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History
Built to a plan initially conceived at the turn of the fifteenth century by Bramante and finished off, heavily modified, over a century later by Carlo Maderno, St Peter’s is a strange hotchpotch of styles, bridging the gap between the Renaissance and Baroque eras with varying levels of success. It is, however, the principal shrine of the Catholic Church, built as a replacement for the rundown structure erected here by Constantine in the primeval fourth century on the site of St Peter’s tomb. As such it can’t help but impress, having been worked on by the greatest Italian architects of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and occupying a site rich with historical significance. In size, certainly, Saint Peter’s beats most other churches hands down. Bramante had originally conceived a Greek cross plan rising to a high central dome, but this plan was altered after his death and only revived with the (by then) very elderly Michelangelo’s accession as chief architect. Michelangelo was largely responsible for the dome, but he too died shortly afterwards, in 1564, before it was completed. He was succeeded by Vignola, and the dome was completed in 1590 by Giacomo della Porta. Carlo Maderno, under orders from Pope Paul V, took over in 1605, and stretched the church into a Latin cross plan, which had the practical advantage of accommodating more people and followed more directly the plan of Constantine’s original basilica. But in so doing he completely unbalanced all the previous designs, not least by obscuring the dome (which he also modified) from view in the piazza. The inside, too, is very much of the Baroque era, largely the work of Bernini, who created many of the most important fixtures. The church was finally completed and reconsecrated on 18 November, 1626, 1300 years to the day after the original basilica was first consecrated
Tags: basilica, bernini, bramante, carlo maderno, central dome, chief architect, eras, fifteenth century, giacomo della porta, hotchpotch, italian architects, latin cross, michelangelo, pope paul, porta carlo, previous designs, saint peter, seventeenth centuries, st peter, vignola