Old St. Peter's Basilica
| St. Peter's Basilica Basilica Sancti Petri |
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19th-century drawing of St. Peter's Basilica as it is thought to have looked around 1450. The Vatican Obelisk is on the left, still standing on the spot where it was erected on the orders of the Emperor Caligula in 37 A.D.
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
 Vatican City
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| Geographic coordinates | 41°54′8″N 12°27′12″E / 41.90222°N 12.45333°ECoordinates: 41°54′8″N 12°27′12″E / 41.90222°N 12.45333°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Year consecrated | c. 360 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Major basilica |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Ancient Roman architecture |
| Groundbreaking | 326-333 |
| Completed | c. 360 |
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, on the spot where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began during the reign of Emperor Constantine I. The name "old St. Peter's Basilica" has been used since the construction of the current basilica to distinguish the two buildings.
Construction began by orders of the Roman Emperor Constantine I between 318 and 322, and took about 30 years to complete. Over the next twelve centuries, the church gradually gained importance, eventually becoming a major place of pilgrimage in Rome.
Papal coronations were held at the basilica, and in 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire there. In 846, Saracens sacked and damaged the basilica. The raiders seem to have known about Rome's extraordinary treasures. Some holy – and impressive – basilicas, such as St. Peter's Basilica, were outside the Aurelian walls, and thus easy targets. They were "filled to overflowing with rich liturgical vessels and with jeweled reliquaries housing all of the relics recently amassed". As a result, the raiders pillaged the holy shrine. In response Pope Leo IV built the Leonine wall and rebuilt the parts of St. Peter's that had been damaged. In 1099, Urban II convened a council including St Anselm. Among other topics, it repeated the bans on lay investiture and on clergy's paying homage to secular lords.
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Wikipedia