Imagine you are a Catholic pilgrim walking the streets of Rome in a Jubilee year. We study what happens in a Jubilee year (We are currently in the middle of an extraordinary Jubilee year) and see the special opening of the doors at all four Basilicas. The special 3D technology used is a wonderful effect meaning it is almost as if we are viewing it standing right in front of the sculpture or looking up at the ceiling . There are also wonderful long panoramic landscape and aerial views of Rome and the Vatican and we see the routes taken to reach each church and how they are linked. The spectacular views are at times perhaps a bit dizzying and overwhelming.
We follow the history of art from ancient Roman mosaics to the billowing swirls of the Baroque and Roccoco eras. We are guided by Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, Paolo Portoghesi, internationally renowned architect, Claudio Strinati, celebrated art historian, and Micol Forti, director of the Vatican Museums Collection Of Contemporary Art, through the story of the basilicas, their evolution over the centuries and their most famous works of art.
The renowned experts reel off numerous luminous names of artists over the centuries – from Giotto to Bramante, from Michelangelo to Francesco Borromini, from Bernini to Domenico Fontana, from Arnolfo di Cambio to Jacopo Torriti and others. The documentary also features quotes from legendary writers such as Stendhal describing the influence of the Basilicas.
The film starts with St Peter’s, regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom.”
St Peter’s, principally designed by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture, and one of the largest churches in the world. This church is the most prominent building in the Vatican City. Its dome is a dominant feature of the skyline of Rome.
We learn of Michaelangelo and his designs for the dome (incomplete upon his death). Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the burial site of St. Peter, one of Christ’s Apostles who became the first Pope; according to Catholic belief. St. Peter’s tomb is directly below the high altar of the Basilica.
It is for this reason that many Popes have been interred at St. Peter’s going back to the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The present basilica was completed in 1626.
The entire interior of St. Peter’s is lavishly decorated with marble, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of Popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in various niches and chapels, including Michelangelo’s Pietà, full of light, love and suffering. The central dominating feature is a baldachin, or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , here lovingly photographed and dwelt on in great detail. The Sanctuary climaxes in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic Chair of Saint Peter. We also see the statues of St Longinus by Bernini and St Veronica by Francesco Mochi, among others .
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the oldest church in the West and is the ecclesiastical seat of the Pope. We learn of its history and see its extraordinary nave and ceiling , the obelisk outside and the Holy Stairs which , according to Catholic Tradition, form the staircase which once led to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and which, therefore, was sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus Christ during His Passion. Pilgrims still climb these footsteps on their knees even today. Mention is also made of the statues of the Apostles and the Papal tombs and the Lateran Palace .
The Basilica of St Mary Major was built under Pope Sixtus III (432–440) and has been restored, redecorated and extended by various popes. Benedict XIV (1740–58) in the 1740s commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to build the present façade and to modify the interior. We learn of the legend of the dream leading to its foundation and why it is also sometimes called Our Lady of Snows. The design of this basilica was a typical one during this time in Rome: “a tall and wide nave; an aisle on either side; and a semicircular apse at the end of the nave.”
St Mary Major is particularly famous for its mosaics dating back to the fifth century and as being one of the oldest representations of the Virgin Mary in Christian Late Antiquity.
The Basilica’s astonishing 16th-century coffered ceiling, to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, is alleged to be gilded with gold, initially brought by Christopher Columbus, presented by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to Pope Alexander VI – the first gold from America . We also see the Borghese Chapel and Salus Populi Romani , the famous icon of the Virgin Mary.
St. Paul’s outside the Walls was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine over the burial place of St. Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle’s execution, his followers erected a memorial. This Basilica suffered a major fire in 1823 and we see pictures of the devastation and learn how it was painstakingly reconstructed.
The new Basilica has maintained the original structure with one nave and four aisles. It is 131.66 metres (432.0 ft) long, 65 metres (213 ft)-wide, and 29.70 metres (97.4 ft)-high, the second largest in Rome. The nave’s 80 columns and its stucco-decorated ceiling are from the 19th century .This basilica is of major importance as it holds the tomb of St Paul. Also of great importance is the tabernacle of the confession of Arnolfo di Cambio (1285)of the13th century which is dwelt on in much closeup detail. This Basilica contains portraits of all the popes right through to today – most are reconstructions, some of the ones that survived the 1823 fire being preserved now in the nearby monastery.
This film with its stunning photography reveals the treasures of the four Basilicas in a way that they have never seen before. This doco is a must see for those who are fascinated by art history.
Running time 90 minutes straight through.
ST PETER’S AND THE PAPAL BASILICAS is screening at selected cinemas from June 18.