Tour of St. Peter Basilica

Our Tour of the Vatican yesterday was conducted by a marvelous history teacher named Liz Lev. She not only knew the history but incorporated art and theology into her presentation.  It was simply incredible!

The Rota Porphyretica - St. Peter Basilica

We first stopped at the entrance way to St. Peter Basilica completed in . There on the floor was a red porphory disk called the Rota Porphyretica. This disc was originally located in the old basilica. When it was torn down during the Renaissance the disc was spared and installed on the new basilica at its present location. This disc is significant because it is the place where Charlemagne knelt on Christmas night in the year 800 A.D. when Pope Leo III crowned him as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. However, when this occurred the disc was already 500 years old meaning the disc has been there for 1,700 years! Emperors were crowned on this disc throughout the middle ages. If you've been to St. Peter's you've probably walked over it and never even realized it's significance and history!

Our second stop was at Michelangelo's most beautiful piece - the Pieta. This work is most significant for many reasons. It is his first public work, carved when he was only 23 years old. The completion of the entire basilica would be Michelangelo's last public work. It also was carved from a single piece of marble. The Pieta image is not found in Sacred Scripture. Rather, it was first proposed by the Germans in the 14th century. Pieta means "to feel sorry for." The French and Germans pieta works

The Pieta by Michelangelo, 1500

were somewhat morbid. Jesus is in rigor mortis. Mary appears to be in trauma. Big gaps form wounds in his side. Tears were carved into the wood. It was, emotionally speaking, a lot for people to handle. So Michelangelo was asked to carve a Pieta from this subject matter. Michelangelo had vision and confidence in his abilities. He carved the complete work in a single year completing it for the Holy Year 1500. There is a problem with the placement of the Pieta. You may remember that, in 1974, an Australian geologist took a hammer to the sculpture and began destroying it. After restoration it was placed behind a glass wall. It was never the intention of the patron to be placed so. He had expected that Mass would be celebrated on an altar in front of the sculpture. When the host was raised, Mary would have been gazing upon it, anticipating her son's presence in the Eucharist. Further, the entire work points to the resurrected presence of Christ and would have been a theological background for the celebration of Mass. In this work, Mary becomes a "living shroud." There is a triangular shape to the sculpture with Jesus folded onto the lap of Mary, his mother. The shoulder is carried under his mother's arm. Mary, as a daughter of Israel, now offers her son in sacrifice. His body appears to drop right in front of what previously had been an altar. Mary's fiat is "let it be done to me according to your will" and she now gives the Church it's savior. The folds of Mary's garment appears to be heavy (a sword will pierce her heart) but Jesus' body is so polished that it reflects the light shining from him. Sad as the subject matter is, there are already signs of the Resurrection emanating from the reflection of light from Jesus' body. This is the only work that Michelangelo ever signed. If you look closely you can see the signature on the sash of Mary's garment. After the piece had been placed in the basilica, Michelangelo overheard someone remarking that it was the work of another sculptor, Cristoforo Solari. It was after this that the sculptor wanted everyone to know it was his piece. Therefore, he carves the words MICHAELA[N]GELUS BONAROTUS FLORENTIN[US] FACIEBA[T - translated, Michelangelo, the Florentine, made this.

Dome of St. Peter Basilica (notice the beam of light)

One of the things that strikes you as you walk into the Basilica is the sheer size of the building.  It can seat 60,000 people making it the largest church in the world.  Remember that the people of Rome would have been accustomed to praying in pagan temples.  These temples were small in size because their religions were exclusive.  One of the things that set Christianity apart is that size indicated to all that 'everyone was welcome."  We have triumphed, in engineering, over the people who worshiped gods dressed as birds.  Michelangelo sought to create that sense through architecture.  He visited the Pantheon and saw the massive dome.  You're so aware of the presence of that dome and how it holds up the supporting walls.  The Romans wanted to show off the skills of man.  However, Michelangelo sought to show the connection between heaven and earth.  He wanted to build this massive dome over the bones of St. Peter, the "rock" of the Church and connection between heaven and earth.  The windows allow light to shine, breathtakingly through. You forget that there are 137 tons of masonry above your head.  Here is a place where heaven and earth meet.

