Overview
Pope Julius II laid the foundation stone in 1506, replacing the crumbling 4th-century Old St. Peter’s that stood over the site venerated as Peter’s tomb. Construction ran 120 years until the consecration in 1626.
Description
A century of architects shaped it: Bramante’s original plan, Michelangelo’s design for the great dome (completed after his death by Giacomo della Porta in 1590), Carlo Maderno’s nave and facade, and later Bernini’s embracing colonnades around the piazza (1656–1667). Michelangelo’s Pietà stands inside.
History and legacy
Financing the rebuilding through the sale of indulgences was among the immediate triggers of Luther’s protest in 1517 and the Reformation. Architecturally, the basilica became the model against which every later dome — from London to Washington — was measured.