At the centre of the square is theVatican obelisk, anancient Egyptian obelisk erected at the current site in 1586.Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscancolonnades,[1][2] four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church". A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed byCarlo Maderno in 1613.
Fresco of St. Peter's Square, c. 1587, before the dome of the new St. Peter's Basilica or the façade had been built[3]
A reconstruction of Old Saint Peter's in 1450; at left is the obelisk in its previous location
The open space which lies before the basilica was redesigned byGian Lorenzo Bernini from 1656 to 1667, under the direction ofPope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace".[4] Bernini had been working on the interior of St. Peter's for decades; now he gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, using a Tuscan order,[5][6] to avoid competing with the palace-like façade byCarlo Maderno, but he employed it on an unprecedented colossal scale to suit the space and evoke a sense of awe.
There were many constraints from existing structures (illustration, right). The massed accretions of theVatican Palace crowded the space to the right of the basilica's façade; the structures needed to be masked without obscuring the papal apartments. TheVatican obelisk marked a centre, and a granite fountain by Maderno[7] stood to one side: Bernini made the fountain appear to be one of the foci of theovato tondo[8] embraced by his colonnades. In architecture, an "ovato tondo" is an oval shape that is also circular. It is often used to create a large, enclosed space with an oval shape. In 1675, Bernini eventually matched Maderno's fountain on the other side just five years before his death. Thetrapezoidal shape of the piazza, which creates a heightenedperspective for a visitor leaving the basilica and has been praised as a masterstroke ofBaroque theater (illustration, below right), is largely a product of site constraints.
According to theLateran Treaty the area of St. Peter's Square is subject to the authority of Italian police for crowd control even though it is a part of the Vatican state.
The colossal Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep,[9] frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive elliptical area[10] which precedes it. The ovato tondo's long axis, parallel to the basilica's façade, creates a pause in the sequence of forward movements that is characteristic of a Baroque monumental approach. The colonnades define the piazza. The elliptical center of the piazza, which contrasts with the trapezoidal entrance, encloses the visitor with "the maternal arms of Mother Church" in Bernini's expression. On the south side, the colonnades define and formalize the space, with the Barberini Gardens still rising to a skyline of umbrella pines. On the north side, the colonnade masks an assortment of Vatican structures; the upper stories of the Vatican Palace rise above.
At the center of theovato tondo stands theVatican obelisk, an uninscribedEgyptian obelisk of redgranite, 25.5 m (84 ft) tall, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by theChigi arms in bronze, in all 41 m (135 ft) to thecross on its top. The obelisk was originally erected inHeliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh.
The EmperorAugustus had the obelisk moved to the Julian Forum ofAlexandria, where it stood until AD 37, whenCaligula ordered the forum demolished and the obelisk transferred to Rome. He had it placed on thespina which ran along the center of theCircus of Nero.It was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer-architectDomenico Fontana under the direction ofPope Sixtus V; the engineering feat of re-erecting its vast weight was memorialized in a suite of engravings. The obelisk is the onlyobelisk in Rome that has not toppled since antiquity. During theMiddle Ages, the gilt ball atop the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes ofJulius Caesar.[11] Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Roman museum, and found only dust inside; Christopher Hibbert, however, writes that the ball was found to be solid. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza, and added the Chigi arms to the top in honor of his patron,Alexander VII.
The paving is varied by radiating lines intravertine, to relieve what might otherwise be a sea ofsetts. In 1817 circular stones were set to mark the tip of theobelisk'sshadow at noon as the sun entered each of thesigns of thezodiac, making the obelisk a giganticsundial'sgnomon. Below is a view of St. Peter's Square from thecupola (the top of the dome) which was taken in June 2007.
St. Peter's Square today can be reached from thePonte Sant'Angelo along the grand approach of theVia della Conciliazione (in honor of theLateran Treaty of 1929). Thespina (median with buildings which divided the two roads ofBorgo Vecchio andBorgo nuovo) which once occupied this grand avenue leading to the square was demolished ceremonially byBenito Mussolini himself on October 23, 1936, and was completely demolished by October 8, 1937, creating a long, wide vista fromCastel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's Basilica. After the spina, almost all the buildings south of thepassetto were demolished between 1937 and 1950. This obliterated an important medieval and renaissance quarter of the city. Moreover, the demolition of the spina erased the characteristicallyBaroque surprise of suddenly moving from a confined space to a much larger one; visitors today still get this effect when entering fromBorgo Santo Spirito. The Via della Conciliazione was completed in time for theGreat Jubilee of 1950.
^The actual foci are marked in the paving by roundels of stone six or seven metres beyond the outer ring of the compass rose centered on the obelisk, on either side. When the visitor stands on one, the ranks of columns line up perfectly behind one another. (Touring Club Italiano,Roma e Dintorni).
^There are 248 columns and 88 pilasters; 140 over lifesize saints crown the cornice; the coats of arms are ofAlexander VII.
