Architecture Gallery
St. Peter's Basilica
click for larger image
New St. Peter's Basilica
Rome, Italy, 1506-1666. By the late 15th century, the original Basilica of St. Peter's built by Constantine I in the early 4th century A.D. was falling apart. Pope Julius II made the monumental decision to tear down the old church and to build an entirely new one, rather than renovate the old, decaying structure. The task took 150 years, under the direction of the architects Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. Bramante established the basic plan, Michelangelo designed the dome, and Bernini designed and built the great piazza in front of the church. Given the length of time it took to build, the church is both a structure of the High Renaissance and of the Baroque in style. The dome follows the lead of Brunelleschi in its two-shell design, while the piazza combines sculpture and architecture in a way that is distinctively Baroque in its sweep and drama. Basilica di San Pietro