梵蒂岡的日常生活具有濃厚的宗教色彩,每當星期日,天主教徒聚集在聖伯多祿廣場,中午12點,隨著教堂鍾聲響起,教宗在聖伯多祿大教堂樓頂正中窗口出現,向教徒們發表演說,梵蒂岡的瑞士衛隊每年5月6日在聖達馬索庭院(意大利語:Cortile di San Damaso)內舉行宣誓儀式,誦念5個多世紀來一直不變的誓詞,祈求天主保佑自己圓滿完成任務,效忠教宗可以獻出自己的生命。
聖伯多祿大殿(拉丁語:Basilica Sancti Petri,意大利語:Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano),亦名聖伯多祿大教堂、梵蒂岡大殿、又譯作聖彼得大教堂,是位於梵蒂岡的一座天主教宗座聖殿,建於1506年至1626年,可能是世界最大的教堂,也是天主教會最重要的聖地之一。其占地23,000平方米,可容納超過六萬人。教堂中央是直徑42米的穹窿,頂高約138米,前麵有兩重用柱廊圍繞的巴洛克式廣場。意大利文藝複興時期的建築師與藝術家多納托·伯拉孟特、拉斐爾、米開朗基羅和小安東尼奧·達·桑加羅等都曾參與設計。廣場的設計人是貝尼尼。堂內保存有歐洲文藝複興時期許多藝術家如米開朗基羅、拉斐爾等的壁畫與雕刻。
The Holy Door is opened only for great celebrations.
Narthex and portals
The altar with Bernini's baldacchino
Bernini's "Cathedra Petri" and "Gloria"
The dome was brought to completion by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana.
Private Chapel of the Canons of St. Peter's Basilica located just off the Canons sacristy
The Pietà (1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was a representative in Rome. The sculpture, in Carrara marble,
was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its
current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the
basilica, in the 18th century. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever
signed.
This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
聖母憐子像(米開朗基羅)
The bronze statue of Saint Peter, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio.
Truth, by Bernini. Her big toe is pierced by a thorn from Britain.
Statues in the piers of the dome
Saint Helena
St Longinus
St Andrew
St Veronica
The Altar of Falsehood, on the left (south) side of the southeast pier
near the left transept. This mosaic dates from 1725-27 and is based on a
painting by Roncalli, 1599-1604. It depicts a scene from Acts 5:1-11,
where the couple Ananias and Sapphira lied to St. Peter and were struck
dead.
It was for
this altar that Caravaggio painted St. Anne with the Virgin and
Child. The painting was placed over the altar on April 14, 1606,
but was removed two days later.
It was for
this altar that the first mosaic altarpiece in the new basilica
was made, unveiled September 29, 1628, the feast of St. Michael
and the anniversary of Urban VIII's papacy.
The mosaic
was replaced by another in 1758, after Guido Reni's Saint Michael
in S. Maria della Concezione.
Monument to Pope Benedict XV
The Chapel of Saint Sebastian,painting
by Domenichino, 1628-31
mosaic by Cristofari, 1730-36.
Pier Paolo
Cristofari, who executed Domenichino's painting into mosaic, was
the Director of the Vatican Mosaic Studio from 1743-1755. He is
responsible for many of the altarpieces in St. Peter's.
Under the altar
lies the remains of Blessed Innocent XI (1676-1689).
Altar of St.
Thomas, under a mosaic showing the scene of his disbelief.
Under the altar
are relics of Pope St. Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon
for Christian worship.
The altar of St Jerome closes the right-side aisle, as it is set at the
back of the pier of St Longinus. Since 2nd June 2001 it had been dedicated
to the Blessed John XXIII. Over it is the altarpiece with the Last Communion
of St Jerome, a mosaic copy realized in 1730 after the famous painting
by Domenichino, nowadays kept in the Pinacoteca Vaticana. Beneath the
altar is the body of Blessed Pope John XXIII, here transferred on 4th
June 2001. The four gilt bronze bas-reliefs were made by Novello Finotti,
who represented two moments in John's pontificate: the II Vatican Council
and UT UNUM SINT and two encyclicals MATER ET MAGISTRA and PACEM IN TERRIS.
