What was Donato Bramante’s original plan for St. Peter’s Basilica?

Donato Bramante’s original design for the new St. Peter’s Basilica was based on a central ground plan in the shape of a Greek cross—a design featuring four arms of equal length—centered around a massive dome.1

Commissioned by Pope Julius II to replace the 4th-century Old St. Peter’s, Bramante’s ambitious project aimed to create a structure of gigantic dimensions that adhered to the classical idiom of antiquity. While the project was intended to be his greatest work, the construction was only in its early stages at the time of his death in 1514, and the design underwent numerous changes by subsequent architects over the following century. Ultimately, the church was transformed into a longitudinal Latin cross plan to accommodate liturgical requirements, a change finalized by the addition of a nave and facade by Carlo Maderno.231