Early in the sixteenth century, Pope Julius II decided to tear down St. Peter’s Basilica. The old basilica, built over the tomb of the Apostle by Constantine in the fourth century, had had a good run, even by Roman standards. But after twelve centuries of earthquakes, pillaging, and general neglect, Old Saint Peter’s was in danger of falling down. So Pope Julius gave up his plans to renovate and had the thing torn down and replaced.

The basilica we know today with its majestic dome – the St. Peter’s of Bramante and Michelangelo and Bernini – was begun in 1506 and consecrated in 1626. Which is to say that the St. Peter’s we know has stood for only a third of the time that its ancient predecessor stood.

If tearing down one of Christendom’s most hallowed sanctuaries wasn’t enough, marble for the facade of the new basilica was sourced locally and relatively cheaply from one of Rome’s favorite quarries: the Colosseum. Romans, particularly in the Middle Ages, but well beyond that, were not fussy about repurposing stone from old buildings and monuments.