Altar and tomb of Pope St. Gregory the Great
The subject
of the altarpiece is St. Basil Celebrating Mass in the presence
of the Arian Emperor Valens.
St. Basil is
so involved in his devotion at Mass during the Feast of the Epiphany
in 372 that he does not notice Emperor Valentius enter with his
retinue.
Chapel of the Choir, Maderno, Bianchi, Borromini
The Chapel
takes its name from the fact that the Liturgy of the Hours are celebrated
here.
The mosaic
commemorates the Definition of Mary's Immaculate Conception.
(Dec. 8, 1854).
Its design was traditionally attributed to Giacomo della Porta (1540-1602),
but today it is thought to be the work of Carlo Maderno. It owes its name
to the fact that the canons of the basilica used to celebrate the Liturgy
of the Hours here as a choir. The gate of the chapel, usually closed,
is of exquisite workmanship.
The altarpiece, by
Pietro Bianchi (1694-1740), shows the Virgin Immaculate in glory surrounded
by angels and venerated by Sts. Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, John
Chrysostom. On December 8, 1854, on the occasion of the proclamation of
the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pius IX crowned the image of Mary.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Dogma, St. Pius X added a second crown,
consisting of twelve stars, gleaming with twelve brilliants, donated by
various nations.
Beneath the altar
are the remains of St. John Chrysostom and relics of St. Francis and St.
Anthony. The paschal candle stands on a black and white marble column
with a porphyry base, in accordance with Paul VI's wishes.
The vault of the
chapel, divided by four Corinthian pilasters, is decorated with fine gilded
stucco ornaments on a white background, showing the Creation, the Crossing
of the Red Sea, the Baptism of Jesus. In the dome are the Vision of the
angels and the Elect of the Apocalypse. In the vault are shown: Habakuk
and the angel, Daniel in the lions' den, David, Jonah inside the whale.
In the lunettes, Deborah and Barak, Judith with Holofern's head, Moses
and Aaron, Ozaziah and Uzziah and Jeremiah.
The dark wooden choir
against the walls has a triple row of stalls, adorned with magnificent
bas-reliefs and decorations; above it on each side are two historical
organs.
The mosaic
altarpiece is the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple
by her parents.
Below the altar
is the body of St. Pius X (1904-1914), the last pope to be canonized.
"Monument to the Royal Stuarts" by Antonio
Canova, St Peter's Cathedral, Roma. Shows King James III The Old
Pretender (middle), his two sons Charles Edward (left) and Henry
Benedict (right).
Henry Benedict Stuart (11 March 1725 – 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart,
Henry made no effort to seize the throne. After Charles's death in
January 1788 the Papacy did not recognise Henry as the lawful ruler of
England, Scotland and Ireland, but referred to him as the Cardinal Duke
of York.
He spent his life in the Papal States and had a long career in the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, rising to become the Dean of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri. At the time of his death he was (and still is) one of the longest serving Cardinals in the Church's history.
In his youth, Henry's father made him Duke of York (in the Jacobite peerage),
and it was by this title that he was best known. Upon the death of his
brother in 1788 Henry became known by Jacobites, and within his personal
entourage, as Henry IX of England, although publicly he referred to himself as Cardinal-Duke of York nuncupatus.
Baptismal Font of the basilica
Altar of Transfiguration, painting
by Raphael, 1520
The Niccoline Chapel (Italian: Cappella Niccolina) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. It is especially notable for its fresco paintings by Fra Angelico (1447–1451)
St Peter Consacrates St Lawrence as Deacon,between and fresco
Fra Angelico, “Saint Lawrence receives the treasures of the Church”, a fresco (paint on wet plaster), c.1447 Saint Stephen (Koine Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos; sometimes spelled "Stephan"), the first martyr of Christianity, was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech fiercely denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgement on him and was stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus (later renamed Paul), a Pharisee who would later convert to Christianity and become an Apostle.
