10 Facts About St. Peter’s Basilica

Whether you’re Catholic or not, it’s hard to argue with the fact that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is an amazing feat of architecture and art. The cornerstone for this sanctified structure was laid on April 18, 1506, and it remains the scene of papal pomp and pageantry today. Here are a few facts about the house that Peter built (according to Catholic tradition, anyway).

1. The current basilica is actually the second St. Peter’s.
2. It’s one of the largest churches in the world.
3. There are more than 100 tombs at St. Peter’s.
4. Michelangelo’s Pietà  is located at St. Peter’s Basilica (which didn’t save it from abuse).
5. The Holy Door is opened only in holy years.
6. The top of the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square contains 140 statues of various saints.
7. The 96-foot-tall baldacchino was controversial when it was unveiled in 1633.
8. Four hundred and ninety-one steps rise to the top of St. Peter’s’ dome.
9. The Scavi holds the (possible) remains of St. Peter himself.
10. It’s traditional for people to rub the right foot of a statue of St. Peter.

The current basilica is actually the second St. Peter’s.

The first Saint Peter’s Basilica was built on the orders of Constantine I sometime around 324 CE. It was there that Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in 800 CE. Not much of the original basilica remains, but a piece of a mosaic from the 8th century can still be found at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and eight of the original columns from the old altar were moved to the new (current) St. Peter’s.

It’s one of the largest churches in the world.

As the most important church in Catholicism, St. Peter’s is appropriately huge. At over 600 feet long and almost 450 feet tall at the top of its dome, it has plenty of space to display priceless paintings, sculpture, architectural elements, and religious objects, including works by Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio, Donatello, and many more. But St. Peter’s is no longer the largest church in the Christian world—the colossal Yamoussoukro Basilica in Côte d’Ivoire has been the record holder since 1989.

There are more than 100 tombs at St. Peter’s.

The burials include 91 popes, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and Queen Christina, who abdicated the Swedish throne to convert to Catholicism.

Michelangelo’s Pietà  is located at St. Peter’s Basilica (which didn’t save it from abuse).

Four of Mary’s fingers broke off sometime in the 1700s as Michelangelo’s sculpture of Jesus and his mother was moved throughout the basilica. They were repaired in 1736. But the worst incident occurred in 1972 when a geologist named Laszlo Toth ran into the basilica and attacked the nearly 500-year-old marble masterpiece with a rock hammer. Yelling “I am Jesus Christ,” he took Mary’s forearm completely off, chipped a chunk out of her nose, and damaged one of her eyelids.

The Vatican erected a protective glass barrier around the Pietà in 1973 (the original screen was replaced in 2024 with a high-tech, bulletproof, shatterproof glass enclosure). You can still see where she was damaged if you look closely. The Pietà  is also the only work Michelangelo ever signed. The story is that he heard someone talking about this great statue that another sculptor, Cristoforo Solari, had created. It was Michelangelo’s statue, of course, and in a fit of pride, he went and added his signature to Mary’s sash. He later regretted it and said he would never sign anything ever again.

The Holy Door is opened only in holy years.

Every 25 years or so brings a Jubilee Year (2025 is one), designated by the pope, which highlights pilgrimages to Rome, reconciliation, and renewing one’s faith in the Catholic church. Pilgrims may recite a special prayer [PDF] to the Holy Door and pass through it to receive a plenary indulgence, a dispensation that frees penitents from suffering the earthly consequences of their sins.

The top of the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square contains 140 statues of various saints.

The sculpted figures were completed by many artists over a period of 41 years, from 1662 to 1703. Not all of the artists’ names are recorded, but the ones that were (and the statues they created) are found here.

The 96-foot-tall baldacchino was controversial when it was unveiled in 1633.

The baldacchino, the swirly-columned arch over the basilica’s high altar, was designed by the famed Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini to be the epitome of opulence, which some of the faithful heavily criticized. Supposedly, the bronze used to create the baldacchino was taken from the roof of the ancient Roman Pantheon, which is another thing Italians weren't too thrilled about.

Four hundred and ninety-one steps rise to the top of St. Peter’s’ dome.

The stairs are not for the easily unnerved. In some spots, the “staircase” is so narrow there's no room for railings, so there's a rope that runs down the middle for you to hold on to. And sometimes, it's both narrow and incredibly slanted. You don’t have to climb the whole thing, though. Taking an elevator will save you about 171 steps.

The Scavi holds the (possible) remains of St. Peter himself.

The Scavi is believed to be where the tomb of St. Peter lies. Exactly 134 bone fragments were discovered in a niche with the phrase Petros eni (“Peter is here” in Greek) in 1968. Carbon dating has shown that they are the remains of a 60- to 70-year-old man from the 2nd century CE, and no fragments were determined to be foot bones. That seems to track with stories suggesting that after Peter was crucified upside down, he was removed from his cross very quickly and gruesomely—just chopped off at the ankles instead of properly removed.

It’s traditional for people to rub the right foot of a statue of St. Peter.

A bronze statue of St. Peter, possibly cast as long ago as the 5th century CE, has seen a lot of love: It's tradition for basilica visitors to kiss or rub his foot when they pass by. You can tell just how many people have done so by the difference in his feet. His right toes have been worn completely smooth while his left toes remain individual digits.

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A version of this story was published in 2009; it has been updated for 2025.