The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peter's Basilica(Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri; Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), is an Italian Renaissance church located in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome.
Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno andGian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture[2] and, according to many, is the largest church in the world.[3] While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the Catholic Roman Rite cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world"[4] and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".[2][5]
By Catholic tradition, the Basilica is
