Dome of St Peter's Basilica - Vatican City, 2007
St Peter's Basilica was built between 1506 and 1626 and is regarded as the symbolic "Mother Church" of the Catholic faith. The site of the basilica is said to be directly above the burial place of Saint Peter and there has been a church here since the 4th century AD. Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people, and the interior is a treasure trove of sumptuous religious art and sculpture. The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world, and this photo was taken from where I stood, transfixed, directly below that dome.
If you love this photo, why not take a look at my Bella Italia 2010 calendar in which it features, available to purchase now in my Redbubble store.
This is part of a series of non-food photographs that will be published every Saturday on CookSister. Click here for a full list of photographs previously featured. All photos featured in Saturday Snapshots are available to buy as greeting cards or prints in my RedBubble store, including the new Year of Saturday Snapshots calendar, an A3-size calendar bringing together the most popular images from the first year of Saturday Snapshots.
Wow! That is a gorgeous blue. It just makes the gold look that much more luxurious. Great capture!
Posted by: Anna | November 15, 2009 at 04:28 AM
Oh my.....what a stunning photograph!! It took me straight back to the mid 70's when I stood there agape and in awe of that dome...thanx for the memory :o) xxx
Posted by: browniegirl | November 15, 2009 at 03:03 PM
Legendary shot. Awesome. I would love to visit the Vatican City one day.
Posted by: Firefly | November 16, 2009 at 07:13 AM
Spectacular shot!
Paz
Posted by: Paz | November 17, 2009 at 11:03 AM
You are an absolute artist. I went to Rome with my mom 20 years ago but spent more time looking at Mario & Giovanni than anything beautiful or cultural. Will have to go again.
Posted by: Mel | November 17, 2009 at 03:44 PM
Beautiful shot Jeanne. We also just came back from Italy, but didn't visit St. Peter Basilica.
Posted by: elra | November 17, 2009 at 03:54 PM