Question: What is the main food source of this bird?

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title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. It is similar to the less common lesser spotted woodpecker. The great spotted woodpecker occurs in all types of woodlands and is catholic in its diet, being capable of extracting seeds from pine cones, insect larvae from inside trees or eggs and chicks of other birds from their nests. It breeds in holes excavated in living or dead trees, unlined apart from wood chips. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs.

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks and keep the nest clean. When the young fledge they are fed by the adults for about ten days, each parent taking responsibility for feeding part of the brood. The great spotted woodpecker is closely related to some other members of its genus. It has a number of subspecies, some of which are distinctive enough to be potential new species. It has a huge range and large population, with no widespread threats, so it is classed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: distinctive appearance, "D. m. canariensis" from Tenerife in the Canary Islands appears to be closely related to the nominate subspecies "D. m. major". The fossil subspecies "D. m. submajor" lived during the Middle Pleistocene Riss glaciation (250,000 to 300,000 years ago) when it was found in Europe south of the ice sheet. It is sometimes treated as a distinct species, but did not differ significantly from the extant great spotted woodpecker, whose European subspecies are probably its direct descendants. The adult great spotted woodpecker is long, weighs and has a wingspan. The upperparts are glossy blue-black, with white on the

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: wander some distance from where they were hatched, often as far as , sometimes up to . Vagrants have reached the Faroe Islands, Hong Kong and Iceland, and there are several sightings from North America in at least the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands and Alaska. The great spotted woodpecker became extinct in the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century, but the island was naturally recolonised by this species, with the first proven nesting in County Down in 2007. Its expansion in range is continuing, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013, with the main

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: its end, but this does not occur in woodpeckers, and the final vertebra, the pygostyle, is very large to anchor the strong tail muscles. The hammering of woodpeckers when drumming or feeding creates great forces which are potentially damaging to the birds. In the great spotted woodpecker and most of its relatives, the hinge where the front of the skull connects with the upper mandible is folded inwards, tensioned by a muscle that braces it against the shock of the impact when the bill is hammering on hard wood. The outer layer of the upper mandible is significantly longer than

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: with differing elastic modulus and density may transmit sound at different speeds. A Japanese study found nests in trees from many families; these included grey alder, Japanese white birch, Japanese hop-hornbeam, Japanese tree lilac, willows, Japanese larch and Sargent's cherry. The Mongolian oak and prickly castor-oil tree were rarely if ever used. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs that measure and weigh about , of which 7% is shell. They are laid from mid-April to June, the later dates being for birds breeding in the north of the range or at altitude. The eggs are incubated

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: over 11 years. The great spotted woodpecker is omnivorous. It digs beetle larvae from trees and also takes many other invertebrates including adult beetles, ants and spiders. The bird also digs for Lepidoptera larvae like "Acronicta rumicis". Crustaceans, molluscs and carrion may be eaten, and bird feeders are visited for suet and domestic scraps. The nests of other cavity-nesting birds, such as tits, may be raided for their eggs and chicks; nest boxes may be similarly attacked, holes being pecked to admit entrance by the woodpecker where necessary. House martin colonies can be destroyed in repeated visits. Fat-rich plant products

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: such as nuts and conifer seeds are particularly important as winter food in the north of the woodpecker's range, and can then supply more than 30% of the bird's energy requirements. Other plant items consumed include buds, berries and tree sap, the latter obtained by drilling rings of holes around a tree trunk. The great spotted woodpecker feeds at all levels of a tree, usually alone, but sometimes as a pair. It will use an "anvil" on which to hammer hard items, particularly pine, spruce and larch cones, but also fruit, nuts and hard-bodied insects. Easily accessible items are picked

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: off the tree surface or from fissures in the bark, but larvae are extracted by chiselling holes up to deep and trapping the soft insect with the tongue, which can extend to beyond the bill, and is covered with bristles and sticky saliva to trap the prey. The woodpecker is able to extend its tongue so far because the hyoid bone to which it is attached has long flexible "horns" that wind around the skull and can move forward when required. Great spotted woodpeckers are hunted by woodland birds of prey such as the Eurasian sparrowhawk and the northern goshawk.

title: "Great spotted woodpecker" content: Ireland. For this reason the great spotted woodpecker is evaluated as a species of least concern by the IUCN. Breeding densities have been recorded as between 0.1–6.6 pairs/10 ha (0.04–2.7 pairs/10 acres), with the greatest densities in mature forest growing on alluvium. Numbers have increased in Europe due to the planting of forests, which provides breeding habitat, and more available dead wood, and this species has profited from its flexibility with regard to types of woodland and its ability to thrive in proximity to humans. Harsh winters are a problem, and fragmentation of woodland can cause local difficulties. The Canary

Answer: Crustacea

Answer: Lepidoptera

Answer: nut

Answer: seed

Answer: Coleoptera

Answer: bark

Answer: carrion

Answer: egg

Answer: Formicidae

Answer: carrion

Answer: Formicidae

Answer: ants

Answer: bark

Answer: nut

Answer: crustaceans

Answer: seed

Answer: ant

Answer: plant bark

Answer: Coleoptera

Answer: beetle

Answer: nuts

Answer: ant family

Answer: lepidopterans

Answer: beetles

Answer: Lepidoptera

Answer: Crustacea

Answer: botanical nuts

Answer: egg

Answer: crustacean


Question: Where is the lake outflow to?

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title: "Lake Brienz" content: Lake Brienz Lake Brienz () is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Berne in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is , and the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by the upper reaches of the Aare at its eastern end, the Giessbach at its southern shore from steep, forested and rocky hills of the high Faulhorn and Schwarzhoren more than above the lake, and by the Lütschine, flowing from the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, at its

title: "Lake Brienz" content: south-western corner. It flows out into a further stretch of the Aare at its western end. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Finsteraarhorn at 4,274 metres above sea level. The village of Brienz, from which the lake takes its name, lies on the northern shore to its eastern end. In the west, the lake is terminated by the Bödeli, a tongue of land that separates it from neighbouring Lake Thun. The village of Bönigen occupies the lake frontage of the Bödeli, whilst the larger resort town of Interlaken lies on the reach of the Aare between

title: "Lake Brienz" content: the two lakes. The village of Iseltwald lies on the south shore, whilst the villages of Ringgenberg, Niederried and Oberried are on the north shore. The lake is poor in nutritients, and consequently fishing is not very important. Nevertheless, in 2001 10,000 kg fish were caught. There have been passenger ships on the lake since 1839, and currently there are five passenger ships on the lake. The ships are operated by BLS AG, the local railway company, and link Interlaken Ost railway station, which they access using a long navigable stretch of the Aare, with Brienz and other lakeside settlements.

Answer: Aare

Answer: Aare

Answer: Aar


Question: Whom was this building officially opened by?

