St. Peter's Basilica

The current basilica, consecrated in 1626, replaced a 4th-century church built by Emperor Constantine directly over what tradition holds is the burial site of Saint Peter, crucified in Rome around 64 AD. Construction of the new building took 120 years and involved essentially every major architect of the Roman Renaissance and Baroque in succession — Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, Michelangelo and finally Bernini, whose sweeping colonnade defines the piazza outside — making the basilica a genuine architectural relay race spanning more than a century.

Michelangelo, who took over as chief architect in 1546 at age 71, designed the dome that still dominates Rome's skyline and remains the tallest in the world at 136.6 metres, though he died before its completion — the dome was finished to his design by Giacomo della Porta. Inside the basilica's entrance, Michelangelo's Pietà, sculpted in 1498–99 when the artist was only 24, shows the Virgin Mary cradling the dead Christ with an emotional restraint and technical polish that made his reputation instantly; it's been protected behind glass since a 1972 attack.