1.
Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
2.
Sol Invictus
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Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. In 274 AD the Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults, scholars disagree about whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol, a revival of the cult of Elagabalus or completely new. The god was favored by emperors after Aurelian and appeared on their coins until Constantine I, the last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD387, and there were enough devotees in the 5th century that Augustine found it necessary to preach against them. Different explanations for the date similarity are considered to be academically thoroughly viable hypotheses by some, Invictus was an epithet for several deities of classical Roman religion, including the supreme deity Jupiter, the war god Mars, Hercules, Apollo, and Silvanus. It had been in use from the 3rd century BC, the Roman cult to Sol is continuous from the earliest history of the city until the institution of Christianity as the exclusive state religion. Scholars have sometimes regarded the traditional Sol and Sol Invictus as two separate deities, but the rejection of this view by S. E. Hijmans has found supporters. An inscription of AD102 records a restoration of a portico of Sol in what is now the Trastevere area of Rome by a certain Gaius Iulius Anicetus, another, stylistically dated to the 2nd century, is inscribed on a Roman phalera, inventori lucis soli invicto augusto. Augustus is a regular epithet linking deities to the Imperial cult, Sol Invictus played a prominent role in the Mithraic mysteries, and was equated with Mithras himself. The relation of the Mithraic Sol Invictus to the cult of the deity with the same name is unclear. According to the Historia Augusta, Elagabalus, the teenaged Severan heir, adopted the name of his deity, once installed as emperor, he neglected Romes traditional State deities and promoted his own as Romes most powerful deity. This ended with his murder in 222, the Historia Augusta refers to the deity Elagabalus as also called Jupiter and Sol. While this has seen as an attempt to import the Syrian sun god to Rome. The Roman gens Aurelia was associated with the cult of Sol, after his victories in the East, the Emperor Aurelian thoroughly reformed the Roman cult of Sol, elevating the sun-god to one of the premier divinities of the Empire. Every pontifex of Sol was a member of the senatorial elite, Aurelian also built a new temple for Sol, which was dedicated on December 25,274, and brought the total number of temples for the god in Rome to four. He also instituted games in honor of the sun god, held four years from a. d.274 onwards. The identity of Aurelians Sol Invictus has long been a subject of scholarly debate, based on the Augustan History, some scholars have argued that it was based on Sol Elagablus of Emesa. Professor Gary Forsythe discusses these arguments and adds a more recent one based on the work of Steven Hijmans. Hijmans argues that Aurelians solar deity was simply the traditional Greco-Roman Sol Invictus, statuettes of Sol Invictus, carried by the standard-bearers, appear in three places in reliefs on the Arch of Constantine
3.
Vatican City
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Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of 842, however, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See, the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope, the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Vatican City is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, the unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, the name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum meaning garden, located in the area the Romans called vaticanus ager. The official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, although the Holy See and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents, the Vatican City officially uses Italian. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, this is used in documents by not just the Holy See. The name Vatican was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for an area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD40, her son, Emperor Caligula built in her gardens a circus for charioteers that was completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply. Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had long considered sacred. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby, the particularly low quality of Vatican water, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. The Vatican Obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant and this area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down, opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Peters in the first half of the 4th century, the Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery
4.
St. Peter's Basilica
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The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peters Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. While it is neither the church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It has been described as holding a position in the Christian world. Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the site of Saint Peter, one of Christs Apostles. Saint Peters tomb is supposedly directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peters since the Early Christian period, construction of the present basilica, which would replace Old St. Peters Basilica from the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. St. Peters is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peters Square. St. Peters has many associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age, St. Peters is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major Basilica, all four of which are in Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop, St. Peters is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrians Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome, the basilica is approached via St. Peters Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and the second trapezoid, the basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world, the entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches and this in its turn overwhelms us. The nave which leads to the dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them, there are also chapels surrounding the dome
5.
