Walk to the opposite corner of LOVE Park, cross Arch Street and then cross 16th Street to the right side of the Parkway. Walk two blocks to 18th Street to the Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. You can’t miss the massive brownstone with the green dome. Philadelphia’s most impressive Italian Renaissance structure is large enough to hold 2,000 people.
Home to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, it was built 1846-1864 and modeled after the Lombard Church of St. Charles (San Carla al Corso) in Rome. Constantino Brumidi, who is credited with painting the dome of the Capitol in Washington, led the design team. The impressive building includes four massive Corinthian columns, a vaulted copper dome, and eight side chapels. The Crypt of the Bishops in the lower level holds the bodies of six Philadelphia bishops and archbishops.