Proceeding to the High Altar, on the right, against one of the four immense piers supporting the dome, is the noble statue in bronze of St. Peter enthroned. This is the work of the 13th century Florentine sculptor, Arnolfo di Cambio.
When you stand beneath the vastness of the dome, you see how everything else is dwarfed in sight, even the bronze canopy by Bernini which has the height of a five-storey building. We-ll note, for instance, that St. Mark's pen, in one of the roundels of the pendentives, is five feet. Beneath the roundels with the mosaic pictures of the four Evangelistsare the balconies, decorated with the spiral columns from the canopy of the old St. Peter's, which gave Bernini the idea for his bronze canopy. At Easter the principal relics kept in St. Peter's are exposed from these balconies. They are: the fragment of the Sacred Lance, with which St. Longinus pierced the side of Christ while He was hanging on the Cross, the statue of this Saint, by Bernini, is at the base of the pier; above the statue of St. Andrew the skull of the saint. The relics kept in the other two piers are: a fragment of the true Cross and the veil of St. Veronica, with the statues of St. Helena and St. Veronica.
Underneath the dome and Bernini's canopy, is the main altar, at which only the Pope has the privilege of celebrating Mass. In front of the altar is the lowered part known as The Confession.
Directly beneath the main altar, closed by a gilded grill, is the Niche of the Pallia, built in the sxth century, where the Pallium, a long strip-like vestment, was placed before being bestowed on the newly-appointed archbishops.
Beyond the canopy is the part of the church used for the most important ceremonies, such as canonizations, beatifications, coronations of the new pope, etc. At the end of the absis are two masterpieces by Bernini: the bronze one is Cattedra, the Bishop's chair, held by four Church Fathers: St. Ambrose and St. Augustine in front representing the Latin Church, St. Athanasius and St. John Chrysostom, representing the Greek Church; above the Cattedra is the Glory of the Holly Spirit. The other, to the right of the Cattedra, is the monument to the Pope Urban VIII.
