Ancient Hidden Histories of St Peters Basilica: A Historical Tour

00:00 - Intro and St Peter's Square
03:00 - Inside St Peter's Square Colonnades
04:00 - Papal escape rout from the Vatican City to Castel Sant'Angelo
07:20 - Vatican Obelisk
09:58 - Nero's Circus
11:42 - Vatican Necropolis
13:12 - St Peter's tomb
14:41 - Constantine's Basilica (Old St Peter's)
18:35 - New St Peter's Basilica
24:25 - Interior of St Peter's Basilica
43:47 - St Peter's Dome and view from the top

Resources used:

A Virtual Reconstruction of the Old St Peter’s Basilica - Gregory DiPippo:

Virtual Reconstruction of St Peter Basilica – course review

[monicacall]

Walking into St Peter’s and seeing Michelangelo’s statue of the Pieta is an experience that is hard to describe. I’ve visited St Peter’s several times and the Pieta never fails to affect me with awe and wonder.

[nevada]

An excellent and detailed description of the history and architecture of this very important edifice. I visited The Vatican and St Peter’s several times while living in Rome years ago. Raised in a strict Catholic family I left the Church because of the hypocrisy I saw and as much as I admire the artistic importance of the entire complex I felt St Peter’s to be a spiritually empty place, built less as monument to glorify but more as a monument to glorify the materialistic papacy.

[PinnedonPlaces]

This was super intresting. I enjoyed listening and walking with you. What a beautiful basilica! Thank you for sharing

[jpazsoldan]

By FAR, the BEST virtual tour video on St. Peter's! And I've seen several. Hi quality video interspersed with great side notes and images that provide historical context (like the bird's eye views seamlessly documenting the changes on the site, from Nero's stadium to the present) and BBC documentary quality narration with many historical notes. Many others have too much emphasis on the presenter and are very light on explanations.

[deniseroe]

There is so much to see, I feel it would be overwhelming. As a Christian, but not Catholic, I would love to visit Rome. So much history there. They just don’t build things like this anymore, maybe the cost, maybe a lack of devotion. Breathtaking, such artistry. The time and talent is unbelievable.

[rugosetexture]

That was excellent; thank you very much!

[RevisitingHistoryChannel]

Cool! This is one of the most interesting and mysterious structures in the world.

[qruhfdg]

Beautiful went to the Vatican with my grandma because she said she needed me to help her. I don't remember much about that, i remember the mosaics and the pieta and the vatican and Murano and I remember crying.

[stevenwarner]

Who are you? No one there 1974 'Art tour' from my college in Ohio. With two adults and twenty students. March. No 'tourists" just 18 years old, running up the stairs standing on the ledge of the dome, one pipe only on vertical supports every ten feet. Scared me to death. Foot races on the roof, like it was a city park. My art professor trying to explain, pointing out all that was there, we were just wondering about wine with lunch. The Pieta, just there, like all the rest, no drama, so close, such wonder. My memory. Fifty years ago. Thank you. This is magic.

[jacq]

I so enjoyed this, thank you, I was in total was when I visited, I have subscribed 🌻

[backhandgrip]

Wow I did not know some of this information. I feel so enriched now!

[valeriehill]

Absolutely awesome! They don't make them like this anymore!

[brendadrew]

Thanks for the history! I've been to St. Peter's Basilica and also toured the private grounds and library of the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel when I was an art student in Italy one summer. It was all so overwhelming, the beauty and the vastness of the place! I remember it well though and thankfully took some great photos of the many renown statues like the Pieta! Breathtaking, really! ♥♥

[lyudmila]

A truly wonderful presentation, I learned so much, thank you!

[dancranor]

This is a strong presentation. Thanks.

[casimirgrochowski]

Thank you for this presentation. At 33:14, below the altar is the body of 12th Cent pope St. Pius X ????

[leona]

Hello, you have just brought me back to my amazing Roma when I happened to live there for 2 months by an accident, as I had to leave the Country, the Trevi fountain was being renovated and I couldn’t toss ☹️. Somehow I was convinced I wouldn’t return, I cried all the way to the airport, my heart was broken in many ways, the “love of my life” was never to be 😢

[rogeliomendez]

Never say never, but I don't think I'll be able to visit. This video is pretty cool look. Thanks for your efforts

[PatrickFurey-rt]

Beautiful church didn't get chance to go there I got to see lot beautiful places just came back 5days in rome breath taken back next year 🙏🙏🙏

[Jean-PierreGrenier-ylwp]

About the removal of bronze on all ancient temples of Rome in order to give the material for those huge baldachin columns (this is how the Pantheon has lost its magnificent frontal inscription that had survived since antiquity)… The Romans at that time criticized it and said, “Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini” - “What the barbarians didn't do, the Barberini did” - referring to Pope Urban VIII who was from the Barberini family.