27 sentences total
St. Peters Square is a large open space in front of St. Peters Basilica, in the Vatican. It is roughly circular, and features 4,000 year old Egyptian obelisk, two fountains, Tuscan colonnades, and statues of saints all around the outer rim of the Piazza. The square was designed by Gian Bernini from 1656 to 1667, while Pope Alexander VII was pope. The pope wanted to be able to give his blessing to the most people possible, and this was the driving design behind the whole square.
The colonnades surrounding the plaza are 4 columns deep. They are based on Tuscan colonnades, and they frame the entire piazza. They define the edge, and they were designed to welcome visitors into the “maternal arms of Mother Church”. The shape of the Piazza is said to be a masterpiece of Baroque Theater, but it is really designed the way it is, with a trapezoidal entrance, due to the constraints of already existing buildings. On the north side, for example, the colonnade hides several Vatican structures, but the upper stories of the Vatican palace rise above it.
In the center of the piazza there is a 41 meter obelisk. This obelisk was originally constructed in Heliopolis during the Fifth dynasty of Egypt. The Emperor Augustus had it moved around the year 0 to Alexandria. Several years later Caligula had it moved to the Circus of Nero. It was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer Domenico Fontana. It is the only Roman Obelisk that survives to this day. During its lifetime the obelisk has been topped by several items including a large gilt ball on the top, rumored to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana removed the ball, and only found dust in it. Currently there is a cross on the top.
There are two fountains at the foci of the oval that the piazza creates. One is a granite fountain, created by Carlo Maderno, and the other is an exact replica created by Bernini to give the piazza symmetry. Carlo Maderno also designed the facade of St. Peters Basilica.
St. Peters Basilica is the reason that the whole square exists. It is custom for the Pope to address the masses from a window in the church. It is one of the largest churches in the world, and remains one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. Burial site of St. Peter, the Basilica is a famous place of pilgrimage for Christians. The basilica was originally designed to be a centrally planned structure, but was changed part way through to the cross shape that it has now. The dome itself is one of the largest in the world. One interesting fact about St. Peters Basilica is that it isn’t even the official seat of the Bishop of Rome. During the process of planning the Basilica went through three different designers; Bramante, the original designer, Raphael, and Michelangelo, like the ninja turtles.
Comments