Old St. Peter's Basilica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Peter's Basilica |
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Basilica Sancti Petri (Latin)
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19th-century drawing of St. Peter's Basilica as it is thought to have looked around 1450. The Vatican obelisk is on the left, still standing on the spot where it was erected on the orders of the Emperor Caligula in 37 AD.
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| 41°54′8″N 12°27′12″E / 41.90222°N 12.45333°E | |
| Location | Rome |
| Country | Papal States |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Status | Major basilica |
| Consecrated | c. 360 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Early Christian |
| Groundbreaking | Between 326 and 333 |
| Completed | c. 360 |
| Demolished | c. 1505 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Rome |
Old St. Peter's Basilica was a very important church building. It stood in Vatican City from the 4th to the 16th century. Today, the much larger St. Peter's Basilica stands in its place.
Construction of the old church began when Constantine I was the Roman Emperor. It was built on the site of the ancient Circus of Nero. People started calling it "Old St. Peter's Basilica" after the new church was built. This helped them tell the two buildings apart.
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Contents
History of the Old Basilica
Building the Church
Emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of the basilica. This happened between 318 and 322 AD, after he became a Christian. It took about 40 years to finish the church. Over the next 1200 years, the church became more and more important. It eventually became a major place for people to visit on pilgrimage in Rome.
Important Events
Many popes were crowned at the basilica. In 800 AD, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor there. This was a very important event in history.
In 846, a group called the Saracens attacked Rome. They damaged and robbed the basilica. These raiders knew about Rome's valuable treasures. St. Peter's Basilica was outside the city's main walls, making it an easy target. It was full of rich church items and jeweled containers holding holy relics. The raiders destroyed Saint Peter's tomb and stole from the holy shrine. After this attack, Pope Leo IV built the Leonine wall to protect the Vatican area. He also repaired the damaged parts of St. Peter's.
The Church Falls Apart
By the 15th century, the old church was starting to fall apart. Discussions began about repairing parts of the building. This happened after the pope returned to Rome from Avignon. Two people involved in these repairs were Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino. They improved parts of the church.
However, Alberti thought the building was poorly built. He said it had very long, tall walls over many openings. He noted there were no curves or supports to make it strong. He believed the wind had already pushed the wall out of place. He worried that it would eventually collapse.
Building the New Basilica
At first, Pope Julius II wanted to save the old building. But soon, he decided to tear it down and build a new, grander church. Many people at the time were shocked by this idea. The old building represented a long history of popes, going all the way back to Saint Peter.
The original altar was planned to be kept in the new building. The old church was torn down in 1505. Construction of the new church began the very next year.
Design of Old St. Peter's
The design of Old St. Peter's was like a typical basilica. Its shape and height were similar to Roman public buildings. Examples include the Basilica Ulpia in Trajan's Forum. It was not designed like a Greek or Roman temple. Some believe its design might have been inspired by descriptions of Solomon's Temple.
Constantine worked hard to build the basilica exactly where he and Pope Sylvester I believed Saint Peter was buried. This spot had been marked since at least the second century. The church was built on the sloped Vatican Hill, near the Tiber River. Since this area was outside the ancient city walls, the altar was placed in the west. This way, the front of the church could be easily reached from Rome, which was to the east. The outside of the church was not decorated much, unlike older pagan temples.
The church was large enough to hold 3,000 to 4,000 worshipers. It had five aisles: a wide central nave and two smaller aisles on each side. These aisles were separated by 21 marble columns. These columns were taken from earlier pagan buildings. The church was over 350 feet (107 meters) long. It was shaped like a Latin cross. It had a gabled roof made of timber inside, which was over 100 feet (30 meters) high in the center. In the 6th century, a courtyard called the "Garden of Paradise" was added at the entrance. It had five doors leading into the church.
