The Basilica di San Pietro is perhaps the most renowned basilica of Rome, but it is also the biggest church in the world, overarched by the 136.5 metre-high Michelangelo dome. The basilica, situated in the tiny Stato del Vaticano, was erected in 324 AD by emperor Constantine. The existing building replaced in 1506 a previous church and was elaborated by well known artists of the time, such as Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, G. da Sangallo and A. da Sangallo.

The column façade, the decorated atrium, the five bronze portals and the magnificent internal decorations of the dome are but a few elements of the splendor of this basilica. From the inside you can access the Sacre Grotte Vaticane (the Vatican grotto) with the Tombe dei Papi (the papal tombs), Saint Peter’s Tomb, the Necropoli Vaticana (the Vatican Necropolis) and the Dome. The basilica overlooks the amazing Piazza San Pietro, a gigantic ellipse conceived by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with the Vatican Obelisk, surrounded by 4 bronze lions, at the centre of the square.