ITALY : St Peters Basilica
St Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican City in Rome, is the sacred heart of the
Catholic faith. Completed in 1626, the building is the supreme
ecclesiastical monument in Christendom, not only for its size - it covers
2.3 ha - but for the Renaissance monuments and artworks filling its
cavernous interior. The massive dome was designed by Michelangelo who isbest
known for his fresco depicting The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel of
the Apostolic Palace, official residence of the Pope. St Peter's Basilica is
a famous place of pilgrimage through its historic links and for its
association with the Papacy. Belief that the remains of the St Peter, the
Apostle, are buried under the altar began the tradition of popes being
interred there. The crypt contains the simple tomb of Pope John Paul II.
Holding some 60,000 people, St Peter's is always filled with worshippers and
religious tourists. Hundreds of thousands travel to Rome for the Papal
Easter blessing when the Piazza de San Pietro is packed with pilgrims. The
City of the Vatican is the smallest state in the world. It enjoys all the
privileges of an autonomous state including its own philatelic and
numismatic values, and has permanent observer status at the UN. It was
inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984 being cited as a unique
spiritual assemblage of architectural and artistic masterpieces.