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title: "Lloyd's building" content: attracted designs from practices such as Foster Associates, Arup and I.M. Pei. Lloyd's commissioned Richard Rogers to redevelop the site, and the original 1928 building on the western corner of Lime and Leadenhall Streets was demolished to make way for the present one which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 18 November 1986. The 1928 building's entrance at 12 Leadenhall Street was preserved and forms a rather incongruous attachment to the 1986 structure. Demolition of the 1958 building commenced in 2004 to make way for the 26-storey Willis Building. The current Lloyd's building (address 1 Lime Street) was

Answer: Elizabeth II

Answer: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh

Answer: HM Queen Elizabeth II

Answer: ERII

Answer: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor

Answer: Lilibet

Answer: Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh

Answer: Elizabeth II

Answer: E.R. II

Answer: Elizabeth Windsor

Answer: Queen Elizabeth

Answer: E2R

Answer: QE2

Answer: Elizabeth the second

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II

Answer: Princess Elizabeth of York

Answer: Queen of England

Answer: Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom

Answer: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary

Answer: EIIR

Answer: QEII

Answer: ER II

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Answer: The Queen

Answer: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York


Question: Which continent does this park belong to?

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title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States, preserving including all of Mount Rainier, a stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490 - 4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers descend

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow. Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by glaciers and snowfields totaling about . Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountaineering with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit. Ninety-seven percent of the park is preserved as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System, including Clearwater Wilderness and

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: Mount Rainier Wilderness, a designation it received in 1988. It is abutted by the Tatoosh Wilderness. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1997 as a showcase for the National Park Service Rustic style architecture (or "parkitecture") of the 1920s and 1930s, exemplified by the Paradise Inn and a masterpiece of early NPS master planning. As an Historic Landmark district, the park was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The film "Track of the Cat" (1954) was filmed in and around Mount Rainer National Park. The earliest evidence of human activity in the

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: area which is now Mount Rainier National Park, a projectile point dated to circa 4,000-5,800 BP (before present) found along Bench Lake Trail (the first section of Snow Lake Trail). A more substantial archeological find was a rock shelter near Fryingpan Creek, east of Goat Island Mountain. Hunting artifacts were found in the shelter. The shelter would not have been used all year round. Cultural affinities suggest the site was used by Columbia Plateau Tribes from 1000 to 300 BP. In 1963 the National Park Service contracted the Washington State University to study Native American use of the Mount Rainier

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: area. Richard D. Daugherty lead an archeological study of the area and concluded that prehistoric humans used the area most heavily between 8000 and 4500 BP. Allan H. Smith interviewed elderly Native Americans and studied ethnographic literature. He found no evidence of permanent habitation in the park area. The park was used for hunting and gathering and for occasional spirit quests. Smith also came to tentative conclusions that the park was divided among five tribes along watershed boundaries; the Nisqually, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Yakama, and Taidnapam (Upper Cowlitz). Subsequent studies cast doubt on Smith's theory that the tribes had agreed upon

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: boundaries before they entered into treaties with the United States in 1854-55. Mammals that inhabit this national park are especially the cougar, black bear, raccoon, coyote, bobcat, snowshoe hare, weasel, mole, beaver, red fox, porcupine, skunk, marmot, deer, marten, shrew, pika, elk, and mountain goat. The common birds of this park including raptors are the thrush, chickadee, kinglet, northern goshawk, willow flycatcher, spotted owl, steller's jay, Clark's nutcracker, bald eagle, ptarmigan, harlequin duck, grouse, peregrine falcon, gray jay, golden eagle, grosbeak and finch. On March 2, 1899, President William McKinley signed a bill passed by Congress authorizing the creation of

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: Mount Rainier National Park, the nation's fifth national park. It was the first national park created from a national forest. The Pacific Forest Reserve had been created in 1893 and included Mount Rainier. It was enlarged in 1897 and renamed Mount Rainier Forest Reserve. John Muir had visited Mount Rainier in 1888. Muir and nine others, including Edward Sturgis Ingraham, Charles Piper, and P. B. Van Trump, climbed to the summit in what became the fifth recorded ascent. The trip to Mount Rainier had played a role in reinvigorating Muir and convincing him to rededicate his life to the preservation

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: of nature as national parks. At the time national forests, called forest reserves at first, were being created throughout the American West, under the utilitarian "conservation-through-use" view of Gifford Pinchot. Muir came to be known as a "preservationist". He wanted nature preserved under the more protected status of national parks. But during the 1890s there was more public support for creating national forests than national parks. During that decade, Muir and his supporters were only able to protect one national forest as a national park. When the Pacific Forest Reserve was created in 1893, Muir quickly persuaded the newly formed

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: Sierra Club to support a movement to protect Rainier as a national park. Other groups soon joined, such as the National Geographic Society and scientific associations wanting Mount Rainier preserved as a place to study volcanism and glaciology. Commercial leaders in Tacoma and Seattle were also in support, as was the Northern Pacific Railway. The effort lasted over five years and involved six different attempts to push a bill through Congress. Congress eventually agreed, but only after acquiring assurances that none of the new park was suitable for farming or mining and that no federal appropriations would be necessary for

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: its management. Mount Rainier National Park closed because of extensive flooding as a result of the 6 November 2006 Pineapple Express rainstorm when of rain fell in a 36-hour period. Campsites and roads throughout the park were washed away. Power to Paradise and Longmire was disrupted. Sunshine Point Campground, shortly inside the Nisqually Entrance, was destroyed and has not reopened. On 5 May 2007, the park reopened to automobile traffic via State Route 706 at the Nisqually Entrance. The entire park was designated a National Historic Landmark District on February 18, 1997, in recognition of the consistently high standard of

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: design and preservation the park's National Park Service Rustic-style architecture. The park contains 42 locations designated on the National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks. Paradise () is the name of an area at approximately on the south slope of Mount Rainier in the national park. Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park. 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000 went to Paradise. Paradise, near the subalpine valley of the Paradise River, is the location of the historic Paradise Inn (built 1916), Paradise Guide House

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: (built 1920) and Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center (built 1966; demolished and replaced, 2008). The National Park Service says that "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly." of snow fell during the winter of 1971/72, setting a world record for that year. Subsequently, in the winter of 1998/99, Mount Baker Ski Area received . Paradise holds the Cascade Range record for most snow on the ground with on 10 March 1956. Under the Köppen climate classification, the park has a subarctic climate ("Dfc") with a drying trend in the summer. Longmire () is a visitor

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: center in Mount Rainier National Park, located east of the Nisqually Entrance. The area is named after James Longmire, an early settler in Puget Sound. The area is in the Nisqually River valley at an elevation of between The Ramparts Ridge and the Tatoosh Range. Longmire is surrounded by old-growth Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. Longmire is the location of Mount Rainier's National Park Inn, the Longmire Museum, and the 1928 National Park Service Administration Building, which is now a Wilderness Information Center. The National Park Inn is the only accommodation in the park open all year

