Cruising the MED

St Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, stands on the site of Circus of Nero. The largest Catholic church every built, consecrated in 1626 after many years of construction under the direction of several famous architects including; Bramant, Raphael and Michelangelo. Among the chief objects of interest are the 5th centry bronze statue of St. Peter, the tomb of Peter under the altar, and Michelangelo’s Pieta, a superb marble sculpture of the Virgin and the dead Christ.