Necropolis
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A necropolis is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek νεκρόπολις nekropolis, literally meaning city of the dead, the term usually implies a separate burial site at a distance from a city, as opposed to tombs within cities, which were common in various places and periods of history. They are different from fields, which did not have remains above the ground. While the word is most commonly used for ancient sites, the name was revived in the early 19th century and applied to planned city cemeteries, such as the Glasgow Necropolis. Aside from the pyramids which were reserved for the burial of Pharaohs the Egyptian necropoleis included mastabas, naqsh-e Rustam is an ancient necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. The oldest relief at Naqsh-i Rustam dates to c.1000 BC, though it is severely damaged, it depicts a faint image of a man with unusual head-gear and is thought to be Elamite in origin. The depiction is part of an image, most of which was removed at the command of Bahram II. Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the face at a considerable height above the ground. The tombs are known locally as the Persian crosses, after the shape of the facades of the tombs, later, Sassanian kings added a series of rock reliefs below the tombs. In the Mycenean Greek period pre-dating ancient Greece burials could be performed inside the city, in Mycenae for example the royal tombs were located in a precinct within the city walls. This changed during the ancient Greek period when necropoleis usually lined the roads outside a city, there existed some degree of variation within the ancient Greek world however. Sparta was notable for continuing the practice of burial within the city, the Etruscans took the concept of a city of the dead quite literally. The typical tomb at the Banditaccia necropolis at Cerveteri consists of a tumulus which covers one or more rock-cut subterranean tombs and these tombs had multiple chambers and were elaborately decorated like contemporary houses. The arrangement of the tumuli in a grid of streets gave it a similar to the cities of the living. The art historian Nigel Spivey considers the name cemetery inadequate and argues that only the term necropolis can do justice to these burial sites. Etruscan necropoleis were located on hills or slopes of hills. In ancient Rome families originally buried deceased relatives in their own homes because of the Roman practice of ancestor worship, the enactment of the Twelve Tables in 449 BC forbade this, which made the Romans adopt the practice of burial in necropoleis. List of necropoleis Funerary art Catacombs
6.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
7.
Pope Pius XI
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Pope Pius XI, born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from 6 February 1922 to his death in 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 and he took as his papal motto, Pax Christi in Regno Christi, translated The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ. During his pontificate, the hostility with the Italian government over the status of the papacy. He was unable to stop the persecution of the Church and the killing of clergy in Mexico, Spain and he canonized important saints, including Thomas More, Petrus Canisius, Konrad von Parzham, Andrew Bobola and Don Bosco. Pius XI created the feast of Christ the King in response to anti-clericalism and he took a strong interest in fostering the participation of lay people throughout the Catholic Church, especially in the Catholic Action movement. The end of his pontificate was dominated by speaking out against Hitler and Mussolini and defending the Catholic Church from intrusions into Catholic life and he died on 10 February 1939 in the Apostolic Palace and is buried in the Papal Grotto of Saint Peters Basilica. In the course of excavating space for his tomb, two levels of burial grounds were uncovered which revealed bones now venerated as the bones of St. Peter. Achille Ratti was born in Desio, in the province of Milan, in 1857 and he was ordained a priest in 1879 and embarked on an academic career within the Church. He obtained three doctorates at the Gregorian University in Rome, and then from 1882 to 1888 was a professor at the seminary in Padua and his scholarly specialty was as an expert paleographer, a student of ancient and medieval Church manuscripts. Eventually, he left teaching to work full-time at the Ambrosian Library in Milan. During this time, he edited and published an edition of the Ambrosian Missal and he became chief of the Library in 1907 and undertook a thorough programme of restoration and re-classification of the Ambrosians collection. He was also a mountaineer in his spare time, reaching the summits of Monte Rosa. The combination of a pope would not be seen again until the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1911, at Pope Pius Xs invitation, he moved to the Vatican to become Vice-Prefect of the Vatican Library, in October 1918, Benedict was the first head of state to congratulate the Polish people on the occasion of the restoration of their independence. In March 1919, he nominated ten new bishops and, soon after, Ratti was consecrated as a titular archbishop in October 1919. Benedict XV and Nuncio Ratti repeatedly cautioned Polish authorities against persecuting the Lithuanian and Ruthenian clergy, Ratti intended to work for Poland by building bridges to men of goodwill in the Soviet Union, even to shedding his blood for Russia. Benedict, however, needed Ratti as a diplomat, not as a martyr, the nuncios continued contacts with Russians did not generate much sympathy for him within Poland at the time. After Pope Benedict sent Ratti to Silesia to forestall potential political agitation within the Polish Catholic clergy, on 20 November, when German Cardinal Adolf Bertram announced a papal ban on all political activities of clergymen, calls for Rattis expulsion climaxed
8.
