St. Peter's Basilica is located in:

St. Peter's Basilica is located in Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by the city of Rome, Italy.

About St. Peter's Basilica:

• It is one of the largest churches in the world and one of the holiest places for Roman Catholics.
• It is built over the traditional burial place of Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Catholic tradition, the first Pope (Bishop of Rome).
• The original basilica was built in the 4th century by the Roman emperor Constantine.
• The present basilica was built between 1506 and 1626, during the Renaissance, replacing the old one.
• Its design involved many great artists and architects, including Donato Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Michelangelo designed its huge dome, which was completed after his death by Giacomo della Porta. The dome is about 136 metres high (to the top of the cross).

Bernini designed the large oval "St. Peter's Square" in front of the basilica (1656-1667), with its famous colonnades, and the bronze canopy ("baldacchino") over the main altar.

It contains Michelangelo's famous sculpture "Pieta" (1498-1499).

The Pope celebrates major ceremonies here, and gives blessings from its central balcony.

About Vatican City:

• It is the smallest independent country in the world, both by area (about 44 hectares, or 0.44 square kilometres) and by population (about 800 people).
• It became an independent state under the "Lateran Treaty", signed in 1929 between the Holy See and Italy (represented by Mussolini).
• It is ruled by the Pope, as an absolute elective monarchy.
• Its official languages are Italian and Latin.
• It has its own guard, the "Swiss Guard" (since 1506).

It contains the Sistine Chapel, whose ceiling was painted by Michelangelo (1508-1512); his "Last Judgment" is on its altar wall. Papal elections ("conclaves") are held there.

The whole of Vatican City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1984).

Pope Francis, the first Pope from the Americas, died in April 2025. Cardinal Robert Prevost of the USA was elected Pope Leo XIV in May 2025, the first American Pope.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Trastevere is a district of Rome, outside the Vatican.
• ✗Florence has the Florence Cathedral, with Brunelleschi's dome.
• ✗Paris has the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire.