In 64 AD, Saint Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, was crucified in the Circus of Nero. The Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter. The church came to be referred to as the Old St. Peter's Basilica after the construction of the new St. Peter’s Basilica began in the 16th Century at the behest of Pope Julius II. The Pope chose Donato Bramante for the project. 

The untimely death of Bramante in 1514 interrupted the work. Raffaello Sanzio was commissioned to continue the construction along with Fra 'Giocondo da Verona and Giuliano da Sangallo by Leo X Medici. However, with all three architects dying in a short span of 6 years, the project never fully took off.

Leo X then appointed Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of the building. However, due to several reasons, the construction halted until Paul III Farnese was elected in 1534. A new plan had been drawn up for the basilica, which marked a departure from Bramante's plan. However, even this new ambitious plan could not be carried out to completion. In 1546, Sangallo died and Michelangelo was appointed.

Michelangelo returned to Bramante's plan but modified the same to make it more simple yet dynamic. When Michelangelo died in 1564, the construction of the dome was still incomplete. Pope Pius IV Medici entrusted Jacopo Barozzi, to continue the work. He started the work on the internal part of the two minor domes, which was finished by Giacomo Della Porta.

In 1587, Porta was tasked with completing the dome. In less than two years, assisted by Domenico Fontana, he was able to complete the undertaking. 

Under Paolo V Borghese, on 7 March 1607, the first stone of reconstruction was blessed. In October of the same year, demolition of whatever remained of the ancient church began. Carlo Maderno was entrusted to complete the work. The basilica appeared to the public in its new avatar on Palm Sunday in 1615, except for the embellishments that Gian Lorenzo Bernini would add, such as the Baldacchino and Chair of St. Peter.