St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the final work of art in a series of artistic figures and architectural geniuses. The greatest artists of the era, from Bramante to Raffaello and Michelangelo to Bernini, all worked on its construction at different times and in different ways.
Of monumental beauty, St. Peter's Basilica houses the famous Michelangelo's Pity in the first chapel to the right, a piece from the artist's early years and the only artwork signed by Michelangelo on the sash across the Virgin Mary's shoulder.
Michelangelo's Pity represented an innovative take on tradition, portraying the body of Christ as limply laid across the legs of the Virgin Mary with extraordinary naturalness, without the rigidness of previous representations.
The two figures appear to be united in a moment of touching intimacy, with enormous pathos.
The ambulacrum, or the space which surrounds the four pillars supporting the dome, leads into the heart of the basilica, marking the corresponding location in the Vatican caves of what is thought to be the actual tomb of St. Peter.