a result they have come to question the integrity of many written accounts from antiquity. the apostle peter is martyrdom on the vatican hill is one of them. it marks the dramatic climax of a religious legend but as one of the most powerful stories in church tradition. some one and a half centuries later a magnificent basilica was erected on the vatican you know of the sign believed to be the very spot where peter was buried. peter's basilica is a monument to the apostle and one of the holiest catholic shrines. in the catacombs deep below the church is an ancient roman graves a veritable city of the dead in which according to legend jesus is first apostle simon peter was buried. peanuts