Thus castigated, the account is that the crowd could contain their anger no longer. However Stephen, seemingly now oblivious to them, looked up and cried "Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!"[Acts 7:55]
To the Sanhedrin, this claim that the recently executed Jesus was
standing by the side of God (not sitting, as he is usually described in
New Testament texts) was such intense blasphemy that they covered their
ears so as not to hear it.[Acts 7:55]
They rushed upon Stephen, drove him outside the city to the place
appointed, and stoned him. At this time Jewish law permitted the death
penalty by stoning for blasphemy. The witnesses, whose duty it was to throw the first stones, laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of a "young man named Saul",later to be known as Paul the Apostle. Stephen prayed that the Lord would receive his spirit and his killers be forgiven, sank to his knees, and "fell asleep".[Acts 7:58-60] Saul "approved of their killing him".[Acts 8:1]
四間拉斐爾客房(Stanze di Raffaello)是梵蒂岡宮內的一組客房,教宗住所的公共部分。它們以拉斐爾及其工作室創作的壁畫著稱。它們連同西斯廷禮拜堂內米開朗基羅的天頂畫,構成標誌羅馬文藝複興的盛大的壁畫係列。
康斯坦丁大廳
四個房間中最大的一個是康斯坦丁大廳(Sala di Costantino)。這些壁畫創作於教宗儒略時期,那時,拉斐爾本人已經去世。這個房間的主題是基督教戰勝了異教。壁畫通過羅馬皇帝康斯坦丁一世的生平反映這場鬥爭。這些壁畫是朱利奧·羅馬諾、吉昂弗朗斯科·班尼和若弗琳諾·迪·庫裏的作品。由於這些壁畫不是出自大師本人之手,它們不及相鄰房間的作品出名。出於一種奉承的悠久的傳統,拉斐爾的助手在畫中將教宗西爾維斯特的麵容描繪成當時的教宗克萊孟七世的麵容。
從東向西的第二個房間,是伊利奧多羅廳(Stanza di Eliodoro)。這裏的壁畫繪於1511年到1514年,房間也得名於其中的一幅畫。這個私人房間的主題是基督在天上保護教會。 四幅壁畫分別是:《伊裏奧多羅被逐出聖殿》、《保爾塞那的彌撒》、《良一世與阿提拉的會議》和《解救聖伯多祿》。其中前兩幅壁畫, 拉斐爾將他的讚助人教宗儒略二世畫成了參與者或觀察者;第三幅繪於儒略死後,包括他的繼任者良十世的肖像。
首先用拉斐爾壁畫裝飾的是簽字廳(Stanza della segnatura)。它曾是儒略二世的圖書館,宗座聖璽最高法院曾設於此處。藝術家的概念是,帶進古代精神與基督教的和諧,以及反映儒略二世的圖書館的內容:神學、哲學、法學和詩歌四大主題。這個房間的主題是世俗智慧與屬靈智慧的和諧,以及文藝複興人文主義者感知的基督教與希臘哲學之間的和諧。智慧的主題很適合這個房間,因為此處曾是宗座聖璽最高法院的會議室,大多數重要的教宗文件都是在此簽字蓋章。
博爾戈火災廳(Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo)得名於壁畫《博爾戈火災》,這幅畫描繪良四世十字架的記號撲滅羅馬博爾戈區(靠近梵蒂岡)的熊熊大火。這個房間準備作為儒勒的繼任者良十世的音樂室。壁畫描繪了教宗良三世和良四世的生平事跡。房間裏另外三幅壁畫是《良三世的誓言》、《查理大帝加冕》和《沃斯提亞戰役》。《博爾戈火災》是由拉斐爾設計構圖,但是由他的助手執行。另外三幅畫沒有他的指導。