The Basilica of Saint Peter

Author: Serena

Saint Peter square is one of the most famous square in the world, real heart of the Christianity and of the Roman Catholic Church. This is a pilgrimage place hosting tourists coming from different countries of the world but it also is a monumental construction that can’t be missed by those who love the Renaissance and the Baroque art.

Panoramic view of St Peter's Square and Basilica

At the middle of the city of Rome, at the centre of the Vatican State, San Peter Square is perhaps the most famous square in the world. Planned during the 1600 by Lorenzo Bernini, the Basilica of Saint Peter is one of the world masterpieces of the Baroque architecture. An important colonnade ( 4 lines of 284 columns, 88 pillars, 140 statues of saints) surrounds the square highlighting its shape. The central colonnade drives the tourists eyes towards the entry of the Basilica while the lateral columns seem to represent the Church embrace. This structure highlights the Baroque attitude, loved by Bernini, of creating those optical and movement effects perceived walking through the colonnade.

In front of the Basilica of Saint Peter, at the centre of the square, there is an Egyptian obelisk that with its height of 40 metres dates back to the XIII century after Christ. Near the obelisk there is the ellipsis, a given point on the ground from which the colonnade seems to be made up by just one line of columns instead of 4 (as it is in reality).

At the two sides of the obelisk there are two fountains planned by Carlo Maderno and Carlo Fontana respectively in 1613 and 1677. During the Fascism there was the construction of the Street of the Conciliation to celebrate the official reconciliation between the State and the Roman Catholic Church.

View of the St Peter Basilica

Other than Bernini other important artists worked in this magnificent Basilica and the most important among them are Bramante and Michelangelo. Also the residence of Popes, the enclosure of the Vatican Palaces, represents a an example of great artistic and historical value. The most famous and visited parts of the Basilica are: the Sistina Chapel with its Michelangelo frescos, the rooms, the loggias and the Vatican apartments with their Raffaello frescos. You can even reach the higher part of the Basilica’s dome admiring from there a beautiful landscape of the city of Rome.