St. Peter’s and Michelangelo Architecture of St.

Peter’s:
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its Liturgical(A rite or body
Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom [The collective
of rites prescribed for public worship) functions and for its historical
body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in
associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation
Europe and the Americas and Australia)] was the subject of a competition for
and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo.
which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.
The design of Donato Bramante was selected and the foundation stone was
Contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter's is not a Cathedral, as it is
laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek cross with a
not the seat of a bishop. It is properly termed a papal basilica. The Basilica of
dome inspired from the huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon
St. John Lateran is the cathedral church of Rome.
Bramante’s design had the central dome, surrounded by four lower domes at
The Basilica of St. Peter is a huge church in the Renaissance style located in
the diagonal axes. The equal Chancel (Area around the altar of a church for
Rome, west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's
the clergy and choir; often enclosed by a lattice or railing), nave and transept
Mausoleum.
arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse.
Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached
At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan
via St Peter's Piazza, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall
was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points.
colonnades.The first space is oval and the second is trapezoid.
Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular
The facade of the basilica, with a giant order of columns, stretches across the
shape.
end of the square and is approached by steps on which stands, two 5.55
metres (18.2 ft) statues of the 1st century apostles to Rome, Saint Peter and
Saint Paul.

The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross
form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is
still in evidence in the architecture.

The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the
largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex, or entrance
hall, which stretches across the building.

One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy
Door. It is opened only during Holy Years. The interior is of vast dimensions
by comparison with other churches.

There is a barrel-vaulted nave, the highest of any church, leading to the

central dome. The aisles are lower and have a number of chapels off them.
There are also chapels surrounding the central dome.

The entire interior is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural

sculpture and gilding
Michelangelo's contribution:

Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any
constructed since the days of Ancient Rome, were rising behind the remaining nave of the
old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of
the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain
common elements in these schemes.

They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi a century earlier and
which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a
strongly symmetrical plan of either Greek cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in
Venice, or of a Latin cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel as at Florence
Cathedral

Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply
dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision.
Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design.

He reverted to the Greek cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying
the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen
converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity."

The architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric forms of Bramante's plan
where in which it had a square with square Projections and the square with semi-circular
projections from Raphael's plan.

Michelangelo blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of
massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry (A room in a church
where the sacred vessels and vestments [(Gown (especially ceremonial garments) worn by
the clergy] are kept or meetings are held) or stairwell.

The effect created is of a continuous wall-surface that is folded or fractured at different

angles, but lacks the right-angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of
a building.

This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly
different angles to each other, in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's
surface.

Above them the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of
keeping the whole building in a state of compression.