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: round. Longmire is the second most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park after Paradise. Of the more than 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000, 38% visited Longmire. The Cougar Rock Campground is about north west of Longmire with 173 individual campsites and 5 group sites and open from late May through late September. Longmire is one of the starting points of the Wonderland Trail. Sunrise () is a lodge and visitor center located in the northeastern part of the park. At an elevation of , it is the highest point in the park that

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: is accessible by vehicle. There are miles of trails located all around Sunrise, such as Mount Fremont, Burroughs Mountain, and Sourdough Ridge. The lodge is reachable via a turnoff from SR 410 near the White River entrance. "Ohanapecosh" is a campground (with 188 individual sites and 2 group sites, open from late May through late September), visitor center (closed during the 2013 season), and ranger station located in the southeastern portion of the park, approximately from the park boundary off Highway 123. Located in a deep valley among old growth forest at an elevation below , it is the only

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: developed area of the park without a view of Mount Rainier. The Ohanapecosh Hot Springs, Grove of the Patriarchs, and Silver Falls are all located in the Ohanapecosh area. The "Carbon River Entrance Station" is located in the northwest corner of the park off Highway 165 and is the site of the only rainforest at Mount Rainier. There is a campground and a short trail through the rainforest, as well as a trail to the Carbon Glacier, one of the lowest glaciers in the contiguous United States. "Mowich Lake" is the largest and deepest lake in the park, located south

title: "Mount Rainier National Park" content: of Carbon at the south end of Highway 165. A campground, picnic area, and hiking trail are located near the lake. The two major roads into the northwest quadrant of the Park were severely damaged by the floods of 2006. The ranger station at the Carbon River entrance is staffed during the summer. No motor vehicles are permitted beyond that point. Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in

Answer: North America

Answer: North America

Answer: NA


Question: which notable activity has been held at the mountain presented in the image?

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title: Snowdon content: Snowdon Snowdon (; , ) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (") in Gwynedd. It is the busiest mountain in the United Kingdom and the third most visited attraction in Wales, with 582,000 people visiting annually. It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna. The rocks that form Snowdon were produced by volcanoes in the Ordovician period, and the massif has been extensively sculpted by glaciation, forming the

title: Snowdon content: pyramidal peak of Snowdon and the arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd. The cliff faces on Snowdon, including Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, are significant for rock climbing, and the mountain was used by Edmund Hillary in training for the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest. The summit can be reached by a number of paths, and by the Snowdon Mountain Railway, a rack railway opened in 1896 which carries passengers the from Llanberis to the summit station. The summit also houses a cafe called ", open only when the railway is operating; it opened in 2009 to replace one built in

title: Snowdon content: the 1930s. The railway generally operates to the summit station from Whitsun to October. The daily running schedule depends on weather and customer demand. The name "Snowdon" is from the Old English for "snow hill", while the Welsh name – ' – means "the tumulus" or "the barrow", which may refer to the cairn thrown over the legendary giant Rhitta Gawr after his defeat by King Arthur. As well as other figures from Arthurian legend, the mountain is linked to a legendary ' (water monster) and the (fairies). A 1682 survey estimated that the summit of Snowdon was at a

title: Snowdon content: Ocean. In the Soudleyan stage () of the Caradoc age, a volcanic caldera formed, and produced ash flows of rhyolitic tuff, which formed deposits up to thick. The current summit is near the northern edge of the ancient caldera; the caldera's full extent is unclear, but it extended as far as the summit of Moel Hebog in the south-west. Snowdon and its surrounding peaks have been described as "true examples of Alpine topography". The summits of Snowdon and Garnedd Ugain are surrounded by cwms, rounded valleys scooped out by glaciation. Erosion by glaciers in adjacent cwms caused the characteristic arêtes

title: Snowdon content: to be one of the best cliffs in Britain for rock climbing. Y Lliwedd was also explored by early climbers, and was the subject of a 1909 climbing guide, "The Climbs on Lliwedd" by J. M. A. Thompson and A. W. Andrews, one of the first in Britain. Snowdon was used by Edmund Hillary and his group during preparations for their successful 1953 expedition to climb Mount Everest. The first recorded ascent of Snowdon was by the botanist Thomas Johnson in 1639. However, the 18th-century Welsh historian Thomas Pennant mentions a "triumphal fair upon this our chief of mountains" following

title: Snowdon content: under the English Channel, and had a summer home in Nant Gwynant near the start of the path. It was originally designed as a donkey track and opened in 1892. The start of the Watkin Path has been described as "the prettiest beginning" of the routes up Snowdon. It begins at Bethania on the A498 and climbs initially through old broadleaved woodland. After leaving the woods, the path climbs past the waterfalls of the Afon Llan to the glacial cirque of Cwm Llan, crossing a disused incline from an abandoned slate quarry. It then reaches Plas Cwmllan, formerly the home

title: Snowdon content: to £ as of ). The first building on the summit of Snowdon was erected in 1838 to sell refreshments, and a licence to sell intoxicating liquor was granted in 1845. Very basic accommodation was also provided for visitors. When the Snowdon Mountain Railway was opened in 1896, it added its own accommodation and sales outlet near the summit. During the 1930s, many complaints were received about the state of the facilities at the summit and in 1934/5 a new station building was erected in two phases. It was designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis and included rooms for visitors and

title: Snowdon content: the windows, which reads "" / The summit of Snowdon: You are, here, nearer to Heaven"". The name "Hafod Eryri" was chosen from several hundred put forward after a competition was held by the BBC. ' is Welsh for an upland summer residence, while "" is the Welsh name for Snowdonia. In Welsh folklore, the summit of Snowdon is said to be the tomb of Rhitta Gawr, a giant. This is claimed to be the reason for the Welsh name "Yr Wyddfa", literally meaning "the tumulus". Rhitta Gawr wore a cloak made of men's beards, and was slain by King

title: Snowdon content: Arthur after claiming Arthur's beard. Other sites with Arthurian connections include Bwlch y Saethau, on the ridge between Snowdon and Y Lliwedd, where Arthur himself is said to have died. A cairn, "Carnedd Arthur", was erected at the site and was still standing as late as 1850, but no longer exists. According to the folklore, Arthur had Bedivere throw his sword "Excalibur" into Glaslyn, where Arthur's body was later placed in a boat to be carried away to Afallon. Arthur's men then retreated to a cave on the slopes of Y Lliwedd, where they are said to sleep until such

title: Snowdon content: other sites in Wales, it is said that if two people spend the night there, one will become a great poet while the other will become insane. Llyn Coch in Cwm Clogwyn has been associated with the Tylwyth Teg (fairies), including a version of the fairy bride legend. Scenes from "Carry On... Up the Khyber" were filmed on the lower part of the Watkin Path in 1968, with the Watkin Path representing the Khyber Pass in the film. In 2005, Angela Douglas, one of the stars of the film, unveiled a plaque at the precise location where filming took place,

title: Snowdon content: to commemorate the location filming, and it forms part of the North Wales Film and Television Trail run by the Wales Screen Commission. Snowdon Snowdon (; , ) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (") in Gwynedd. It is the busiest mountain in the United Kingdom and the third most visited attraction in Wales, with 582,000 people visiting annually. It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna. The

Answer: first ascent

Answer: FA

Answer: first summit

Answer: first ascent


Question: Which city or region does this mountain locate in?