The altar of Old St. Peter's Basilica used several special Solomonic columns. People traditionally believed that Constantine I brought these columns from the Temple of Solomon. However, they probably came from a church in the East. When Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed his famous baldachin for the new St. Peter's altar, he used the twisted design of these old columns. Eight of the original columns were moved to the pillars of the new St. Peter's Basilica.
Beautiful Mosaics
The amazing Navicella mosaic (made between 1305 and 1313) was in the church's courtyard. It is believed to have been created by Giotto di Bondone. This huge mosaic was commissioned by Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi. It covered the entire wall above the entrance, facing the courtyard. It showed Saint Peter walking on water. Most of this incredible artwork was destroyed when the new St. Peter's was built in the 16th century. However, some pieces were saved. "Navicella" means "little ship," referring to the large boat in the scene. Its sail, filled by storm winds, stood out on the horizon. Showing a seascape so realistically was only known from ancient art before this.
The nave ended with an arch that had a mosaic. This mosaic showed Constantine and Saint Peter presenting a model of the church to Christ. On the walls, which had 11 windows each, were frescoes. These were paintings of different people and scenes from both the Old Testament and New Testament. Some records say that Giotto painted five frescoes about the life of Christ. He also painted other panels. Some of these were destroyed or moved when the new St. Peter's was built.
A small piece of an 8th-century mosaic, called the Epiphany, is one of the few remaining parts of the old church's medieval decorations. This valuable piece is kept in the sacristy of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. It shows how high the artistic quality of the destroyed mosaics was. Another piece, a standing Madonna, is on a side altar in the Basilica of San Marco in Florence.
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Navicella mosaic – fragment in Boville Ernica
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Navicella mosaic – fragment in Vatican
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Mosaic of the Adoration of the Magi, now in Santa Maria in Cosmedin
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Mater misericordiae, now in San Marco in Florence
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Mosaic, now in the Museo Barracco
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Two pairs of the original Solomonic columns now support curved pediments to form trompe-l'œil porticoes on the piers of St. Peter's
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Solomonic Column
Tombs and Burials
Since the crucifixion and burial of Saint Peter in 64 AD, this spot was believed to be his tomb. A small shrine stood there. As the church became more famous, it was richly decorated. It had statues, furniture, and fancy chandeliers. Side tombs and altars were added over time.
The building was filled with the tombs and bodies of saints and popes. Bones were still being found during construction as late as 1544.
Most of these tombs were destroyed when Old St. Peter's Basilica was torn down in the 16th and 17th centuries. One tomb was destroyed during the Saracen attack in 846. The remaining tombs, mostly just the sarcophagi (stone coffins) and their contents, were moved. They were taken to the modern St. Peter's Basilica, which stands on the same site. A few others went to different churches in Rome.
Only two papal tombs survived the demolition and were properly rebuilt in the present St. Peter's. These were from the 1490s by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. They belonged to Pope Innocent VIII and Pope Sixtus IV. These were well-known and new works, with bronze statues made by a famous sculptor from Florence.
Many old tombs were lost due to the rebuilding of St. Peter's. This includes tombs from the ancient Catacombs of Rome and those affected by two fires in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. About half of all papal tombs were destroyed. Because of this, Donato Bramante, the main architect of the modern St. Peter's Basilica, was sometimes called Maestro Ruinante, which means "Master Ruiner."
The Stefaneschi Triptych
The Stefaneschi Altarpiece is a triptych (a painting with three panels) by the Italian medieval painter Giotto. It was ordered by Cardinal Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi. It was meant to be an altarpiece for one of the altars in Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
This artwork is a rare example of a documented work by Giotto. It even has his signature. However, the exact date it was made is debated. Many experts believe that Giotto's workshop helped create it. For a long time, people thought it was made for the church's main altar. But newer research suggests it was placed on the "canon's altar." This altar was in the nave, just to the left of the large arch leading into the transept. Today, you can see it at the Pinacoteca Vaticana in Rome.
See also
- List of Greco-Roman roofs
- Index of Vatican City-related articles
