CKV magazine Jun. 2014 | Page 20

SAN  PIETRO,  VATICAN  CITY     General  information:   FACTS & FIGURES Vatican City, Build between 1506 – 1626, Build for Petrus Architects: Donato Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo de Jongere, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderno, Gianlorenzo Bernini. 220 m length, 150 m width, 138 height.     History  of  the  church   After   the   crucifixion   of   Jesus,   one   of   his   apostles   took   over   his   place  and  his  name  was  Petrus.  He  is  seen  as  the  founder  of   the   Christian   church   and   as   the   first   pope.   Petrus   went   to   Rome   to   visit   the   city   but   he   was   tortured   and   executed   by   Emperor   Nero   on   Saint   Peter’s   Square,   then   called   Circus   of   Nero.  The  story  goes  that  Petrus  was  crucified  the  other  way   around  because  he  did  not  want  to  die  the  same  way  as  Jesus.   San  Pietro  has  been  built  in  memory  of  Petrus  and  built  on  his   remains.       San  Pietro  has  been  rebuild  over  the  last  couple  of  centuries.  The  first  time  it  was  built  by  emperor   Constantine  the  Great  in  324  in  the  shape  of  a  basilica.  However,  in  the  15th  century  the  state  of  the   building  was  so  terrible  it  had  to  be  rebuilt  and  this  was  initiated  by  Pope  Nicolas  V,  but  the  basilica   had  to  be  destructed.  A  new  church  in  the  shape  of  a  cross  was  built  by  Pope  Julius  II  and  his   architects.  After  some  parts  were  broken  down  and  rebuilt  again,  Michelangelo  finally  took  over  the   building  process  and  finished  it  with  the  help  of  others.  Famous  aspects  like  the  huge  canopy  and   paintings  have  been  made  by  Bernini.  A  weird  fact  is  that  the  basilisk  is  the  other  way  around;  the   entrance  is  towards  the  east  and  the  altar  is  towards  the  west.  Even  today,  one  does  not  know   whether  is  was  a  huge  and  incredibly  stupid  mistake,  or  that  it  was  in  some  way  a  kind  of  message.     My  opinion   I  think  the  basilisk  is  quite  impressive.  The  massive  building  is  already   impressive  by  its  sizes,  but  also  the  atmosphere  contributes  to  this   overwhelming  feeling.  The  atmosphere  is  really  peaceful  and  slow,  and   everyone  is  just  enjoying  their  afternoon  in  the  warm  sun,  chatting  with   friends  or  just  simply  absorbing  the  view.  This  moment  of  peace  starts  as   soon  as  you  walk  through  the  pillars  at  the  sides  and  only  leaves  for  a  little   while  when  waiting  in  the  terribly  busy  queue.     The  building  itself  is  also  very  impressive,  like  I  said  already.  The  symmetry   also  makes  it  look  like  a  natural  thing,  like  something  that  merges  in  with  its   surrounding.  When  you’ve  struggled  through  busses  of  Japanese  and   Chinese  and  you’ve  finally  reached  the  entrance  exhaustedly,  the  first  step  into  the  basilisk  is   magical.  I  was  so  overwhelmed  by  the  hugeness  of  a  building