Saint Peter
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Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simōn pronunciation, according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, leaders of the early Christian Great Church. Hippolytus of Rome, a 3rd-century theologian, gave him the title of Apostle of the Apostles, according to Catholic teaching, Peter was ordained by Jesus in the Rock of My Church dialogue in Matthew 16,18. He is traditionally counted as the first Bishop of Rome and by Eastern Christian tradition also as the first Patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a saint and as founder of the Church of Antioch. The New Testament indicates that Peter was the son of John and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis and his brother Andrew was also an apostle. According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of twelve apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples, originally a fisherman, he played a leadership role and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration. According to the gospels, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, was part of Jesuss inner circle, thrice denied Jesus and wept bitterly once he realised his deed, according to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, Tradition holds that he was crucified at the site of the Clementine Chapel. His remains are said to be contained in the underground Confessio of St. Peters Basilica. According to Catholic doctrine, the direct successor to Saint Peter is the incumbent pope. Two general epistles in the New Testament are ascribed to Peter, the Gospel of Mark was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peters preaching and eyewitness memories. Peters original name was Shimon or Simeon and he was later given the name Peter, New Testament Greek Πέτρος derived from πέτρα, which means rock. In the Latin translation of the Bible this became Petrus, a form of the feminine petra. Another version of this name is Aramaic, , after his name in Hellenised Aramaic. The English, Dutch and German Peter, French Pierre, the Italian Pietro, the Spanish and Portuguese Pedro, the Syriac or Aramaic word for rock is kepa, which in Greek became Πέτρος, also meaning rock. He is also known as Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha, both Cephas and Kepha also mean rock. In the New Testament, he is among the first of the disciples called during Jesus ministry, Peter became the first listed apostle ordained by Jesus in the early church. Peter was a fisherman in Bethsaida and he was named Simon, son of Jonah or John
9.
Catacombs of Rome
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The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. The Etruscans, like many other European peoples, used to bury their dead in underground chambers, the original Roman custom was cremation, after which the burnt remains were kept in a pot, ash-chest or urn, often in a columbarium. From about the 2nd century AD, inhumation became more fashionable, in graves or sarcophagi, often elaborately carved, Christians also preferred burial to cremation because of their belief in bodily resurrection at the Second Coming. The Jewish catacombs are similarly important for the study of Jewish culture at this period, a number of dubious relics of catacomb saints were promoted after the rediscovery of the catacombs. The Etruscans, like many other European people, used to bury their dead in underground chambers, the original Roman custom was cremation, after which the burnt remains were kept in a pot, ash-chest or urn, often in a columbarium. From about the 2nd century AD, inhumation became more fashionable, in graves or sarcophagi, often elaborately carved, Christians also preferred burial to cremation because of their belief in bodily resurrection. The first large-scale catacombs in the vicinity of Rome were excavated from the 2nd century onwards and they were carved through tufo, a soft volcanic rock, outside the walls of the city, because Roman law forbade burial places within city limits. The pagan custom was to incinerate corpses, while early Christians, since most Christians and Jews at that time belonged to the lower classes or were slaves, they usually lacked the resources to buy land for burial purposes. Instead, networks of tunnels were dug in the layers of tufo which occurred naturally on the outskirts of Rome. There are sixty known subterranean burial chambers in Rome and they were built outside the walls along main Roman roads, like the Via Appia, the Via Ostiense, the Via Labicana, the Via Tiburtina, and the Via Nomentana. Names of the catacombs – like St Calixtus and St Sebastian, about 80% of the excavations used for Christian burials date to after the time of the persecutions. Excavators, no slaves, built vast systems of galleries and passages on top of each other. They lie 7–19 metres below the surface in an area of more than 2.4 square kilometres, narrow steps that descend as many as four stories join the levels. Passages are about 2.5 by 1 metre, burial niches were carved into walls. They are 40–60 centimetres high and 120–150 centimetres long, bodies were placed in chambers in stone sarcophagi in their clothes and bound in linen. Then the chamber was sealed with a slab bearing the name, age, the catacomb of Saint Agnes is a small church. Some families were able to construct cubicula which would house various loculi, another excellent place for artistic programs were the arcosolia. In 380, Christianity became a state religion, at first, many still desired to be buried in chambers alongside the martyrs
10.