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title: "Dents du Midi" content: Dents du Midi The Dents du Midi (French: "teeth of midday") are a multi-summited mountain situated in the Chablais Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. They are composed of seven distinct summits and reach a height of 3257 metres (10,686 feet). Highest mountain between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc Massif, they dominate the Val-d'Illiez and the Rhône Valley, from Martigny down to the lake. Together with the slightly lower Tour Sallière, they form a cirque around the Lac de Salanfe, an artificial reservoir. Geologically it makes up a part of the massif Haut-Giffre. The ""Dents"", or "Teeth" are,

title: "Dents du Midi" content: eventually gave its name to the entire mountain. Each peak, or "tooth", has had several names over the centuries: Several ruptures in the massif have changed the form of the peaks so much that the names adapted themselves according to the geological evolution. "L’Éperon" (The Spur), for example, no longer has two summits, since a landslide in the Middle Ages significantly changed this peak. Dents du Midi The Dents du Midi (French: "teeth of midday") are a multi-summited mountain situated in the Chablais Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. They are composed of seven distinct summits and reach a

Answer: canton of Valais

Answer: Valais

Answer: Canton of Wallis

Answer: canton of Valais

Answer: VS

Answer: Wallis


Question: this organization is a division of which business group?

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title: Boeing content: on August 1, 1997. Former Boeing's chair and CEO Philip M. Condit continued as the chair and CEO of the new Boeing, while Harry Stonecipher, former CEO of McDonnell Douglas, became the president and chief operating officer of the newly merged company. The Boeing Company has its corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The company is led by President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group. In 2017, Boeing recorded $93.3 billion in sales, ranked 24th

title: Boeing content: division to Pratt & Whitney. On May 1, 2006, Boeing agreed to purchase Dallas, Texas-based Aviall, Inc. for $1.7 billion and retain $350 million in debt. Aviall, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Aviall Services, Inc. and ILS formed a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services (BCAS). Realizing that increasing numbers of passengers have become reliant on their computers to stay in touch, Boeing introduced Connexion by Boeing, a satellite based Internet connectivity service that promised air travelers unprecedented access to the World Wide Web. The company debuted the product to journalists in 2005, receiving generally favorable reviews. However, facing

title: Boeing content: the United States, some 65 percent of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period. In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending $52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes during 2008–2010, instead getting $178 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31 percent to $41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives. The two largest divisions are Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). For the fiscal year 2017, Boeing reported earnings of

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Answer: Boeing Capital

Answer: Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Answer: IDS

Answer: Boeing Space Systems

Answer: Boeing Capital Corporation

Answer: BCA

Answer: Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Answer: Boeing Capital

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes, BCA

Answer: Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

Answer: BDS


Question: What is the architectural style of this building?

Instruction: Using the provided image, obtain documents that address the subsequent question:

title: "Roskilde Cathedral" content: Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand ("Sjælland") in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe. Constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral incorporates both Gothic and Romanesque architectural features in its design. Until the 20th century, it was Zealand's only cathedral. Its twin spires dominate the skyline of the town. The cathedral has been the main burial site for Danish monarchs since the 15th

title: "Roskilde Cathedral" content: the 1950s. During the 1980s tonal and technical problems became apparent. A thorough investigation—and the presence in the instrument of a considerable quantity of 16- and 17th-century pipework—led to the decision to re-create a classical Danish organ of the 17th century. This work was carried out by Marcussen & Søn and completed in 1991. Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand ("Sjælland") in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style

Answer: Brick Gothic

Answer: Backstein Gothic

Answer: Backsteingotik

Answer: Brick Gothic


Question: this organization is a division of which business group?

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title: Boeing content: on August 1, 1997. Former Boeing's chair and CEO Philip M. Condit continued as the chair and CEO of the new Boeing, while Harry Stonecipher, former CEO of McDonnell Douglas, became the president and chief operating officer of the newly merged company. The Boeing Company has its corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The company is led by President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group. In 2017, Boeing recorded $93.3 billion in sales, ranked 24th

title: Boeing content: division to Pratt & Whitney. On May 1, 2006, Boeing agreed to purchase Dallas, Texas-based Aviall, Inc. for $1.7 billion and retain $350 million in debt. Aviall, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Aviall Services, Inc. and ILS formed a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services (BCAS). Realizing that increasing numbers of passengers have become reliant on their computers to stay in touch, Boeing introduced Connexion by Boeing, a satellite based Internet connectivity service that promised air travelers unprecedented access to the World Wide Web. The company debuted the product to journalists in 2005, receiving generally favorable reviews. However, facing

title: Boeing content: the United States, some 65 percent of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period. In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending $52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes during 2008–2010, instead getting $178 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31 percent to $41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives. The two largest divisions are Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). For the fiscal year 2017, Boeing reported earnings of

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Answer: Boeing Capital

Answer: Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Answer: IDS

Answer: Boeing Space Systems

Answer: Boeing Capital Corporation

Answer: BCA

Answer: Boeing Defense, Space & Security

Answer: Boeing Capital

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Answer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes, BCA

Answer: Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

Answer: BDS


Question: What is the parent peak of this mountain?

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title: Ingleborough content: Ingleborough Ingleborough () is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. The first element of the name "Ingleborough" has been variably explained as a Scots term for 'beacon, fire', an Old Danish term meaning 'English' or a derivative of Old English "ing", 'peak'. The second element is derived from the Old English word "burh", meaning "a fortified place"; in this case, a hill fort. On a small relatively flat area just below the top

title: Ingleborough content: of Ingleborough the remains of an old walled enclosure have been discovered, containing the foundations of Iron Age huts. Ingleborough is in the south-western corner of the Yorkshire Dales, at the highest point of a triangle of land with corners at Ingleton, Ribblehead and Settle. The hill is connected to its nearest higher neighbour, Whernside, by a low col or mountain pass at Ribblehead at approximately . Ingleborough throws out a ridge to the north-east which develops into a summit, Simon Fell, and another summit further down, Park Fell. An ill-defined ridge going south-east from the summit breaks into two

title: Ingleborough content: are listed here, clockwise from north, with their distance in miles and bearing in degrees. The furthest peak visible is Manod Mawr in Snowdonia, North Wales, away on a bearing of 218 degrees. Ingleborough Ingleborough () is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. The first element of the name "Ingleborough" has been variably explained as a Scots term for 'beacon, fire', an Old Danish term meaning 'English' or a derivative of Old English

Answer: Whernside

Answer: Whernside


Question: Which company manufactures this food?

