Michelangelo's dome, the Pietà and Bernini's colonnade
Built over the tomb of the apostle Peter, St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City is the largest church in the Christian world. The present building replaced Constantine's basilica in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with contributions from Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, who designed the great dome, and Carlo Maderno, who built the façade.
Bernini completed the work with the bronze baldachin over the papal altar and the immense colonnade of St Peter's Square, two arms that embrace the faithful. Inside, the first chapel on the right holds Michelangelo's Pietà, sculpted when he was only 24. The climb to the dome, partly by lift, leads to a terrace 136 metres high with a view over all of Rome and the Vatican gardens.
Tip: entry is free but there are security queues, shortest early in the morning; shoulders and knees must be covered. The Vatican Grottoes hold the tombs of many popes.
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