Mausoleum
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A mausoleuma is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph, a mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum. A Christian mausoleum sometimes includes a chapel, the word derives from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the grave of King Mausolus, the Persian satrap of Caria, whose large tomb was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Historically, mausolea were, and still may be, large, however, smaller mausolea soon became popular with the gentry and nobility in many countries. In the Roman Empire, these were often ranged in necropoles or along roadsides, however, when Christianity became dominant, mausoleums were out of use. Later, mausolea became particularly popular in Europe and its colonies during the modern and modern periods. A single mausoleum may be permanently sealed, a mausoleum encloses a burial chamber either wholly above ground or within a burial vault below the superstructure. This contains the body or bodies, probably within sarcophagi or interment niches, modern mausolea may also act as columbaria with additional cinerary urn niches. Mausolea may be located in a cemetery, a churchyard or on private land, in the United States, the term may be used for a burial vault below a larger facility, such as a church. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, for example, has 6,000 sepulchral and it is known as the crypt mausoleum. In Europe, these vaults are sometimes called crypts or catacombs. Mausoleum of Mohammed V Bourguiba mausoleum The Dr. John Garang De Mabior mausoleum in Juba, agostinho Netos Mausoleum in Luanda, Angola. Omar Bongos Mausoleum in Franceville, Gabon, kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum Marien Ngouabis mausoleum and Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzas mausoleum in Brazzaville, The Republic of Congo. Mausoleum of the late president Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Yamoussoukro, Côte dIvoire, laurent Kabilas mausoleum in Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of Congo. The pyramids of ancient Egypt and Nubian pyramids are also types of mausolea, Abdel Nasser Mosque, is the Mausoleum of Gamal Abdel Nasser, in Cairo, Egypt. Unknown Soldier Memorial Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania Al Hussein Mosque, Cairo – Holy Shrine and mausoleum, Qalawun Mausoleum is the Mausoleum of Qalawun, Located in Cairo, Egypt, it was regarded by scholars as the second most beautiful medieval mausoleum ever to be built. Jedars - thirteen ancient monumental Berber mausoleums located south of Tiaret, Late President Eyademas Family Mausoleum in Kara, Togo. Kamuzu Banda Mausoleum, in Lilongwe, Malawi, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi built a mausoleum in which his late first wife and Bingu himself are buried
11.
