Again : awe-inspiring.

I know I keep saying that.

But, for reals y’all

We walked around the corner from the Sistine Chapel and stopped for a bit in the atrium. No tour guides were allowed inside the church, so Jimmy stopped basically just outside the door to prepare us for what we were about to see … and then we said goodbye (sad)!

But, then we still had the whole of St. Peter’s Basilica to explore. AND we were getting to skip the WHOLE big line out in St. Peter’s Square.

St. Peter’s Basilica is not only HUGE but has some big significances for Catholics (and any Christians, really). ….

From Rick Steves:

Nearly 2000 year ago, this area was the site of Nero’s Circus – a huge, cigar-shaped Roman chariot racecourse. Romans had no marching bands, so for halftime entertainment they killed Christians. This persecuted minority was forced to fight wild animals and gladiators, or they were simply crucified. Some were tarred up, tied to posts, and burned – human torches to light up the evening races.

One of those killed here, in about AD 65, was Peter, Jesus’ right hand man, who had come to Rome to spread the message of live. At his own request, Peter was crucified upside-down, because he felt unworthy to die as his master had. His remains were buried in a nearby cemetery located where the main altar in St. Peter’s is today. For 250 years these relics were quietly and secretly revered.

Peter was considered the first pope, and the main church for Christianity (once it was legalized) was built on the site of Peter’s martyrdom … until about 1506 with “Old St. Peter’s” was falling apart and not really worthy to be the center of Western religion ….

rebuilt into what we’re going to see now …

(note: I really am not up on my Catholic history, and he IS a Lutheran, but I heard on a Rick Steves podcast once that one of the subtle political reasons the Catholic church don’t let their priests marry is to ensure that all their money (the priests’) when they die is left to the Church. Just think about that when you’re looking at these pics)

The atrium (pictured below) from Rick Steves:

The atrium is itself bigger than most churches. The huge white columns on the portico date from the first church (fourth century). Five famous bronze doors lead into the church.

Made from the melted-down bronze of the original door of old St. Peter’s, the central door was the first Renaissance work in Rome (c. 1450). It is only opened on special occasions.

The far-right entrance is the Holy Door, opened only during Holy Years. On Christmas Eve every 25 years, the pope knocks three times with a silver hammer and the door opens, welcoming pilgrims to pass through. After Pope John Paul opened the door on Christmas Eve 1999, he bricked it up again with a ceremonial trowel a year later to wait another 24 years.

And then we walked in.

And were stunned.

We *may* have stood inside the doorway a little too long.

Even though the Rick Steves guidebook advised us to save it for last, the first thing we saw was La Pieta, inside and to the right. Easily identifiable by the big crowd of people trying to flash their cameras through the bullet-proof glass.

you can read more about this amazing piece below the image …

sidenote : this is likely the only sculpture actually signed by Michelangelo. After it was commissioned, completed and placed on display, Michelangelo overheard another artist taking credit for the work. So, in the dead of night, Michelangelo snuck into the church and chiseled his name across Mary’s sash. But it appears that he didn’t properly estimate the space needed because the beginning letters are a lot larger than the end!

From Rick Steves:

Michelangelo was 24 years old when he completed this Pieta of Mary with the dead body of Christ taken from the cross. It was Michelangelo’s first major commission, done for the Holy Year 1500.

Pieta means ‘pity.’ Michelangelo, with his total mastery of the real world, captures the sadness of the moment. Mary cradles her crucified son in her lap. Christ’s lifeless right arm drooping down lets us know how heavy this corpse is. His smooth skin is accented by the rough folds of Mary’s robe. Mary tilts her head down, looking at her dead son with sad tenderness. Her left hand turns upward, asking, “How could they do this to you?”

Michelangelo didn’t think of sculpting as creating a figure, but as simply freeing the God-made figure from the prison of marble around it. He’d attack a project like this with an inspired passion, chipping away to find what God put inside.

The bunched up shoulder and rigormortis legs show that Michelangelo learned well from his studies of cadavers. But realistic as this work is, its true power lies in the subtle “unreal” features. Life-size Christ looks childlike compared with larger-than-life Mary. Unnoticed at first, this accentuates the subconscious impression of Mary enfolding Jesus in her maternal love. Mary – the mother of a 33-yr-old man – looks like a teenager, emphasizing how Mary was the eternally youthful ‘handmaiden’ of the Lord, always serving him, even at this moment of supreme sacrifice. She accepts God’s will, even if it means giving up her son.

The statue is a solid pyramid of maternal tenderness. Yet within this, Christ’s body tilts diagonally down to the right and Mary’s hem flows with it. Subconsciously, we feel the weight of this dead God sliding from her lap to the ground.

{re: the bullet proof glass}:

At 11:30 on May 23, 1972, a madman with a hammer entered St. Peter’s and began hacking away at the Pieta. The damage was repaired but that’s why there is now a shield of bulletproof glass.

So, without a doubt, this place is HUGE:

• the golden window at the far end is 2 football fields away
• the church covers 6 acres
• the babies at the base of the pillars along the main hall are adult-size.
• the lettering in the gold band along the top is 7 feet high (!!)
• The church has the capacity for 60,000 standing worshipers.

But really, a lot of the design is intentionally trying to make the space feel more intimate and small. The altar in the photo above is directly below the dome and designed to make the dome feel not quite as high (since you have this closer piece to relate to) …

DUDE. SEVEN FEET HIGH.

We actually got there *about* the time of evening Mass. Which means we saw a little (tiny) bit of the ceremony and heard the singing. … pretty spectacular in that space!

HOLY.COW.

There’s really a lot more details I want to tell you all …. but that would make this post a bit word-heavy.

So. You can vote.

Leave a comment with whether or not  you want to learn more about St. Peter’s Basilca (the design, the history, the context, etc).

I’ll count the ‘votes’ Tuesday 4/6 at midnight PST.

If the YAYs have it, I’ll make edits to this post and make sure to add in all the detail to post 2 (Thursday).

Otherwise I’ll leave it as-is.

Either way, make sure you go when you visit Rome.

want to read more?

• Rome, Italy – St. Peter’s Basilica part 2 – Friday
• Rome, Italy – St. Peter’s square – Friday
• Rome, Italy – Vatican Museum 1 – Friday
• Rome, Italy – walk across Rome – Friday
• Rome, Italy – Santa Cecilia church in Trastevere – Sunday