Hello everyone, this is Andres Cervantes and welcome to my channel ArquiCultura. Today we will talk about the history of a territory that little has been said about beyond its most famous monument, I am referring to Vatican City, from the basilica and its gardens, to the walls that defend it. We begin this story in Nero's circus in the city of Rome, more precisely in the year 64, when by tradition the crucifixion of the apostle Peter is located on a head cross, do not forget this obelisk, in the future it will be very important. It is believed that after this, Peter's mortal remains were buried outside the circus along with other martyrs. Nero's circus was located in an area that was already known as Vatican Hill. In 135 the emperor Hadrian had a mausoleum built for him and his family. In the year 326 Constantine I was in charge of the entire Roman Empire, and due to the emperor's conversion to Christianity, Christians stopped being persecuted and acquired the freedom to profess their faith. Furthermore, he had a temple built on top of where the tomb of Saint Peter is believed to be, for which Nero's circus was demolished, but preserving the obelisk, as a mute witness to Peter's martyrdom. Like the first Christian temples, this one borrows the basic structure of the Roman Basilicas, which were buildings intended for the court. This basilica would have 5 naves, the naves are the spaces between colonnades, while the side naves were separated with arcades, the central nave, which is the tallest, had architraves and on these elements the wall that would support the roof was raised. On one side a transept was made, which is a nave perpendicular to the others. The presbytery was located right above the tomb of Saint Peter and ending with a semicircular apse. In 333, although it was not yet finished, it was already a fully functional building. The oldest records of the finished work appear in 397, where the atrium is already documented, which is a patio that functions as a transition space before the entrance, in In the center of the atrium, a fountain known as the piña was installed, which would be covered by a small temple. Finally, in front of the atrium, the first approximation of what would be known in the future as Saint Peter's Square appears. Since Roman times there was already a population in the area, but since the construction of the Basilica, pilgrimages to the place increased and this population began to consolidate in what would be known as the Borgo district. At the beginning of the 5th century, it was built near The basilica was a circular mausoleum for Emperor Honorius and his family. Hadrian's mausoleum was also connected to the Aurelian walls, so its function as a tomb took a back seat and it began to be treated as a fortress that more Later it would be called Castel Sant'Angelo. Many kings were crowned in this basilica, among them Charlemagne in the year 800. In 846 the Saracens attacked Rome but were unable to enter the city, however, the buildings that were outside the wall if they managed to be attacked, among them, St. Peter's Basilica. To counteract this, Pope Leo IV had a wall built, known as the Leonine walls, enclosing the surroundings of the basilica up to the castle of San Angelo. Since the papacy of Eugene III, what could be considered a first stage of the apostolic palace appears. In 1277, Pope Nicholas III had the passetto built, a passage within the wall that connects St. Peter's Basilica with the castle of San Angelo. In 1368, the oldest records of a chapel in this area appear. In 1377 the Pope moved his residence from the Archbasilica of San Juan de Letrán to San Pedro. Throughout this time, chapels were added to the sides of the temple, until it covered the entire temple. In the 15th century, the basilica was in poor condition, so repairs were made to it, and new structures were added, including annexes in the atrium, which included two levels of galleries and a bell tower. During the papacy of Nicholas V Some towers were built on the walls to increase the defensive efficiency. Including two large towers on top of the Vatican hill. In 1450 a remodeling of the basilica began, with the design of Bernardo Rossellino, his idea included the conservation of the temple and an extension towards the apse, but due to the death of Pope Nicholas V in 1455, only the wall of the new one was raised. apse just over a meter. In 1481 a chapel was completed where another had been built more than 100 years ago. This chapel was consecrated to the Assumption of Mary, but because it was completed under the pontificate of Sixtus IV, in the future it would be known as the Sistine Chapel, later The walls and vaults of the chapel would be filled with paintings, consolidating it as one of the most emblematic places in Vatican City, after St. Peter's Basilica. Around 1487, on the outskirts of the city, a palace was built for Pope Innocent VIII, in an elevated area north of the basilica. The place would be called the Belvedere Casino, which is a kind of viewpoint. At the end of the 15th century, the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Piedad was built and next to it a cemetery. In 1500, Pope Alexander VI opened a road that would directly connect the castle of San Angelo with the Basilica of San Pedro. In 1505 Julius II was in the pontificate and decided to make a complete change to the idea of remodeling the temple, so he requested the proposal of a new proposal, for this Donato Bramante made a completely new design, rejecting the existing basilica, inspired by the morphology of the 5 domes of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. And also in the imposing dome of the Pantheon in Rome, the only problem is that it is imperceptible from the street, so the dome of Saint Peter had to be raised on an element called a drum. In 1506, Bramante's work began, so the entire presbytery, transept and adjoining buildings were demolished. In addition, the construction of some buildings that will connect the Apostolic Palace with the Belvedere casino begins . The old basilica was key to finishing the work, which is why it was not completely demolished, since it served as an attraction for pilgrims, who, by leaving their offerings, would contribute to the construction of the new temple. But added to this, one of the most questionable practices of the Catholic Church began , the sale of indulgences, where the faithful paid the church a modest sum in exchange for a document that certified that they were free of sin. This is the panorama that Martin Luther found in 1510 when he entered Rome, even comparing himself with Babylon, since Rome even had its own tower of Babel, a product of man's