St. Peter's Basilica

A Renaissance-era papal basilica in Vatican City, built over the traditional burial place of Saint Peter. It is a major center of Catholic worship and one of the largest churches in the world.

Old St. Peter's Basilica: The late-antique basilica built over Saint Peter's traditional tomb and replaced by the present church. Its demolition and replacement mark the transition to the Renaissance basilica.
Pope Julius II: Pope from 1503 to 1513 who initiated the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica. He commissioned the new basilica and appointed Donato Bramante as its first chief architect.
Papal Mass: A Mass celebrated by the pope, often as a public liturgy for a large congregation. The basilica hosts major papal liturgies throughout the Catholic calendar.
Saint Peter: One of Jesus's apostles, regarded in Catholic tradition as the first bishop of Rome and the first pope. The basilica is built over the place traditionally identified as his burial site.
Renaissance architecture: An architectural movement that revived classical forms and proportion in Europe from the fifteenth century onward. The basilica's design emerged from Renaissance experiments with centralized plans, domes, and classical orders.
Donato Bramante: An Italian architect who helped establish High Renaissance architecture in Rome. His central-plan design set the ambitious direction for the rebuilding.
Holy Door: A specially designated church doorway opened during a Catholic jubilee year as a sign of pilgrimage and spiritual renewal. The basilica's Holy Door is opened for jubilee pilgrimage.
Papacy: The office and institution of the pope as head of the Catholic Church and bishop of Rome. The basilica's status and ceremonies express the papacy's presence in Rome.
Greek-cross plan: A church plan with four arms of equal length arranged around a central crossing. Bramante's proposed design centered the church on a Greek-cross plan.
Michelangelo: An Italian sculptor, painter, and architect whose works include the dome design for St. Peter's Basilica. He revised the church's plans and shaped the dome's final design.

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