Everything about Saint Peter’s Basilica is amazing, especially the paintings inside the dome, as seen in the above photo. Saint Peter’s Basilica is often called Saint Peter’s Cathedral, including by me. The Catholic church calls it a Basilica. A Catholic church building is called a Basilica when the location has exceptional merit.
Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April 2, 2025
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In this case, the exceptional merit is that it is the resting place of Saint Peter the Apostle, who accompanied Jesus while Jesus was touring Israel and Galilee and was eventually martyred in Rome as part of one of the many spectacles put on by Nero in AD. 64. (The date is uncertain by as many as five years.)
Early Christians, after hearing that Peter was to be the rock (Peter and rock are the same word (Kepha) in Aramaic, a language that originated in the ancient region of Syria used in Gallie and Judah at the time), built Jesus’ church. The early Christians buried Peter at a Necropolis (city of the dead, which we now would call a graveyard) and kept track of his burial place, eventually building the first Saint Peter’s Basilica centered over his grave.
The Emperor Constantine built the first Saint Peter’s Basilica. Later, the church, guided by Michaelangelo, built the present Basilica in the same place.
Today, the tomb of Saint Peter is located directly below the main altar of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
After entering the Basilica, on the right side as we entered was the Pieta statue of Michaelangelo. Services were ongoing as we were in the back (tourist area), so we didn’t wander too far into the Basilica.
Before visiting the interior of Saint Peter’s Basilica, we visited the excavated (Scavi) necropolis, weaving our way to the tomb of Saint Peter. Some early graffiti states “Pétros ení” or ” Peter here,” meaning the location was just behind a small wall. The location is as specific as any 2,000-year-old location. Unfortunately, once inside the excavation, photos were not allowed as a gesture of respect to the hundreds of people buried at the necropolis near Peter’s tomb.
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Reservations for the excavation tour Scavi
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These photos were taken during our visit. Our photos are often “enhanced” to represent what we saw in person and correct for lighting and other things. Sometimes, this editing makes the images look better than what we saw in person.
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