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Abstract:  The present article summarizes and compares the different studies concerning the genesis of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in the sixteenth century by experts in architecture, economic history and theology. A multidisciplinary approach makes it possible to clarify those less studied aspects of the process, such as the opinions of the contemporaries, the clients and the architects concerning the project and the feat involved and it also provides an insight on the relentless fundraising efforts necessary to finance the actual construction. While essential to the determination of the effective construction possibilities and limits, the latter remains an aspect seldom covered by historiography. The brief period taken into consideration is that of the pontificates of Julius II della Rovere and Leo X de’ Medici, with a few references to subsequent architectural and economic polemics. The article is completed by an anthology of sixteenth century writings and a specialized bibliography.