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St. Peter’s Basilica
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Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica
Visit St. Peter's Basilica and learn about the history and architectural styles of this holy place
Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome, features a grand Renaissance facade with columns and a large central dome under a clear blue sky. Pope Francis: A Life in Pictures Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica: Presentation Chapel Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica, altar of St. Gregory the Great Marble sculpture Pieta by Michelangelo shows the Virgin Mary seated and holding the lifeless body of Jesus across her lap, displayed against a marble wall in St. Peter's Basilica. Saint Peter's baldachin by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, a large bronze canopy with twisted columns, stands over the ornate high altar in Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
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Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City: St. Peter's Basilica St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

St. Peter’s Basilica

church, Vatican City
Also known as: New Saint Peter’s Basilica
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

St. Peter’s Basilica, present basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City (an enclave in Rome), begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed in 1615 under Paul V. It is designed as a three-aisled Latin cross with a dome at the crossing, directly above the high altar, which covers the shrine of St. Peter the Apostle. St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture and features many notable Baroque...

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