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title: Jell-O content: Jell-O Jell-O is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods for varieties of gelatin desserts (fruit gels), puddings, and no-bake cream pies. The original gelatin desserts are sometimes referred to as jello. Jell-O is sold prepared (ready to eat) or in powder form, and is available in various colors and flavors. The powder contains powdered gelatin and flavorings, including sugar or artificial sweeteners. It is dissolved in hot water, then chilled and allowed to set. Fruit, vegetables, and whipped cream can be added to make elaborate snacks that can be molded into shapes. Jell-O must be put in a refrigerator until

title: Jell-O content: products such as frozen Jell-O Pops (in gelatin and pudding varieties); the new Sugar-Free Jell-O, which replaced D-Zerta in 1984 and was sweetened with NutraSweet; Jell-O Jigglers concentrated gummi snacks; and Sparkling Jell-O, a carbonated version of the dessert touted as the "Champagne of Jell-O." In 2010, Cosby returned as Jell-O spokesperson in an on-line web series called "OBKB." In the 1980s, a Jell-O advertising campaign slogan reminded consumers, "Don't forget—you have to remember to make it." In 1990, General Foods merged into Kraft Foods by parent company Philip Morris (now the Altria Group). New flavors were continually introduced: watermelon,

title: Jell-O content: appear to have a long history. Media reports in 1969 and 1988 on foods popular among Mormons or in Utah make no mention of Jell-O, and a 1988 article mentions Jell-O as a Lutheran tradition. In 1997, Kraft foods released sales figures revealing Salt Lake City to have the highest per-capita Jell-O consumption. The following are the flavors of Jell-O products that are currently being produced: Jell-O Jell-O is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods for varieties of gelatin desserts (fruit gels), puddings, and no-bake cream pies. The original gelatin desserts are sometimes referred to as jello. Jell-O is sold

Answer: Kraft Foods Group

Answer: Kraft Foods

Answer: Kraft Foods Group


Question: Who was this building unveiled by?

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title: "Canadian National Vimy Memorial" content: The project took designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to build. King Edward VIII unveiled it on 26 July 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and a crowd of over 50,000 people, including 6,200 attendees from Canada. Following an extensive multi-year restoration, Queen Elizabeth II re-dedicated the monument on 9 April 2007 at a ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle. The site is maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada. The Vimy Memorial is one of only two National Historic Sites of Canada located outside the country, the other being the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. Vimy Ridge is

title: "Canadian National Vimy Memorial" content: Canada. Senior Canadian, British, and European officials, including French President Albert Lebrun, and a crowd of over 50,000 attended the event. Absent, though, was Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, it being well understood that he was generally not comfortable around veterans and felt it more appropriate for a war veteran in Cabinet to act as minister in attendance. Before the ceremony began, King Edward VIII, present in his capacity as king of Canada, inspected the guard of honour, was introduced to the honoured guests, and spent approximately half an hour speaking with veterans in the crowd. Two Royal

title: "Canadian National Vimy Memorial" content: Air Force and two French Air Force squadrons flew over the monument and dipped their wings in salute. The ceremony itself began with prayers from chaplains representing the Church of England, the United Church of Canada, and the Roman Catholic Church. Ernest Lapointe, Canadian Minister of Justice, spoke first, followed by Edward VIII who, in both French and English, thanked France for its generosity and assured those assembled that Canada would never forget its war missing and dead. The King then pulled the Royal Union Flag from the central figure of "Canada Bereft" and the military band played the Last

Answer: Edward VIII

Answer: Prince Edward

Answer: Duke of Windsor

Answer: David Windsor

Answer: Edward VIII

Answer: Edward, Duke of Windsor

Answer: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor

Answer: Edward VIII Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

Answer: Edward Windsor

Answer: Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor

Answer: Edward VIII Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom

Answer: Edward, Prince of Wales

Answer: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David


Question: What is this building named after?

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title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (), is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom". Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, chief among Jesus's Apostles and also the first Bishop of Rome. Saint Peter's tomb is supposedly directly below the high altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period, and there has been a church on this site since the time of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica, which would replace Old St. Peter's Basilica

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: from the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. St.

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Peter's is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major Basilica, all four of which are in Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop; the "Cathedra" of the Pope as Bishop of Rome is in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: St. Peter's Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and the second trapezoid. The façade of the basilica, with a giant order of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two statues of the 1st-century apostles to Rome, Saints Peter and Paul. The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door, only opened during jubilees. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches. One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by the scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: us." The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The Baptistery, the Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin, the larger Choir Chapel, the Clementine Chapel with the altar of Saint Gregory, the Sacristy Entrance, the left transept with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas, the altar of

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of the Madonna of Colonna, the altar of Saint Peter and the Paralytic, the apse with the Chair of Saint Peter, the altar of Saint Peter raising Tabitha, the altar of the Archangel Michael, the altar of the Navicella, the right transept with altars of Saint Erasmus, Saints Processo and Martiniano, and Saint Wenceslas, the altar of Saint Basil, the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour, the larger Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, the Chapel of Saint Sebastian and the Chapel of the Pietà. At the heart of the basilica, beneath

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the high altar, is the "Confessio" or "Chapel of the Confession", in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels,

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: including Michelangelo's "Pietà". The central feature is a baldachin, or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sanctuary culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic "Chair of Saint Peter". One observer wrote: "St Peter's Basilica is the reason why Rome is still the center of the civilized world. For religious, historical, and architectural reasons it by itself justifies a journey to Rome, and its interior offers a palimpsest of artistic styles at their best ..." The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of the earth ...

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the sublime of the beautiful." St. Peter's Basilica is one of the Papal Basilicas (previously styled "patriarchal basilicas") and one of the four Major Basilicas of Rome, the other Major Basilicas (all of which are also Papal Basilicas) being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside the Walls. The rank of major basilica confers on St. Peter's Basilica precedence before all minor basilicas worldwide. However, unlike all the other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State, and not that of Italy. It

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: is the most prominent building in the Vatican City. Its dome is a dominant feature of the skyline of Rome. Probably the largest church in Christendom, it covers an area of . One of the holiest sites of Christianity and Catholic Tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its titular, St. Peter, who was the head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome, rendering him the first Pope. Although the New Testament does not mention St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome, tradition, based on the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: writings of the Fathers of the Church, holds that his tomb is below the baldachin and altar of the Basilica in the "Confession". For this reason, many Popes have, from the early years of the Church, been buried near Pope St. Peter in the necropolis beneath the Basilica. Construction of the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and finished in 1615. At length, on 18 November 1626 Pope Urban VIII solemnly dedicated the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the Major Basilicas of Rome. This

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: honour is held by the Pope's cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran which is the mother church of all churches in communion with the Catholic Church. However, St. Peter's is certainly the Pope's principal church in terms of use because most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The "Chair of Saint Peter", or cathedra, an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself, but which was a gift from Charles the Bald and used by many popes, symbolises

