A Roman basilica built around a relic of an apostle's captivity: the chains Rome has venerated as Peter's since antiquity, kept beneath the high altar.
Location
Rome, Italy
41.8939° N · 12.4931° E
Type
Minor basilica, served by the Canons Regular of the Lateran
A fifth-century basilica with ancient Doric columns, refitted from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century
Dedication
Saint Peter the Apostle, in his chains
The Chains of Saint Peter at the confessio
Time Needed
30 minutes to half a day
01 · Why Go
The apostle's chains
Most visitors climb up from Via Cavour for Michelangelo's Moses and leave. Come instead for what the church was built to hold: the chains Rome has venerated as Peter's, in a reliquary beneath the high altar. Pray there first, then stand before the Moses.
Two captivities and a church on the Esquiline
Acts records Peter asleep in Herod's prison in Jerusalem, bound with two chains, while the Church prayed for him, until an angel woke him and the chains fell from his hands (Acts 12:5–7). A church stood here on the Esquiline by the fourth century, probably already keeping chains venerated as his. The present basilica was rebuilt in the fifth century under the empress Licinia Eudoxia. Her mother Eudocia sent a chain from Jerusalem, and a later tradition tells how, laid beside the Roman chain, the two joined into one. The church keeps that story as tradition, and keeps August 1 as the feast of Saint Peter in Chains.
A steep stair climbs from Via Cavour to a quiet piazza and a plain portico. Inside, ancient Doric columns carry the nave toward the apse; steps lead down to the confessio and the chains. Michelangelo's tomb of Julius II stands at the end of the right aisle.
Read the Place
Not a gallery with a relic attached.
The chains came first; the Moses arrived a thousand years later.
01Begin at the confessioThe chains are why the church exists. Pray there before the art.
02Separate Scripture and traditionActs gives the chains in Jerusalem; the joining of two chains is later tradition.
03Read the tomb as a tombA pope's memorial in an apostle's church. Julius lies in St. Peter's.
Small filings from the chains were treasured as precious relics.
The tomb of Julius II was assembled here in 1545; the Pope is buried in St. Peter's.
The basilica is served by the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
02 · Spiritual Significance
Spiritual Significance
The NaveAncient columns, a later ceilingThe fifth-century basilica, with its ceiling painting of the miracle of the chains.
This is a church of the apostle's suffering and deliverance. The chains belong to Peter's witness in the same way the tomb on the Vatican Hill belongs to his death: he was bound for Christ, the Church prayed for him, and he was set free. Pilgrims pray here for the Pope, for Christians who are imprisoned for their faith, and for their own freedom from what binds them.
The basilica is a living church served by the Canons Regular of the Lateran, with daily Mass. It also holds one of the most visited sculptures in Rome. The two coexist, and the confessio is usually the quieter of them.
The chains are the reason for the church's name. In Vincoli means in chains.
Acts gives two chains in Jerusalem, and the Church praying for Peter while he was bound. Read Acts 12 before you come.
The columns of the nave are ancient, reused when the basilica was rebuilt in the fifth century.
Julius II commissioned his tomb for St. Peter's. What stands here is a reduced version, and his body is not in it.
The feast of August 1 began as this church's dedication day.
The della Rovere cardinals who held this church as their title, two of whom became Sixtus IV and Julius II, rebuilt its portico and refitted the interior.
Julius commissioned his tomb from Michelangelo in 1505 for St. Peter's; it was cut down over forty years before it was assembled here.
The MosesA pope's tomb in an apostle's churchMichelangelo's Moses, the center of the tomb of Julius II, assembled here in 1545.
03 · Do Not Miss
Do Not Miss
4 Stops
01
The chains at the confessio
Beneath the high altar, behind glass in their reliquary. The devotional center of the basilica.
02
The apse frescoes
Late sixteenth-century scenes of Peter's deliverance and the story of the chains.
03
The nave ceiling
An early eighteenth-century painting of the miracle of the chains, over ancient Doric columns.
04
Michelangelo's Moses
The center of the tomb of Julius II, at the end of the right aisle.
See all 4 · 1 more
Michelangelo's MosesThe center of the tomb of Julius II, at the end of the right aisle.
04 · Visit Plans
Visit Plans
1 plan · add to a journey
About 40 minutes Pilgrims following Saint Peter through Rome
From the chains to the Moses
Pray at the confessio before the chains, read the apse and ceiling, and end at Michelangelo's tomb of Julius II.
Prayer before the chains at the confessio
The apse frescoes and the nave ceiling
The tomb of Julius II and the Moses
05 · How to Visit
How to Visit
A practical sequence
Served by the Canons Regular of the Lateran since the fifteenth century
Veneration of the Chains of Saint Peter at the confessio
The feast of Saint Peter in Chains, kept here each August 1
06 · Planning your visit
Morning or late afternoon, never midday.
Reviewed October 1, 2026·Official sources
The basilica opens in the morning and again in the afternoon, with a closure in between. Check the canons' current hours and Mass times before visiting.
Address
Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli 4/a, 00184 Rome, Italy
Time needed
About 30 to 45 minutes
Primary devotion
Saint Peter, in the chains of his imprisonment
Before setting out
Midday closure
The church closes between the morning and afternoon openings. Confirm the current times on the canons' page.
Dress
Shoulders and knees covered, as in any Roman basilica.
Approach
The shortest way up from Via Cavour is a long flight of steps under an arch; the piazza can also be reached by road.
07 · Relics, Tombs, Sacred Objects
Relics, Tombs, Sacred Objects
The ChainsAt the confessioThe chains traditionally venerated as Saint Peter's, in their reliquary beneath the high altar.
Contact relic, traditional attribution
Chains of Saint Peter
Yes, at the confessio beneath the high altar
Traditional
Venerated in Rome since antiquity as the chains of Peter's imprisonment; the account of two chains joining into one is later tradition
Catholic Encyclopedia · the Canons Regular of the Lateran
Funerary monument and sculpture
Tomb of Julius II, with Michelangelo's Moses
Not an object of veneration; a work of art within the church
Documented
Commissioned in 1505, reduced over decades and assembled here in 1545; the Pope is buried in St. Peter's
Italian national tourism board
Source noteTraditional attributions are presented as tradition, with documentation named where it exists.
The chains are presented as the Church has long venerated them, with the scriptural account (Acts 12) distinguished from Roman tradition. The fourth-century church, the probable early veneration, the filings, the feast of August 1 and Eudocia's chain from Jerusalem follow the Catholic Encyclopedia; the joining of two chains is given as later tradition. The fifth-century rebuilding, the Eudoxian name and the dates of Michelangelo's tomb follow the Italian national tourism board. Hours change through the year; check the canons' page.
