The old Basilica of St. Peter's stood over the alleged grave of
St. Peter, a shrine for all Christendom. It was erected in A.D.32
4 by Constantine the Great and survived in dilapidated form until Julius II's reign, when it was pulled down to make way for
a church of unsurpa-
ssed splendour. The foundation stone for
the new St. Peter's was laid in 1506, and its design entrusted to
the esteemed, but elderly, architect Bramante. It was to occupy
ten architects before its final completion, over 120 years later.
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