St. Peter's Square
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St. Peters Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbourhood or rione of Borgo. Both the square and the basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus, at the centre of the square is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, a granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613. Bernini had been working on the interior of St, there were many constraints from existing structures. The massed accretions of the Vatican Palace crowded the space to the right of the basilicas façade, the colossal Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive elliptical area which precedes it. The ovato tondos long axis, parallel to the basilicas façade, the elliptical center of the piazza, which contrasts with the trapezoidal entrance, encloses the visitor with the maternal arms of Mother Church in Berninis expression. On the south side, the colonnades define and formalize the space, on the north side, the colonnade masks an assortment of Vatican structures, the upper stories of the Vatican Palace rise above. The obelisk was erected at Heliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh. The Emperor Augustus had the moved to the Julian Forum of Alexandria, where it stood until 37 AD, when Caligula ordered the forum demolished. He had it placed on the spina which ran along the center of the Circus of Nero, the Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since ancient Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Rome museum, Christopher Hibbert writes that the ball was found to be solid. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza, the paving is varied by radiating lines in travertine, to relieve what might otherwise be a sea of cobblestones. In 1817 circular stones were set to mark the tip of the shadow at noon as the sun entered each of the signs of the zodiac. Below is a view of St. Peters Square from the cupola which was taken in June,2007, St. Peters Square today can be reached from the Ponte SantAngelo along the grand approach of the Via della Conciliazione. The spina which once occupied this grand avenue leading to the square was demolished ceremonially by Benito Mussolini himself on October 23,1936 and was demolished by October 8,1937. St. Peters Basilica was now visible from the Castel SantAngelo. After the spina, almost all the south of the passetto were demolished between 1937 and 1950, obliterating one of the most important medieval and renaissance quarters of the city
12.
Pope Pius VI
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Pope Pius VI, born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, reigned as Pope from 15 February 1775 to his death in 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revolution and the suppression of the Gallican Church that resulted from it, French troops commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the papal troops and occupied the Papal States in 1796. In 1798, upon his refusal to renounce his power, Pius was taken prisoner. He died one year later in Valence and his reign is the fourth-longest in papal history, being over two decades. P. M. graven in all parts of the city, the portrait in the box is one of numerous studio copies of the official portrait by Pompeo Batoni. Pius VIs pontificate was a tumultuous and rough one with the onset of the French Revolution, in the beginning of his Pontificate, Pius succeeded in silencing a group of followers of Jansenism with his bull Auctorem Fidei, which reaffirmed the Churchs stance at the topics at hand. Pius VI also saw the growth of Catholicism in the United States of America, therefore erecting the first American archepiscopal see, the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Pius VI also attempted the daring job of draining the Pontine Marshes, which he did with success, but did successfully drain the marshes near Citta della Pieve, Perugia. Pius VI also deepened and expanded the harbors of Terracina and Porto dAnizo, Pius was a great patron of the arts and humanities, for he completed the Pio-Clementine Museum and added a new sacristy to St. Peters Basilica. Pius VI also restored the famous Roman Appian Way, Giovanni Angelo Braschi was born in Cesena on Christmas in 1717 as the eldest of eight children to Count Marco Aurelio Tommaso Braschi and Ana Teresa Bandi. His siblings were Felice Silvestro, Giulia Francesca, Cornelio Francesco, Maria Olimpia, Anna Maria Costanza, Giuseppe Luigi and he was baptized in Cesena on the following 27 December and was given the baptismal name of Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio. After he completed his studies in the Jesuit college of Cesena and it was there that he became the private secretary of Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo, papal legate, in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri he held the post of auditor until 1753. Cardinal Ruffo took him as his conclavist at the 1740 papal conclave and his skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV who appointed him as one of his secretaries in 1753 following the death of Cardinal Ruffo. The pope also appointed him as a canon of St Peters Basilica in 1755, in 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married he was ordained to the priesthood. Braschi was also appointed as the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura in 1758 and he also became the auditor and secretary of Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, the nephew of Pope Clement XIII. In 1766, he was appointed as the treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope Clement XIII and those who suffered under his conscientious economics had managed to convince Pope Clement XIV to elevate him into the cardinalate. Braschi was elevated on 26 April 1773 in Rome as the Cardinal-Priest of SantOnofrio and this was a promotion which rendered him innocuous for a brief period of time. Pope Clement XIV died in 1774 and this triggered a conclave to choose a successor, spain, France and Portugal dropped all objections to the election of Braschi who was one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit stance of the late pope
