Church · Vatican City · Demolished
Old St. Peter's Basilica
Antica basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the Constantinian church that stood from the 4th to the 16th centuries on the site of the present St. Peter's in the Vatican. It was a five-aisled Latin-cross basilica built over the reputed tomb of Saint Peter and surrounded by an atrium (quadriportico), a campanile and ancillary buildings. The Constantinian structure was gradually demolished in the 16th century to make way for the new basilica.
First raised
AD 320
Its prime
1313
Today
Demolished
As it stood in 1313
What Old St. Peter's Basilica looked like in its prime.
A long, low Latin‑cross basilica of brick and stone, roughly 119 × 63 m, with a raised central nave flanked by two aisles on each side and four colonnades of 22 marble columns each. The roof is a high timbered gable with a clerestory of arched windows; the west façade sits behind a paved quadriportico (Garden of Paradise). The apse carries large figural mosaics, a low marble memorial aedicule with a surrounding pergula of twisted columns, and a freestanding medieval campanile and two circular mausolea lie adjacent.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1313.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Old St. Peter's Basilica, including 5 interiors: central nave under the clerestory, side aisle arcade and tomb chapels, transept crossing beneath the arcone and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Old St. Peter's Basilica with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1313, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Church to Explore →Nearby
Castles within reach of Old St. Peter's Basilica.
More landmarks of Vatican City
Explore the city