The bronze statue of St. Peter is 700 years old.  It was sculpted for the first jubilee year in 1300. Significant to this piece is that Peter is not dressed like a king.  In fact, he's wearing a philosopher's robe and dons a beard signifying wisdom.  This was a significant change from the Byzantine depictions of Peter as emperor of the kingdom of God.  Think about visitors to the basilica in 1300 - they were interested in touching the sacred places and grounds in the holy land.  They began to touch the foot of St. Peter in reverence to the first pope.  Over the years the foot has been worn down by the touch of pilgrims' hands.  Liz noted that it usually takes 1500 degrees and a soldering iron to change bronze.  But here, at St. Peter's, 98.6 degrees, from pilgrims hands over the course of 700 years and bronze is worn and re-shaped by the hearts and prayers of millions.

The Baldacchino or canopy placed under the dome of the Basilica and over the tomb of St. Peter was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII in 1623 and was completed several years later.  It was intended to give a greater significance to the tomb of St. Peter and marking the spot, without any doubt, where he was laid to rest.  Further, under the canopy is the altar upon which the Holy Father has Mass.  This is yet another place where the vicar of Christ connects us between heaven and earth.  This massive canopy is 75,000 pounds!  Initially Bernini had difficulties getting the canopy to stand.  After all, carved in bronze this canopy is the size of a 3 story building within another massive building. Significant to the twisted design of the columns is the fact that the Romans and Greeks would never have designed them this way.  It was simply not the way they defined space.  Above the area of the canopy are columns originally created in the Constantine era.  They were designed and placed above Peter's tomb originally and were brought into the design of the Basilica.  Bernini used the same "twisted" design for his columns on the canopy.  Liz pointed out a significant theological connection. Christianity has always been "different" than the culture around it.  Rather than defined, accurate, and precise columns, Bernini hoped to portray that Christianity is sometimes jarring, surprising and provides somewhat of a "twist" to modernity and is often counter-cultural.  It never stands in line with the nice order people try to put together and impose on life. They also offer us continuity - we may have rebuilt the church but it's the same Peter around it.

Liz tells us that 17th century is her passion.  It was the age of discovery.  When Bernini was 17 years Galileo shows up in Rome with a telescope.  Bernini would have looked at worlds beyond through that telescope and began to have a vision and perspective on life beyond this world.  All of St. Peter's Basilica does just that - it transports you to a world beyond this one.  And, for the last 400 years, it has done so for millions and millions of pilgrims from around the world.

St. Andrew

Around the center canopy are several sculptures.  One depicts St. Helena and contains a relic of the true cross.  Another depicts St. Veronica.  But the two she focused on were the statues of St. Longinus and St. Andrew. St. Andrew was sculpted by Francois Duquesnoy.  In this depiction, St. Andrew appears, bare chested, gazing at the cross, looking outward.  He appears on a satire cross (like the shape of a letter X).  There is nothing spectacular about the folds of his garment.

St. Longinus

On the other side of the nave is St. Longinus. Tradition holds that he was the guard who pierced Jesus' side when blood and water come out.  Think about it.  Longinus is a Roman guard, part of the winning team.  Jesus was the prisoner and he was the soldier.   He was just doing his job as a soldier when Jesus was crucified. But now, when he pierces the body's side, blood and water flow out and he now realizes - this was the son of God.  His garment appears to have been electrified and his hand is fully opened as if an awareness has happened unknown to him before.  He holds a lance in one hand and the other is wide open as if shocked by what he has just experienced and seen.

Bernini was 73 when he began to work on this funerary monument for Pope Alexander VII.  They both had a fascination with the art of dying well.  Alexander was so worried that death would capture him unexpectedly, unprepared.  So Bernini made him a little wooden coffin "you do not know the day nor the hour" to remind Alexander of death.  Beautiful marble - greens, blacks, grays remind us of the beauty of this world.  But the big red theater curtain is the most significant piece of this scultpture.  Death - gold skeleton with an hour glass - below the curtain.  This provides absolute certain of death.  Virtues are around the bottom of the curtain - charity, prudence, fortitude.  The woman with the sun - moral truth.  Her toe hovers over England - and there's a little thorn that pokes into her toes indicating that England was a thorn in the church's side.  This is one of my favorite pieces in St. Peter's.  I have reflected before it often.

This incredible tour gave me insights into the Basilica that I had never had before.  I look forward to further tours with Liz Lev regarding more works of art and architecture throughout Rome and Assisi.