Vatican City, as well as much of Rome , is acclaimed the world over for its stunning architectural achievements.

The first of these the visitor sees upon entering the country of the Holy See is St. Peter’s Basilica , dating from the turn of the seventeenth century, started by Michelangelo as a renovation of the tiny, dirty church of the same name that it would ultimately come to replace.  Designed by Donato Bramante, and later, upon Bramante’s death, by Michelangelo, St. Peter’s Basilica has enjoyed centuries of existence as the largest Christian church on the planet, its tall dome surpassing the Greek Pantheon in height.  It is interesting to know that Michelangelo refused to be paid for this timeless work, one of many for him in the Vatican alone.

The Sistine Chapel , for example, is reputed primarily for its paintings, and particularly for those done by Mr. Buonarroti, while the design and construction of this most visited of Vatican places is less known.  Coming in at the dimensions of Solomon’s Temple, the cathedral represents an architectural gem in and of itself, an aspect tourists were afraid would be lost in its two-year restoration that ended recently in 1999.

Not all of the Vatican’s architectural checkpoints can be detailed here, try getting a fuller story from sites like this one , from NPR, from other relevant architecture sites , or from books like William W. Lace’s wonderful Building History – The Vatican .