It was already a thousand years old. The very legitimacy and sanctity of the popes themselves were based on their connection to the place where St Peter had been crucified and buried. But in 1505, Pope Julius II decided to destroy it. Many of the clergy were outraged. To destroy the basilica was sacrilege. Julius wanted to build a bigger, better St Peter's, that would be fittingly magnificent for the capital of Christendom. But he was taking a huge gamble. He was demolishing Rome's most beloved building and the only church that linked the city and the papacy to the early days of Christianity, and St Peter himself. The rebuilding of St Peter's would last 120 years. It would take the commitment of another 20 popes to deliver Julius's vision. But this would be a period of astonishing activity, during which the values of Renaissance Rome would be severely tested. The challenge began with the astronomical cost of building the new St Peter's.


它已有千年历史。教皇的合法性和神圣性基于他们与圣彼得受刑地和埋骨地的关联。然而在1505年，教皇朱力阿斯二世决定破除这层关联。很多教士出离愤怒。要拆毁这座建筑（圣彼得大教堂）简直天理难容。朱力阿斯二世打算建一座更大更好的圣彼得大教堂，它看起来富丽堂皇，能够与罗马基督教之都相称。而他，在豪赌。他是要推翻罗马城中最受景仰的建筑，在早期基督教传入罗马时，它是唯一将罗马、教皇权利和圣彼得联结在一处的教堂。圣彼得大教堂重建持续了约120年。这期间经历了20位教皇，他们担负起修建教堂的重任，最终将朱力阿斯二世的愿望变成现实。然而这段时间内的这项令人惊异的活动将使罗马文艺复兴时期的价值观受到严正考验。而这项考验就始于建设新圣彼得教堂所要耗费的天文数字的费用。