Inside Earth’s Largest Basilica

The baby angels are in the middle of the canopy on the left.
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

After our respite in the Sistine Chapel we headed down stairs into St. Peter’s Basilica. This is the largest church in Christendom, but it is not the seat of the Bishop of Rome; it’s not a cathedral. Despite lacking a bishop, St. Peter’s does compare itself to other cathedrals around the globe using hash marks on the floor. I’ve been to several of the other cathedrals marked on the floor, and size wise, St. Peter’s dwarfs them all. It’s difficult to explain how truly cavernous this church is. A common method is pointing out the smallest statues, the baby angels above that altar, are about 10 feet tall.

Michelangelo's Pieta
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Around the basilica are chapels (some the size of small churches), and a museum worthy collection of art. Michelangelo was a big contributor, not only as the architect for the building, but also as a sculptor. His Pietà is one of the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful statues I’ve ever seen. This is the only work Michelangelo signed: it was one of his first pieces, and he didn’t want it attributed to someone else. It currently rests behind glass a protective sheet of glass because someone attacked it with a hammer in the 1970s. Taking a photo was tricky because there is always someone who doesn’t understand how a camera works, and they try to photograph through the glass with a flash on, creating a crazy starburst that ruins everyone’s pictures. This technique does not work: turn the flash off.

Around the basilica are numerous paintings, but these are not what they seem. Rome is a very moist and humid place—it was pouring the day we visited St. Peter’s—so normal paintings would disintegrate under these conditions. Thankfully, the paintings aren’t normal; they are carefully crafted mosaics. There are no paintings in St. Peter’s Basilica, they are all mosaics; from even a slight distance the tiles are blended perfectly, only the right angle reveals their secret.

Imminent Death
Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Since we’d already cleared security, when our tour ended we decided to take some time to climb the dome of St. Peter’s. There are two options for ascension, climb 551 steps for €5.00 per person, or take an elevator to the roof of the basilica and only climb 320 steps inside the dome for €7.00 per person. We paid for the elevator, but we still had lots of work ahead of us. Initially the steps were fairly standard in size and height, but the closer we came to the top of the dome, the tighter and steeper the steps became. The very last staircase was so steep and so narrow that there was not handrail, only a gym-class-style rope to cling to for balance. When the exterior walls of the dome curve, the interior walls of the dome curve as well: the hallways went from having straight walls to curved walls. This change started about two thirds up the climb, when my heart was already pounding out of my chest and I was short of breath. When the walls started closing in, I knew I was dying for sure. Then I happened to glance behind me—there was a stooped, old woman climbing steadfastly behind me. She wasn’t even winded. The hallways were so narrow there wasn’t room to pass people, so I had to keep going. When we reached the top we were greeted with a healthy downpour and panoramic views of Vatican City and Rome. We left the shelter of the overhang and ventured to the edge. Here we received a full immersion baptism: all water that falls in Vatican City is Holy water, and we were soaked.

St. Peter's Square from the top of the dome
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Drenched we climbed back down to the roof, where we paused a moment before descending to ground level. I looked around and I noticed a bookstore. We had to go inside! A bookstore on the roof of St. Peter’s Basilica! The shop was run by a few nuns and sold all kinds of books and religious souvenirs. I picked out a beautiful rosary for my grandma and several postcards. I wanted to get a book, but it was raining too much, and they were too big to fit safely in my purse. We returned to the elevator and the ground. We had a quick lunch and prepared ourselves to descend even lower—into the Necropolis under St. Peter’s basilica, and the tomb of the Saint himself.



Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip
Opening Hours and Admission