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse of the Basilica, supported symbolically by the Doctors of the Church and enlightened symbolically by the Holy Spirit. As one of the constituent structures of the historically and architecturally significant Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 under criteria (i), (ii), (iv), and (vi). With an exterior area of , an interior area of , St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church building in the world by the two latter

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: metrics and the second largest by the first . The top of its dome, at , also places it as the second tallest building in Rome . The dome's soaring height placed it among the tallest buildings of the Old World, and it continues to hold the title of tallest dome in the world. Though the largest dome in the world by diameter at the time of its completion, it no longer holds this distinction. After the crucifixion of Jesus, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the Acts of the Apostles that one of his twelve disciples, Simon

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from Galilee, took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church. The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from ""petra"" which means "stone" or "rock" in Greek, and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa", the name given to Simon by Jesus. (, and see ) Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, traveled to Rome and met his martyrdom there along with Paul on 13 October, 64 AD during the reign of the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Roman Emperor Nero. His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. According to Origen, Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. The obelisk now stands in St. Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome. According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica was constructed over this site. The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Circus and contained many Christian burials, because for many years after the burial of Saint Peter many Christians chose to be buried near Peter. In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began, under the crypt of the basilica, an area inaccessible since the 9th century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from Clement VIII (1594) to Callixtus II (1123) and Gregory I (590–604), built over an aedicula containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious murex

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that the bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb. Old St. Peter's Basilica was the 4th-century church begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great between 319 and 333 AD. It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with the addition of a transept or bema, giving the building the shape of

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: a tau cross. It was over long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded atrium. This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter. It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of the popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building. Since the construction of the current basilica, the name "Old St.

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Peter's Basilica" has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings. By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during the period of the Avignon Papacy, the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding, or at least making radical changes was Pope Nicholas V (1447–55). He commissioned work on the old building from Leone Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign was frustrated by political problems and when he

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: died, little had been achieved. He had, however, ordered the demolition of the Colosseum and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building. The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed Latin cross with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for the choir had also been built. 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

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter's. In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in the popular imagination". A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the Uffizi Gallery. A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of Leo X (1513–1521), Hadrian VI (1522–1523). Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: (1534–1549), Julius III (1550–1555), Marcellus II (1555), Paul IV (1555–1559), Pius IV (1559–1565), Pius V (saint) (1565–1572), Gregory XIII (1572–1585), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV (1590–1591), Innocent IX (1591), Clement VIII (1592–1605), Leo XI (1605), Paul V (1605–1621), Gregory XV (1621–1623), Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Innocent X (1644–1655). One method employed to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of indulgences in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, who had to clear debts owed to the Roman Curia by contributing to the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel, whose salesmanship provoked a scandal. A German Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, wrote to Archbishop Albrecht arguing against this "selling of indulgences". He also included his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", which came to be known as "The 95 Theses". This became a factor in starting the Reformation, the birth of Protestantism. Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. It was

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the design of Donato Bramante that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of the huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon. The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a lantern with

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to the Early Renaissance lantern of Florence Cathedral designed for Brunelleschi's dome by Michelozzo. Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel, nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with the apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape. When

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo, Fra Giocondo and Raphael. Sangallo and Fra Giocondo both died in 1515, Bramante himself having died the previous year. The main change in Raphael's plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory. In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: his successor Baldassare Peruzzi maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to the internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other features of Bramante. This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by Emperor Charles V. Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized. At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends the building into a short nave with a wide

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form. Sangallo's main practical contribution was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack. On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's. He is

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on the job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice. Michelangelo wrote "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: by whatever means he saw fit. Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi a century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Greek Cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, or of a Latin Cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at Florence Cathedral. Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss the ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity." As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with a nave by Carlo Maderno. It is the chancel end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the Vatican State and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections. Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry or stairwell. The effect created is of a continuous wall-surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right-angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other,

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world. Its internal diameter is , slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome, , and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance, . It

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: has a greater diameter by approximately than Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom. The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of concrete, made light by the inclusion of a large

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: amount of the volcanic stones tuff and pumice. The inner surface of the dome is deeply coffered which has the effect of creating both vertical and horizontal ribs, while lightening the overall load. At the summit is an ocular opening across which provides light to the interior. Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in Tufa Concrete for which he had rediscovered a formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: in this case the supporting wall becomes a drum raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a peristyle. In the case of Florence Cathedral, the desired visual appearance of the pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible. Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with the exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome. Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realised the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended the peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form. According to James Lees-Milne the design was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success". Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of Florence, is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does the dome of Florence

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a hemispherical dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall. The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving the drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola with Giorgio Vasari appointed by Pope Pius V

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585 the energetic Pope Sixtus appointed Giacomo della Porta who was to be assisted by Domenico Fontana. The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate. Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some drawings of details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him,

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: also left a large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways, in keeping with changes that he made to the design. Most of these changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around the spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo. The major change that was made to the model, either by della Porta, or Michelangelo himself before his death, was to raise the outer dome higher above the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: inner one. A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one. In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous. Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of the engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However Lees-Milne cites Giacomo

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself was capable. Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo] ... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into the drum and dome, the whole

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit." It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all the previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome "must" appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: angles and restraining its projections. If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of the integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the Classicism of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the architecture of the Baroque. Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana brought the dome

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: to completion in 1590, the last year of the reign of Sixtus V. His successor, Gregory XIV, saw Fontana complete the lantern and had an inscription to the honour of Sixtus V placed around its inner opening. The next pope, Clement VIII, had the cross raised into place, an event which took all day, and was accompanied by the ringing of the bells of all the city's churches. In the arms of the cross are set two lead caskets, one containing a fragment of the True Cross and a relic of St. Andrew and the other containing medallions of the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Holy Lamb. In the mid 18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times, the earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral. Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters high: Beneath the lantern is the inscription: On 7 December 2007, a fragment of a red chalk drawing of a section of the dome of the basilica, almost certainly

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: by the hand of Michelangelo, was discovered in the Vatican archives. The drawing shows a small precisely drafted section of the plan of the entablature above two of the radial columns of the cupola drum. Michelangelo is known to have destroyed thousands of his drawings before his death. The rare survival of this example is probably due to its fragmentary state and the fact that detailed mathematical calculations had been made over the top of the drawing. On 18 February 1606, under Pope Paul V, the dismantling of the remaining parts of the Constantinian basilica began. The marble cross that

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: had been set at the top of the pediment by Pope Sylvester and Constantine the Great was lowered to the ground. The timbers were salvaged for the roof of the Borghese Palace and two rare black marble columns, the largest of their kind, were carefully stored and later used in the narthex. The tombs of various popes were opened, treasures removed and plans made for re-interment in the new basilica. The Pope had appointed Carlo Maderno in 1602. He was a nephew of Domenico Fontana and had demonstrated himself as a dynamic architect. Maderno's idea was to ring Michelangelo's building

