This is the outside of St. Peter’s Basilica. This picture was taken in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. St. Peter’s Square was where we saw the pope and often, he gives services at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Here we are at the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The inside of the basilica is amazing. There are sculptures and works of art of famous artists like Michelangelo. There’s a lot of gold and details.
The high ceilings create the echo-y sound of a large space. Even though there were many people inside though, it was still quiet.
St. Peter’s provides an excellent example of Renaissance architecture and artwork.
Light came in through the windows casting a glow on certain areas inside the church.
Many of the popes throughout history had ornate tombs made like this one.
This is a small area inside the basilica where Catholics can go to receive communion.
This strange looking black and gold thing up ahead is a piece of art that was built over St. Peter’s tomb. The tomb is actually down below, under the floor.
Later, we were able to go down some stairs into an area where we could view Peter’s tomb underground behind some heavy glass doors. Underground, where his body is buried, there is a beautiful room that looks like a small church where there are small lamps burning.
St. Peter’s Basilica was built in the shape of a cross. There are several areas in the building where Catholics can have mass, even while tourists are walking around.
This statue is above a stairwell that leads into a tunnel system under the basilica.
Just beneath the statue, you can see through the grates into the area below the floor. This was one area that people were allowed to go into…
John walks down the stairs into the display below the floor. We weren’t allowed to take pictures because it’s a sacred space filled with St. Peter’s tomb as well as the tombs of popes and various altars for different functions. It was worth seeing though.
As we left the basilica, we took another photo of the South Platte Knight, just for good measure.
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