80. Getting Ready for the Vatican and Trastevere
Today we survey the main sites to visit in Trastevere and in the area around the Vatican, an important step in preparing for a visit.
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Explore "stpetersbasilica" with insightful episodes like "80. Getting Ready for the Vatican and Trastevere", "60. A War of Ideas in the Vatican Necropolis", "57. A Visit to the Tombs Buried by St. Peter's Basilica", "35. The Triumph of the Church in St. Peter’s Basilica" and "32. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Creation of Europe" from podcasts like ""Get Ready for Rome", "Get Ready for Rome", "Get Ready for Rome", "Get Ready for Rome" and "Get Ready for Rome"" and more!
Episodes (9)
60. A War of Ideas in the Vatican Necropolis
Today we investigate two tombs under St. Peter's Basilica, one of a saint, the other of a sinner, or so at least the saint would say. But this sinner defends himself.
57. A Visit to the Tombs Buried by St. Peter's Basilica
When Constantine built the first St. Peter’s Basilica, he buried a burial ground that was not excavated for over 1,500 years. It included tombs of both Pagans and Christians, perhaps including that of St. Peter himself. We visit it today.
35. The Triumph of the Church in St. Peter’s Basilica
We return today to St. Peter's Basilica and do an inventory of the contents of its nave, aisles, and transept. Do its many chapels, altars, statues, and funeral monuments have a unifying theme? I think so. It is the Triumph of the Catholic Church, which then draws our attention to the Protestant Reformation, then raging in Europe as St. Peter's was being built.
32. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Creation of Europe
Today we visit the Portico of St. Peter's Basilica, and find there--again!--the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rome's greatest and most prolific Baroque sculptor and architect. We also encounter the emperors Constantine and Charlemagne, who did so much to create Christian Europe.
28. On Entering the Largest Church in the World
We begin with the total destruction of the Old St. Peter’s and then visit the center of the Renaissance and Baroque Basilica that replaced it. We find there the Confessio, the high altar, and Bernini’s soaring Baldacchino. Surrounding these central elements Bernini placed four huge statues and four associated relics, and nearby he situated a massive “Chair of St. Peter,” so important as a defense of papal authority, and matched statues of two powerful popes.
23. A Second Visit to St. Peter’s Basilica: The Piazza and Colonnade
After 1200 years, the first Roman basilica dedicated to St. Peter was torn down, and then began the slow process of building a new one on the same location. We discuss why it took so long to build the basilica, what the main features of its beautiful piazza are, and how it differed from that of the old one.
18. Of Barns and Basilicas! Mini Pod
Ancient Rome had, and Christian Rome still has, lots of buildings called “basilicas.” But this important word is used in two senses. So just what is a basilica? This pod explains both the architectural and ecclesiastical senses of the term.
17. A First Visit to Vatican City and Saint Peter’s Basilica
We here survey and introduce the main sites of Vatican City and Saint Peter’s Basilica. These include the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, and other parts of the Vatican Museums; the Vatican Necropolis, an ancient cemetery in which St. Peter may have been buried; the Vatican Gardens; the Apostolic Palace; and the Grottoes, main floor, and dome of St. Peters.