About St. Peter's Basilica
The measurements sound exaggerated until you step inside: 220 meters long, with room for tens of thousands of people standing. Work began in 1506 and stretched over more than a century, passing through Bramante, Michelangelo and Maderno, while Bernini took care of the square and much of the interior. The dome reaches 136.6 meters.
In a chapel to the right of the entrance stands the Pietà, carved between 1498 and 1499, the only work Michelangelo signed. Since an attack in 1972, it has stood behind protective glass, renewed in 2024. Notice also Bernini's baldachin, raised over the papal altar.
