gregory XV (1621–1623), Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Innocent X (1644–1655). One method employed to finance

6497-407: The previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome must appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's angles and restraining its projections. If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of

6586-400: The scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us." The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The Baptistery ,

6675-399: The scene makes no mention of a balcony, only of a window at which Juliet appears). Manufacturers' names for their balcony railing designs often refer to the origin of the design, e.g. Italian balcony, Spanish balcony, Mexican balcony, Ecuadorian balcony. They also refer to the shape and form of the pickets used for the balcony railings, e.g. knuckle balcony. Within the construction industry it

6764-475: The spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo. A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one. In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi ' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous. Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of

6853-448: The year both within the basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square ; these liturgies draw audiences numbering from 15,000 to over 80,000 people. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the early Christian Church , the Papacy , the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as

6942-453: Was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success". Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of Florence , is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome

7031-595: Was a gift from Charles the Bald and used by many popes, symbolizes the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse of the Basilica, supported symbolically by the Doctors of the Church and enlightened symbolically by the Holy Spirit . As one of the constituent structures of the historically and architecturally significant Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica

7120-432: Was capable. Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments, "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo] ... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into

7209-410: Was completed on 18 November 1626. Designed principally by Donato Bramante , Michelangelo , and Carlo Maderno , with piazza and fittings by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , St. Peter's is one of the most renowned works of Italian Renaissance architecture and is the largest church in the world by interior measure. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of

7298-423: Was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom . The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of concrete , made light by the inclusion of a large amount of the volcanic stones tuff and pumice. The inner surface of the dome is deeply coffered which has

7387-440: Was constructed over this site. The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials as for many years after the burial of Saint Peter , many Christians chose to be buried near him. In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began under

7476-515: Was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero . The obelisk now stands in St. Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome . According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside

7565-465: Was frustrated by political problems and when he died, little had been achieved. He had, however, ordered the demolition of the Colosseum and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building. The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed Latin cross with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for

7654-463: Was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 under criteria (i), (ii), (iv), and (vi). With an exterior area of 21,095 square metres (227,060 sq ft), an interior area of 15,160 square metres (163,200 sq ft), St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church building in the world by the two latter metrics and the second largest by the first as of 2016 . The top of its dome, at 448.1 feet (136.6 m), also places it as

7743-558: Was the head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome , rendering him the first Pope . Although the New Testament does not mention St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome, tradition, based on the writings of the Fathers of the Church , holds that his tomb is below the baldachin and the altar of the Basilica in the "Confession". For this reason, many Popes have, from

7832-460: Was the most commonly used. With the rise of technology and the modern age, balconies are now able to be built out of other materials, including glass and stainless steel to provide a durable and modern look to a building. One of the most famous uses of a balcony is in traditional staging of the scene that has come to be known as the "balcony scene" in Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet (though

7921-454: Was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack. On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's. He is to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on

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