Saint Peter’s Square and Bernini’s Colonnade in Rome

Saint Peter’s Square in Rome is immediately after Saint Peter’s Basilica, one of the most recognizable places in the Vatican.

Bernini, who designed two spaces connected into one square, demonstrated his entire architectural genius in this work. The first part of the square, shaped like a trapezoid, meets the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. The second part, shaped like an ellipse, is capable of accommodating over 300 thousand people.

Saint Peter’s Square in Rome and its history

St. Peter’s Square is a vast space serving as the gateway to the Vatican. Its construction was part of the grand expansion of Rome, intended to reflect the power of the Pope and the immense significance of the Church’s authority. The construction of the square was completed several years after the inauguration of St. Peter’s Basilica. The work began in 1656 and concluded in 1667, with Pope Alexander VII as the visionary and sponsor of this monumental undertaking.

The renowned Italian sculptor, painter, and architect Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini was chosen as the project’s executor. The works of this artist, scattered throughout Rome and beyond, continue to captivate with their timeless vision and extraordinary beauty.

The Baroque period was marked by a fascination with the latest scientific discoveries, including those in astronomy. During celestial observations, it was revealed that the Earth, like the other planets, moves around the Sun in elliptical trajectories, contrary to the previously believed circular paths. It is speculated that this discovery influenced the choice of the elliptical shape of St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

Bernini’s colonnade around Saint Peter’s Square in Rome

Bernini decided to surround St. Peter’s Square with a massive colonnade consisting of 284 powerful and towering columns arranged on both sides of the square. One of Bernini’s found sketches explains the artist’s concept, depicting a human figure seen from above with arms encircling the world.

Bernini’s colonnade aimed to represent the figure of God embracing the world with His arms, as well as divine arms welcoming all the faithful.

The columns, set in the Tuscan style around the square, may appear identical, but they are not. Those standing farthest from St. Peter’s Basilica are thicker than those closer to the church. The artist’s intention was to create an optical illusion, making the basilica appear larger and more monumental.

The colonnade is crowned with an openwork attic, the upper element of the facade resembling a wall covering the roof. Nowadays, the attic in buildings serves an aesthetic function, but in the past, its purpose was to prevent fire from spreading to neighbouring structures. In the case of the attic used by Bernini in his colonnade, it allows for the display of a series of sculptures depicting saints at the top of the building.

Along the entire length of the colonnade, symmetrically arranged stone sculptures of 140 saints are displayed. Among the statues, at the height of the fountain on the left side of the square, you can see the figure of Saint Hyacinth of Poland. He was a Polish clergyman from the 12th century who was the first Pole to join the new Dominican order and set out to evangelize the people of Moravia, Poland, Bohemia, and Ruthenian, earning the title of Apostle of the Slavs. Before his death, he was recognized as a miracle worker, leading to his canonization and eventual placement in Bernini’s attic in Rome.

Elements of Saint Peter’s Square in Rome that are worth having a look at

St. Peter’s Square in Rome is a great attraction in itself and the gateway to the Vatican, but in this giant space there are several elements that are worth seeing and having a closer look at.

Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican and the Egyptian obelisk

The obelisk standing in the centre of St. Peter’s Square in Rome may be surprising, as it originates from Egypt, carved from a massive block of red granite monolith, symbolizing ancient religions.

Its history began in Aswan, where it was carved over three thousand years ago. For centuries, it stood tall in the dry Egyptian landscape until the time when the Romans arrived in Africa. The invaders conquered the desert land and loaded many monuments onto ships to send them to Rome, including the colossal obelisk.

The task was not easy, as the massive monolith weighed almost 500 tons and had a length of over 25 meters. If not for the wish of Emperor Caligula to have it in his gardens, no one would have thought of hauling such a giant stone across the sea. To fulfil the emperor’s desire, Roman engineers built an enormous ship, on which the obelisk traversed the sea.

Initially, it was placed in a location called Nero’s Circus, a place where, according to legends, the first Christians were martyred. One of the stories claims that at the base of the obelisk, the heads of those who refused to renounce their faith in one God were cut off. Another tale suggests that the towering stone witnessed the death of Saint Peter himself.

The obelisk from St. Peter’s Square has survived to this day, although other Egyptian obelisks in Rome, numbering thirteen in total, were not as fortunate. In the year 410, when the Visigoths captured Rome, all the remaining obelisks were shattered and toppled, along with many other precious monuments.

The Egyptian obelisk stood in its current location in 1586 by order of Pope Sixtus V. It is intended to serve as a reminder for the faithful visiting the Vatican of the brutal murders of Christians, which it likely witnessed. On this occasion, an inscription was engraved on the obelisk:

SANTISSIME CRVCI/SIXTUS V PONT MAX/CONSECRAVIT E PRIORE SEDE/ANNVLSVM/ET CAESS AVG TIB/I L ABLATUM/MDLXXXVI

Pope Sixtus V consecrated to the Holy Cross this stone, torn out from its original place during the reign of emperors Augustus and Tiberius and moved in 1586.

