It is a Renaissance style church built between 1506 and 1626. And it is the church of the Bishop of Rome (The pope).

I also have some videos for you at the bottom of the page.

Imagine the scope and patience of a project that took 120 years to complete. It saw many generations of workers and it was contributed to by many of the Renaissance greats including Bramante, Raphael, Bernini, and Michelangelo.

It is difficult to grasp the fact that this basilica has been around for more than 500 years. It's even a little bit humbling.

This first picture is a view of the basilica as seen beyond the Bridge of Angels.

This next picture shows the Baldachin inside the Basilica. It is a baroque style structure over the altar. And it was designed by Bernini. I have a video about Bernini below. He is not as famous as Michelangelo or DaVinci but he should be. He wasn't a Renaissance Artist. He came shortly after they did and he ushered in the Baroque era.

Visiting Saint Peter's Basilica is an overwhelming and humbling experience. The whole thing is imposing and daunting; everything is larger than life and this includes the building itself, the sculptures, the rooms, windows, and paintings. Everything is physically imposing and spiritually potent.

This picture shows an aerial view of the Basilica. And one of the amazing things about it is the colonnade structure in front of it. It forms a very large courtyard for people to congregate.

Picture credit: lafiguradelpadre Congreso, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Basilica at Lourdes has a very similar colonnade structure. You can check out my visit to Lourdes right here: