The Basilica of St. Peter’s in Vatican City is by far the largest sanctuary

for all followers of the Christian faith.

It is dedicated to the apostle Peter (a student and one of the

successors of Christ Jesus of Nazareth)

and is reputed to be built over the site of his martyrdom and burial

place.  But this great holy site for many

Christians around the world was once an area of pagan prophecy, Roman

executions, and public display of games.

The Vatican

State derives its name

from an ancient Etruscan god by the name of Vaticanus

or Vatikanos.  Vaticanus was a god of

prophecy for the Etruscans, and his temple was built on the ancient site of Vaticanum (Vatican Hill), in the area in

which St. Peter’s Basilica is situated.

The holy priests (“prophets” or “seers”) who worshipped Vaticanus were

called vates.  A legend states the voice of the vates

motivated the ancient Romans to do battle with the Etruscans and conquer the

right bank of the Tiberis (Tiber) River.

Thus, the roots of the great and glorious civilization of the Romans

were planted in history.

After the construction of the Aurelian walls, the plain of

the Vatican was transformed

into a residential area, which would be located outside of the city of Rome.  One of the first notable residents was

Agrippina, the wife of Germanic and the mother of the notorious Emperor

Caligula.  Her villa was built on the

Vaticanum and her son Caligula constructed a circus, in which he would practice

riding his two-horse driven chariot.  The

circus would eventually be passed down to his successor Claudius and after his

death, it was passed down to the infamous Nero, who was the bane of the early

Christian movement.

The circus would be used by Nero’s twisted lust for power,

greed, and fame as a site for chariot racing and for the vicious persecutions

of the early Christians.  It would be

here, not the famed Flavian Amphitheatre

(Colosseum), in which thousands of Christians were crucified and burnt for

their faith.  It was in the circus in

which Peter would also be crucified and proclaim his devotion to Christ

Jesus.  The site would later be sanctified

by the first Christian Emperor Constantine, as an area in which many Christians

faithfully gave their lives for something greater than themselves.  He did this by beginning construction on a

grand church, built for St. Peter and for all those Christians who were

martyred.  Today, the original location

of the circus is marked by an obelisk which was brought back from Egypt, during

the Romans’ conquest of the land.  During

the time of Nero, the circus was located on the left side of the present

Basilica.