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: with chapels, but the Pope was hesitant about deviating from the master's plan, even though he had been dead for forty years. The "Fabbrica" or building committee, a group drawn from various nationalities and generally despised by the Curia who viewed the basilica as belonging to Rome rather than Christendom, were in a quandary as to how the building should proceed. One of the matters that influenced their thinking was the Counter-Reformation which increasingly associated a Greek Cross plan with paganism and saw the Latin Cross as truly symbolic of Christianity. Another influence on the thinking of both the Fabbrica

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: and the Curia was a certain guilt at the demolition of the ancient building. The ground on which it and its various associated chapels, vestries and sacristies had stood for so long was hallowed. The only solution was to build a nave that encompassed the whole space. In 1607 a committee of ten architects was called together, and a decision was made to extend Michelangelo's building into a nave. Maderno's plans for both the nave and the facade were accepted. The building began on 7 May 1607, and proceeded at a great rate, with an army of 700 labourers being

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: employed. The following year, the façade was begun, in December 1614 the final touches were added to the stucco decoration of the vault and early in 1615 the partition wall between the two sections was pulled down. All the rubble was carted away, and the nave was ready for use by Palm Sunday. The facade designed by Maderno, is wide and high and is built of travertine stone, with a giant order of Corinthian columns and a central pediment rising in front of a tall attic surmounted by thirteen statues: Christ flanked by eleven of the Apostles (except Saint Peter,

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: whose statue is left of the stairs) and John the Baptist. The inscription below the cornice on the tall frieze reads: The facade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's. The reasons for this, according to James Lees-Milne, are that it was not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. Lees-Milne describes the problems of the façade as being

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the attic story. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the facade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the facade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance. Behind the façade of St. Peter's stretches a long portico or "narthex"

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: such as was occasionally found in Italian churches. This is the part of Maderno's design with which he was most satisfied. Its long barrel vault is decorated with ornate stucco and gilt, and successfully illuminated by small windows between pendentives, while the ornate marble floor is beamed with light reflected in from the piazza. At each end of the narthex is a theatrical space framed by ionic columns and within each is set a statue, an equestrian figure of Charlemagne by Cornacchini (18th century) in the south end and Constantine the Great by Bernini (1670) in the north end. Five

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: portals, of which three are framed by huge salvaged antique columns, lead into the basilica. The central portal has a bronze door created by Antonio Averulino in 1455 for the old basilica and somewhat enlarged to fit the new space. To the single bay of Michelangelo's Greek Cross, Maderno added a further three bays. He made the dimensions slightly different from Michelangelo's bay, thus defining where the two architectural works meet. Maderno also tilted the axis of the nave slightly. This was not by accident, as suggested by his critics. An ancient Egyptian obelisk had been erected in the square

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: outside, but had not been quite aligned with Michelangelo's building, so Maderno compensated, in order that it should, at least, align with the Basilica's façade. The nave has huge paired pilasters, in keeping with Michelangelo's work. The size of the interior is so "stupendously large" that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building. The four cherubs who flutter against the first piers of the nave, carrying between them two holy water basins, appear of quite normal cherubic size, until approached. Then it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 metres high and that real

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies. The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. These are lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, gilt, sculpture and mosaic. Remarkably, there are very few paintings, although some, such as Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" have been reproduced in mosaic. The most precious painting is a small icon of the Madonna, removed from the old basilica. Maderno's last work at St. Peter's was to design a crypt-like space or "Confessio" under the dome, where the cardinals and other

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer to the burial place of the apostle. Its marble steps are remnants of the old basilica and around its balustrade are 95 bronze lamps. The design of St. Peter's Basilica, and in particular its dome, has greatly influenced church architecture in Western Christendom. Within Rome, the huge domed church of Sant'Andrea della Valle was designed by Giacomo della Porta before the completion of St Peter's Basilica, and subsequently worked on by Carlo Maderno. This was followed by the domes of San Carlo ai Catinari, Sant'Agnese in Agone, and many others. Christopher

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Wren's dome at St Paul's Cathedral (London, England), the domes of Karlskirche (Vienna, Austria), St. Nicholas Church (Prague, Czech Republic), and the Pantheon (Paris, France) all pay homage to St Peter's Basilica. The 19th and early-20th-century architectural revivals brought about the building of a great number of churches that imitate elements of St Peter's to a greater or lesser degree, including St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago, St. Josaphat's Basilica in Milwaukee, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh and Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal, which replicates many aspects of St Peter's on a smaller scale. Post-Modernism

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: has seen free adaptations of St Peter's in the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro. As a young boy Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) visited St. Peter's with the painter Annibale Carracci and stated his wish to build "a mighty throne for the apostle". His wish came true. As a young man, in 1626, he received the patronage of Pope Urban VIII and worked on the embellishment of the Basilica for 50 years. Appointed as Maderno's successor in 1629, he was to become regarded as the greatest architect and sculptor of

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: the Baroque period. Bernini's works at St. Peter's include the baldachin (baldaquin, from Italian: baldacchino), the Chapel of the Sacrament, the plan for the niches and loggias in the piers of the dome and the chair of St. Peter. Bernini's first work at St. Peter's was to design the baldacchino, a pavilion-like structure tall and claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, which stands beneath the dome and above the altar. Its design is based on the "ciborium", of which there are many in the churches of Rome, serving to create a sort of holy space

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: above and around the table on which the Sacrament is laid for the Eucharist and emphasizing the significance of this ritual. These "ciboria" are generally of white marble, with inlaid coloured stone. Bernini's concept was for something very different. He took his inspiration in part from the baldachin or canopy carried above the head of the pope in processions, and in part from eight ancient columns that had formed part of a screen in the old basilica. Their twisted barley-sugar shape had a special significance as they were modeled on those of the Temple of Jerusalem and donated by the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Emperor Constantine. Based on these columns, Bernini created four huge columns of bronze, twisted and decorated with laurel leaves and bees, which were the emblem of Pope Urban. The baldacchino is surmounted not with an architectural pediment, like most baldacchini, but with curved Baroque brackets supporting a draped canopy, like the brocade canopies carried in processions above precious iconic images. In this case, the draped canopy is of bronze, and all the details, including the olive leaves, bees, and the portrait heads of Urban's niece in childbirth and her newborn son, are picked out in gold leaf. The baldacchino stands

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: as a vast free-standing sculptural object, central to and framed by the largest space within the building. It is so large that the visual effect is to create a link between the enormous dome which appears to float above it, and the congregation at floor level of the basilica. It is penetrated visually from every direction, and is visually linked to the "Cathedra Petri" in the apse behind it and to the four piers containing large statues that are at each diagonal. As part of the scheme for the central space of the church, Bernini had the huge piers, begun

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: by Bramante and completed by Michelangelo, hollowed out into niches, and had staircases made inside them, leading to four balconies. There was much dismay from those who thought that the dome might fall, but it did not. On the balconies Bernini created showcases, framed by the eight ancient twisted columns, to display the four most precious relics of the basilica: the spear of Longinus, said to have pierced the side of Christ, the veil of Veronica, with the miraculous image of the face of Christ, a fragment of the True Cross discovered in Jerusalem by Constantine's mother, Helena, and a

