St. Peter Basilica is located in the territory of the sovereign state of the Vatican. It often is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites, “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and “the greatest of all churches of Christendom.”

In the 1st century AD, the site of St. Peter’s Basilica hosted the Circus of Nero and a cemetery. According to ancient tradition, St. Peter was martyred in the Circus and buried nearby. This happened in 64 A.D. His simple grave was remembered and visited by the faithful, and in 324, Emperor Constantine began construction on a great basilica over the tomb. The shrine of St. Peter is still the central focus of the church today.

The building itself is truly impressive. Being one of the largest churches in the world, it has a 218 meter long nave. The basilica’s dome is the world’s largest measuring 42m in diameter and reaching 138 meter high (more than 450ft). The interior, which includes 45 altars, was decorated by many famous artists.[ADS]Some of the most important works in the church are the Pietà by Michelangelo, the papal altar by Bernini, the Throne of St. Peter – also by Bernini – and the Monument to the Stuarts by Canova. The opulent interior can be visited daily for free although a strict dress code is enforced.

However, it should be noted, that the St. Peter’s Basilica was not built with the same extension at the beginning. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V ordered the construction of a grand new cathedral. Almost nothing is left from the old building, except the relics, forged gates, drifted to the new cathedral sculptures and mosaics of the individual fragments. After the death of Nicholas V in 1455 the construction work was suspended. Since then, contractors and architects continually succeeded each other, so the completion of the temple lasted for about 170 years.[ADS2]Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter’s than Nicholas V’s program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter’s. Firstly, Julius II appointed Donato Bramante as the chief architect of the new Basilica. In 1547 Michelangelo succeeded Bramante. He designed the imposing dome and altered some of the original plans. Michelangelo died in 1624, two years before the St. Peter’s basilica was dedicated by pope Urban VIII. Ever since, this church has been the center of Christianity, drawing pilgrims from all over the world.

The dome of the church always attracts the most significant attention and that’s where Michelangelo’s contribution is mainly resembled. Master criticized all his predecessors, and returned to the original plan of Bramante – only slightly modified and corrected dome pillars underneath. However, the version of Michelangelo remained little after time: intact preserved only the outer part of the apse. Finally, a facade with a portico added onto in the early XVII century, Carlo Maderno, completed the cathedral square.

Nowadays, the inner surface of the dome is decorated with images of four Evangelists: Matthew – an angel, Mark depicts a lion, Luke – with the ox, and John – with an eagle. Lion, an ox and an eagle are the animals, about which John the Evangelist writes in the “Apocalypse”, emphasizing that that these animals are around the throne of God.

It is obvious that St. Peter’s became the symbol of the power of the Catholic Church. But it has also become a model, and whose features are recognizable in all the major buildings of the most of the Christian countries temples within the following centuries. It still stands stunning in front of the visitor’s eye.

Let me remind you that, according to Russian legend, the ambassadors Prince Vladimir the Red Sun send his passengers, which were supposed to inform him, whether the Christian religion was good or not. After a visit to the church of Hagia Sophia, the ambassadors were so impressed that they decided to report to Prince Vladimir, that they’ve been not just a breathtaking temple, but heaven. They say that this is what determined the choice of Vladimir and his decision to be baptized Rus. It happened in the X century.

Hagia Sophia is considered to be one of the of four equal-scale masterpieces among the museums within the world, such as the Church of St. Paul’s in London, San Pietro in Rome and Milan in the House. It is necessary to take into account that most of these ancient structures were built in about 1000 years after the Hagia Sophia.

Originally, on the site of the temple, a large church was built by Emperor Constantine I in 336, which burned in a fire later on. After two hundred years in this place a new basilica was built, which was even bigger and more beautiful than before – the Hagia Sophia.
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The cathedral was built by Emperor Justinian the Great in the VI century. In construction work, which lasted five years, one hundred architects were employed, and ten thousand workers – the result was stunning – the Hagia Sophia was the greatest church in the world and gained the status of the eighth wonder of the world!

In the year 537 Justinian, standing under the arches of the starry dome, said: “Oh, Solomon, I have surpassed thee!” Of course it is presumptuous assertion, given that he was referring to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which served as the prototype of many churches in the world. But, looking at the Hagia Sophia, this wonder- I think that Justinian had the right to such a statement. This cathedral is still one of the greatest sacred places in the world.

In the past the main church of Eastern Christianity, St. Sophia’s Cathedral after the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turksin 1453 was converted into a mosque and by now, is a major tourist attraction in Istanbul. According to legend, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror), was so struck by the beauty and grandeur of the church that decided not to destroy it (a similar fate with many churches of Constantinople).

The main building of the mosque has nine entrance gates and canopy, height of 55.6 meters and 31 meters in diameter attached to the four powerful columns, reaching the height of 24.3 meters.[ADS2]For interior decoration materials were imported from all over the world- so, white marble nave of the mosque was brought from the Princes’ Islands; streaks of pink marble – from Karahisar Afeni, porphyry – from Egypt, green, purple – of adzes, and Mora, and yellow marble, from Algeria . On ceilings one can find numerous unique Byzantine mosaics. It is important to be mentioned, that the Hagia Sophia is the burial place of many sultans of the Ottoman Empire – here are the graves of Mehmet II, Mustafa I, Selim II and other members of the Ottoman dynasty.

On the wall of the south gallery of the cathedral Hagia Sophia there is a beautiful mosaic icon, dating from the XI century. The center of the composition depicts Christ in a blue robe, sitting on a throne with a large Bible in his left hand. Left in a luxurious ritual attire, you can see Constantine IX Monomakh, holding a bag of gifts to the church.

The right side of the mosaic of at least smartly dressed the Empress Zoe, with a scroll in his hands. The scroll can be difficult to distinguish the words “Constantine Hotovopistos …”, and over her head the words “very pious Empress Zoe.” This icon is considered as one of the most impressive part of the cathedral.

After the fall of the monarchy, when Ataturk, in 1931, work began on the restoration of Byzantine mosaics and paintings. In 1934 Ataturk issued a decree of secularization of Hagia Sophia and its transformation into a museum, which opened its doors to visitors next year. It should be noted that the restoration works carried out and continue to be a fairly competently, keeping inside the Hagia Sophia,the necessary balance between the two cultures – the Islamic and Christian.

Until today, Istanbul compiles two worlds in itself, Christian and Muslim one. In Turkey, however strange it doesn’t sound, Christian tradition is very strong. Thus far, there remain thousands of churches and cathedrals, and only some of them over time were transformed into a mosque. Hagia Sophia still stands stunning and majestic in front of all visitors.