St Peter Church wheelchair accessible tours traveling Rome

The great St Peter's Basilica, the most important of the Christian world, is the monument that manages to bring together in one place the pilgrims and lovers of art.

It is dedicated to Peter, the first among the Apostles, the first Pope and head of the Church.

Peter, called by Jesus himself, because chosen to be the "rock" on which to build his Church, was the most enterprising of the Apostles suffered imprisonment and was miraculously freed.

Left Jerusalem to come to Rome, the center of the Roman Empire.

Here was the first bishop and pope for 25 years.

During the fierce persecution ordered by Emperor Nero, he was imprisoned from thousands of other Christians crucified and died, around 64 DC on the Vatican Hill.

When the Emperor Constantine in the IV century, decided to build a large basilica dedicated to St Peter, it needed a solid base.

Its architects created it gutting the Vatican Hill and paving the earth over the graves.

Many tombs were buried, despite the protests of their owners who saw forcibly buried necropolis.

Thus was born the first Basilica which has since represented the physical and spiritual center of Christianity.

St.Peter Church Basilica

The first project of the Bramante Renaissance Church, was great and very bold.

Build a huge dome, the size of that of the Pantheon, over an equally majestic church.

Pope Julius II called Michelangelo himself entrusting the task to finish the basilica and to design its monumental tomb, which will become the artist's obsession.

Later will be appointed by the Pope to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The dome was one of the many brilliant insights of Michelangelo, who modified the original plan of Bramante, to give greater prominence to the dome.

He wanted it bigger than that of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, designed by Brunelleschi, from which, however, certainly drew inspiration.