ambition, St. Peter's Basilica. The works did not advance much after this for three reasons, the death of Pope Julius II in 1513, the death of Bramante in 1514 and of course the weakening of the Catholic Church after the Protestant Reformation, which would happen later . In 1514, in addition, Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci ordered a palace to be built for him, although he was unable to use it due to his death. This palace was completed a long time later. This same year, after Bramante's death, Rafael Sanzio took over the direction of the work. making an approach that included the old basilica in this, although he did not manage to do much, due to his death in 1520, after this his successors began to alter the project but without achieving anything, until in 1527 Rome was attacked by the army of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, including mostly Protestant German soldiers in their ranks, upon encountering the basilica they attacked it. The place was abandoned and representations of the time show it as a ruin where plants grew on the walls. Pope Paul III made a new modification to the walls to integrate the Belvedere casino. For this new ring of walls, the new dynamics of war were taken into account, since cannons are now used, which is why the walls are lower and wider. , allowing it to better resist impacts, in addition the first ring of wall was closed up to the Tiber River. In 1539, after 12 years with the works on the basilica suspended, the Architect Antonio Da Sangallo is put in charge of the works, making the largest and most ambitious proposal of all, in order to demonstrate that the church remained strong in the face of its opponents. Not only were plans made of this design, but also a huge wooden model that took 7 years to build and cost the same as any average church of the time. Sangallo managed to raise the vaults around the four large arches that would support the dome, and he also managed to build the south apse. Throughout this time, several architects in charge of the works made their own proposals, according to their preferences or those of the pope in power, until, in 1546, after the death of Antonio Da Sangallo, Michelangelo assumed the direction of the works. Executing a plan to save material, time and money. The new approach is closer to Bramante's original idea, but smaller, which is why the south apse had to be demolished and to ensure that its design would not be altered, work began from all points. Around 1550, the Belvedere courtyard was completed. This construction would house art collections, and also integrates the pope's residence with the Belvedere casino. Due to the inclination of the land, the central patio would be on three levels. In 1558, a place where Pope Paul IV would reside was about to be completed, although he died and the place was inaugurated by Pope Pius IV, so in the future it would be known as Villa Pia. This Pope also completed the task that Paul III began by completely closing the second walled ring, implementing a system based on walls and bastions, also called bastions, these pentagonal structures offer a greater field of vision and minimize blind spots, in addition, the bastions reduce the area of the wall where perpendicular impacts can be made. In addition to this, he added a new section of wall to the castle of San Angelo to protect the towns outside the walls. Among the works that Michelangelo carried out, is the completion of the exterior walls, except for the front façade due to the presence of the remains of the old basilica And in 1553 the construction of the drum began, the element that would raise the dome several meters to make it visible from the street. Unfortunately, in 1564 Michelangelo died and the domes were left missing, a task that someone else would undertake in the future. In 1565 the church of Santa Ana was built. Around 1566 the Pope acquired the old palace of Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci and installed the palace of the Holy Office in it, as the headquarters of the Inquisition. In 1573, the architect Giacomo della Porta took over the direction of the works and focused his efforts on finishing the dome. Before continuing, let's see what Michelangelo's concept of a dome was like. This would consist of two independent domes, joined by spurs at the base. This dome is quite light, which could mean weakness. Giacomo de la Porta could not make mistakes while building the most controversial work of his time, because it would have meant a greater scandal, so he reconsidered the idea of the dome in the following way: The interior dome was reinforced at the base and covered with spurs to the top, another modification was the second dome, this would not be completely hemispherical, but would be higher, since, in this way, the dome would have a more efficient distribution of loads, they also installed a series of metal rings to contain the pressure and also metal bars crossing the spurs to optimize the union of the two domes. Finally, the dome is crowned with a lantern, reaching 137 meters, the maximum height of St. Peter's Basilica. In 1586 Pope Sixtus V had the old obelisk moved from the side of the basilica to the center of the square, and during this pontificate, the last modifications and additions were made to a work that a long succession of Popes had been intervening in, the palace apostolic. In 1590 a transversal library was made in the courtyard of the Belvedere, cutting off the continuity of this courtyard. In 1602 Giacomo Della Porta died and Pope Clement VIII assigned the work to Carlo Maderno, with the intention of integrating the remains from the old basilica to the design, but in 1605 Paul V was appointed pontiff and, seeking a balance, he decided not to preserve the naves of the old basilica, although returning to that idea, he had a new central nave extended over the remains of the old one. basilica, after this demolition, the pineapple that was in the center of the atrium, began to occupy a leading place in the highest area of the Belvedere. In addition, he built the façade, but since it could not overshadow the dome, its grandeur would not be due to its height, but rather due to its width. To give greater hierarchy to the entrances, some Corinthian columns were added and above them a pediment. The façade in total has twelve columns, and that number is no coincidence, it turns out that on each column there is a sculpture of each of the twelve apostles and in the middle one of Jesus Christ. Also a commemorative text in Latin in honor of Pope Paul V, during whose pontificate most of the main façade was completed. All this business of the horizontal façade to