Dome of St Peter's

The climb is ticketed and booked. With stairs it is 231 steps to the basilica terrace and 320 more to the top, 551 in all; with the lift, which reaches the terrace, 320 steps remain. The Fabbrica gives winter hours of 07.30 to 17.00 for 26 October 2025 to 28 March, and summer hours of 07.00 to 18.00 for 29 March 2026 to 25 October 2026. The Fabbrica's booking portal lists the dome with stairs, including the basilica, at 17 euro, and the dome with lift at 22 euro. It is recommended from age 6, under-18s must be accompanied, it is not wheelchair accessible, no animals are admitted, strollers are left under the portico and there is no cloakroom service at present. Tickets are not refundable, transferable or modifiable, and a full refund is given only where the Holy See cancels for a liturgical celebration or event; the inner ring may be closed for celebrations or organisational reasons.

History

Michelangelo conceived the dome and built it to the drum. Giacomo della Porta completed it with Domenico Fontana between 1588 and 1590, and the Fabbrica records that the dome was raised in 22 months, with 800 labourers. It is double-shelled with a cavity, ogival, and slenderer than the initial design. On 18 November 1593 the gilded bronze sphere and cross by Sebastiano Torrigiani were placed on the lantern spire. The ring at the end of the lantern carries the inscription set by Clement VIII, s. petri gloriae sixtvs pp. v. a. mdxc pontif. v, and the frieze at the base of the dome reads tv es petrvs et svper hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam et tibi dabo claves regni caelorvm in blue letters on gold. The mosaics were made by numerous mosaicists under Marcello Provenzale between 1598 and 1613, covering about 3,000 square metres in sixteen wedge-shaped compartments. The Fabbrica gives the height of the inner dome of the lantern as 117 metres, and the cross at the top of the dome as over 133 metres.

History

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