In addition to the above inscription, there are other inscriptions in Latin on the obelisk, and they tell the history of the stone.

The obelisk is now the focal point not only of the square itself, but also of many masses organized in the Vatican. It is from the obelisk to St. Peter’s Basilica that the Palm Sunday procession starts and is considered one of the most spectacular ceremonies in the Vatican.

Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican and famous fountains

St. Peter’s Square in Rome is adorned with two fountains placed symmetrically on both sides of the Egyptian obelisk. The beauty of both fountains may not be overwhelming, but it’s easy to imagine the pleasant sound of cool water during lengthy masses, filling the square with crowds of people.

On hot days, when the sun is at its zenith, and the temperature resembles the desert from which the Vatican obelisk originates, the spraying water from the fountains creates a cool, rainbow-inducing curtain of mist. The effect is incredible, and I assume this was precisely Bernini’s intention.

Both fountains consist of a lower basin, a stone pedestal, and two diminishing basins, allowing the spraying water to gently flow from one part of the fountain to the other, creating murmuring cascades. The fountains are made of granite and travertine, both having a height of 8 meters and a similar bowl arrangement.

In the area of today’s St. Peter’s Square, there used to be another fountain, built during the time of Emperor Trajan. Unfortunately, the shape and appearance of the original water feature are unknown today, but it is assumed that it wasn’t too different from the current form.

On the right side of the square stands a fountain built on the orders of Pope Innocent VIII in 1490, intended to provide relief to pilgrims arriving at the Vatican. By using it, they could drink pure and cool water and wash their dusty bodies after a long journey. The fountain underwent multiple reconstructions and modernizations, and at one point in history, drinking troughs for horses were even added to it. Ultimately, Pope Paul V modernized the Trajan aqueduct, which supplied water to this part of Rome, enabling a stronger water stream in the local fountains.

The final shape of the fountain was achieved thanks to Carlo Maderno, a talented architect who never gained great fame and is known today only to a handful of art historians. Yet, much of Rome owes its current appearance to him. After completing work on Bernini’s colonnade, he decided to harmonize the space and designed the second fountain to stand on the opposite side of the square. The artist drew inspiration from Maderno’s fountain, giving it a similar shape and decorations. Both fountains feature papal symbols and the coats of arms of specific church leaders under whose reign these monuments were created.

Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican and the Bronze Gate to the Holy See

The Bronze Gate is one of the three gates providing access to the Vatican from St. Peter’s Square. It is located on the right side of the square within Bernini’s colonnade.

The other entrances to the Vatican are less known, serving as access points for employees and various deliveries. The Bronze Gate serves as the official entrance, used during official events and grand ceremonies.

Over the centuries, the saying “life behind the bronze gate” has emerged, symbolizing all the events taking place within the Vatican.

Saint Peter’s Square in Rome information and interesting facts

Rome offers many attractions, and the organization of many of them is easier to entrust to appropriate and proven organizations. Below you will find some links with interesting suggestions for spending time in the capital of Italy.

• St. Peter’s Square in Rome, designed by one of the most prominent architects of the Baroque era, Bernini, was constructed in 1656.
• The square is surrounded by a portico, also designed by Bernini. It is a colossal colonnade crowned with an attic, adorned with statues of saints.
• Among the 140 statues of Catholic saints, there is the Polish saint, Jacek Odrowąż.
• The length from the entrance to the square to the portico of the basilica is over 330 meters, and the width is 240 meters.
• During the design phase, the square was intended to accommodate 100,000 people, but the record number of assembled faithful reached almost 300,000.
• The obelisk in the centre of the oval part of the square currently stands at almost 40 meters, including the cross and the base.
• The obelisk weighs over 400 tons.
• Setting up the obelisk in the square in Rome required the efforts of over 20,000 people.
• On the square, besides the obelisk, you can see two fountains. The first and older one is located on the right and was designed by the architect Maderna, while the second was designed by Bernini himself, drawing inspiration from the first.
• St. Peter’s Square in Rome features the Bronze Gate, serving as the official entrance to the Vatican.
• The square has hosted numerous ceremonies such as beatifications, canonizations, and various audiences involving the head of the church.
• In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot in the square by an assailant.
• The largest gathering on the square occurred during the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Over 4 million faithful gathered in the Vatican, with 300,000 fitting on St. Peter’s Square. For the canonization of the Polish pope, over 800,000 people gathered in the Vatican.
• During the canonization of Saint Josemaría Escrivá in the Vatican, over 500,000 faithful gathered, and a similar event for Father Pio attracted over 300,000 people.

Polish version