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: relic of Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter. In each of the niches that surround the central space of the basilica was placed a huge statue of the saint associated with the relic above. Only "Saint Longinus" is the work of Bernini. (See below) Urban had long been a critic of Bernini's predecessor, Carlo Maderno. His disapproval of the architect's work stemmed largely from the Maderno's design for the longitudinal nave of St. Peters, which was widely condemned for obscuring Michelangelo's dome. When the Pope gave the commission to Bernini he therefore requested that a new design for the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: facade's bell towers to be submitted for consideration. Baldinucci describes Bernini's tower as consisting of "two orders of columns and pilasters, the first order being Corinthian" and "a third or attic story formed of pilasters and two columns on either side of the open archway in the center". Urban desired the towers to be completed by a very specific date: 29 June 1641, the feast day dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. To this end an order was issued which stated that "all work should take a second seat to that of the campanile." The south tower was completed on

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: time even in spite of these issues, but records show that in the wake of the unveiling the Pope was not content with what he saw and he ordered the top level of Bernini's tower removed so that the structure could be made even grander. The tower continued to grow, and as the construction began to settle the first cracks started to appear followed by Urban's infamous public admonishment of his architect. In 1642 all work on both towers came to a halt. Bernini had to pay the cost for the demolition; eventually the idea of completing the bell towers

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: was abandoned. Bernini then turned his attention to another precious relic, the so-called "Cathedra Petri" or "throne of St. Peter" a chair which was often claimed to have been used by the apostle, but appears to date from the 12th century. As the chair itself was fast deteriorating and was no longer serviceable, Pope Alexander VII determined to enshrine it in suitable splendor as the object upon which the line of successors to Peter was based. Bernini created a large bronze throne in which it was housed, raised high on four looping supports held effortlessly by massive bronze statues of

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: four Doctors of the Church, Saints Ambrose and Augustine representing the Latin Church and Athanasius and John Chrysostom, the Greek Church. The four figures are dynamic with sweeping robes and expressions of adoration and ecstasy. Behind and above the Cathedra, a blaze of light comes in through a window of yellow alabaster, illuminating, at its center, the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The elderly painter, Andrea Sacchi, had urged Bernini to make the figures large, so that they would be seen well from the central portal of the nave. The chair was enshrined in its new home with great celebration

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: of 16 January 1666. Bernini's final work for St. Peter's, undertaken in 1676, was the decoration of the Chapel of the Sacrament. To hold the sacramental Host, he designed a miniature version in gilt bronze of Bramante's Tempietto, the little chapel that marks the place of the death of St. Peter. On either side is an angel, one gazing in rapt adoration and the other looking towards the viewer in welcome. Bernini died in 1680 in his 82nd year. To the east of the basilica is the "Piazza di San Pietro", (St. Peter's Square). The present arrangement, constructed between 1656

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: and 1667, is the Baroque inspiration of Bernini who inherited a location already occupied by an Egyptian obelisk which was centrally placed, (with some contrivance) to Maderno's facade. The obelisk, known as "The Witness", at and a total height, including base and the cross on top, of , is the second largest standing obelisk, and the only one to remain standing since its removal from Egypt and re-erection at the Circus of Nero in 37 AD, where it is thought to have stood witness to the crucifixion of Saint Peter. Its removal to its present location by order of Pope

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Sixtus V and engineered by Domenico Fontana on 28 September 1586, was an operation fraught with difficulties and nearly ending in disaster when the ropes holding the obelisk began to smoke from the friction. Fortunately this problem was noticed by Benedetto Bresca, a sailor of Sanremo, and for his swift intervention, his town was granted the privilege of providing the palms that are used at the basilica each Palm Sunday. The other object in the old square with which Bernini had to contend was a large fountain designed by Maderno in 1613 and set to one side of the obelisk,

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: making a line parallel with the facade. Bernini's plan uses this horizontal axis as a major feature of his unique, spatially dynamic and highly symbolic design. The most obvious solutions were either a rectangular piazza of vast proportions so that the obelisk stood centrally and the fountain (and a matching companion) could be included, or a trapezoid piazza which fanned out from the facade of the basilica like that in front of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. The problems of the square plan are that the necessary width to include the fountain would entail the demolition of numerous buildings, including

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: some of the Vatican, and would minimize the effect of the facade. The trapezoid plan, on the other hand, would maximize the apparent width of the facade, which was already perceived as a fault of the design. Bernini's ingenious solution was to create a piazza in two sections. That part which is nearest the basilica is trapezoid, but rather than fanning out from the facade, it narrows. This gives the effect of countering the visual perspective. It means that from the second part of the piazza, the building looks nearer than it is, the breadth of the facade is minimized

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: and its height appears greater in proportion to its width. The second section of the piazza is a huge elliptical circus which gently slopes downwards to the obelisk at its center. The two distinct areas are framed by a colonnade formed by doubled pairs of columns supporting an entablature of the simple Tuscan Order. The part of the colonnade that is around the ellipse does not entirely encircle it, but reaches out in two arcs, symbolic of the arms of "the Catholic Church reaching out to welcome its communicants". The obelisk and Maderno's fountain mark the widest axis of the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: ellipse. Bernini balanced the scheme with another fountain in 1675. The approach to the square used to be through a jumble of old buildings, which added an element of surprise to the vista that opened up upon passing through the colonnade. Nowadays a long wide street, the Via della Conciliazione, built by Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties, leads from the River Tiber to the piazza and gives distant views of St. Peter's as the visitor approaches, with the basilica acting as a terminating vista. Bernini's transformation of the site is entirely Baroque in concept. Where Bramante and

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Michelangelo conceived a building that stood in "self-sufficient isolation", Bernini made the whole complex "expansively relate to its environment". Banister Fletcher says "No other city has afforded such a wide-swept approach to its cathedral church, no other architect could have conceived a design of greater nobility ... (it is) the greatest of all atriums before the greatest of all churches of Christendom." There are over 100 tombs within St. Peter's Basilica (extant to various extents), many located beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Bishop of Frascati, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. Also buried here are Maria Clementina Sobieska, wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism, and Countess Matilda of Tuscany, supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on 8 April 2005. Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently discovered vaulted 4th-century "Tomb of the

title: "St. Peter's Basilica" content: Julii". (See below for some descriptions of tombs). Recently installed commemorative plaques read as follows: List of archpriests of the Vatican Basilica: St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (), is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral

Answer: Peter

Answer: Simon Peter

Answer: Saint Peter the Apostle

Answer: Simon

Answer: Pope Peter

Answer: Peter

Answer: Saint Peter

Answer: Shimon

Answer: Petrus

Answer: Peter the Apostle

Answer: Simeon