give prominence to the dome was in vain, because thanks to the extension of the central nave, the dome is almost invisible from the square. Pope Paul V also requested the construction of 2 bell towers, but in 1622 the construction was interrupted and what little was done ended up being removed. In 1636, one of the most characteristic elements was added to the interior of the basilica, I am talking about the Baldachin, which is right above the main altar, and therefore, is right above the tomb of the Apostle. The baldachin of Saint Peter is supported by 4 Solomonic columns, it is said that they belonged to the temple of Solomon and Constantine had them installed in the old basilica. On these columns rests the canopy that frames the altar, highlighting it within the interior panorama of the basilica. In 1657 a new square was proposed, the serious design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini integrating an oval shape and a trapezoid, the idea of the trapezoid is to alter the perspective so that the basilica appears to be closer and on the oval side two colonnades were built that embrace the square. on both sides, and sculptures of different saints of the Catholic Church were placed on the colonnade, in the same way as they were placed on the façade of the basilica. In the 18th century, some modifications were made to the church of Santa Ana, now with a more elaborate façade and a curious oval-shaped dome. In this area here, there previously existed a Roman temple and then a chapel dedicated to Saint Stephen, which ended up in ruins, but in 1706 Pope Clement XI ordered this temple to be rebuilt. In 1784, the sacristy was built on the south side of the basilica, using a design that had been proposed 70 years ago, but due to its high cost, it could not be built at the time. In 1785, a pair of clocks were installed in the place where the towers would occupy. In 1822, a new extension was built in this area, ending up dividing the patio into 3 parts, the lower one being the Belvedere patio, the second being the library patio. and the upper one is the pineapple patio. In 1876, a college for priests was added next to the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, where they could specialize in Christian archeology and church history. In 1881, a cholera epidemic was over Rome, so Pope Leo XIII built a building intended to care for the sick. Throughout history, the place where the conclave is held has changed many times, the most famous being , the Sistine Chapel. Since 1800 there was already the tradition of smoke signals in a chimney, to announce the results of the conclave, although initially if there was smoke there was no Pope yet, and if there was no smoke, the election had been successful, since 1914, with the election of Benedict _ _ basilica and imparts the blessing to the parishioners gathered in St. Peter's Square. In 1925, the congregation for the doctrine of the faith was located in the old headquarters of the inquisition, an entity to guard correct Catholic doctrine. In 1929, Pope Pius IX signed the Lateran Pact, which consisted of the independence of the Holy See from the Kingdom of Italy, in addition to the reestablishment of relations between both parties, which had been in disagreement for approximately 60 years. The Holy See would then be located in a Sovereign State that from this moment acquires the official name of Vatican City State, marking the existing walls as its border. In addition to the church assets within this limit, there are others such as the major basilicas of Rome that enjoy the right of extraterritoriality and are part of Vatican City. All this new dynamic forced a complete adaptation of the physical plant: It was at this time that a building was built near the Apostolic Palace where the members of the Swiss Guard, in charge of the Pope's security, would reside. A headquarters was also built for the Vatican post office and other buildings at the service of this nascent State. At the other end of Vatican City, in Santa Marta Square, the court palace was built, as the headquarters of the Gendarmerie, a military entity in charge of maintaining public order in Vatican City. Another building was San Carlos Palace, headquarters of the Financial Information and Supervision Authority and also a building for the operation of the Ethiopian school. In 1931, the governorate palace was built to house the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City, the entity that exercises legislative power in Vatican City. This entity is headed by the President of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City. Vatican City, which by the way, is not the Pope. This same year, with the founding of Vatican Radio, the Pope ordered the construction of a transmission headquarters for the radio, but also an administrative headquarters, integrating part of the old wall and a tower with the new building. In 1932, the Vatican art gallery was built, a place that brings together an extensive art collection. In 1933 the Vatican was integrated into the Rome railway network, and its respective station was also built. In 1936, an access road was proposed that would privilege the visibility of the basilica and a large part of the Borgo district was demolished to make the conciliation road, a process highly criticized due to the number of buildings missing, although many of the elements of these monuments were reinstalled in new buildings that harmonized with the entire staging that was being proposed. In 1963, Pope John XXIII moved several museums from Saint John Lateran to Vatican City, further expanding the Vatican museums. In 1971, Pope Paul VI inaugurated a room for papal audiences, as an alternative option to St. Peter's Square. In the future, this room would be known as the Paul VI Hall, famous for a large sculpture representing The Resurrection. Another of the works of this period was the heliport, located on the westernmost bastion of the city. In 1984, Vatican City was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, making it the only country whose entire territory is declared a World Heritage Site. In 1994, the Mater Ecclesiae monastery was built for the permanent residence of some order of nuns and every five years, this monastery becomes the residence of a different order. In 1996 , based on the work carried out by Pope Leo the election of a new pontiff. And well, this has been all for today, if you liked it, don't forget to like and share with your friends, and so you don't miss out on future content, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on the social networks of Facebook and Instagram. Andrés Cervantes spoke to you, see you next time!
