My Pictures of St. Peter's Square

Piazza San Pietro - the massive ellipse formed by St. Peter's Square

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860 x 576 St. Peter's Square, designed by Bernini, an ellipse formed by the intersection of two circles joined together.
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576 x 860 It is said the Renaissance use of the ellipse was inspired by the Colosseum as a model.

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864 x 575 In 1655, Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to design a monumental square in front of the recently completed basilica. Loading...
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864 x 576 Bernini had several obstacles to overcome: giving the overpowering church facade greater breadth while hiding the irregularly placed buildings of the Vatican palace, as well as harmoniously incorporating the obelisk which was re-erected in front of the basilica in 1586.
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864 x 576 Bernini's solution was to design a piazza in the form of an ellipse, the foci of the ellipse are indicated by marble and granite disks embedded within the pavement of the piazza (here in the lower left corner).
The elliptical shape also symbolizes the Church's embrace of all of mankind, "the motherly arms of the church," as Bernini described his Colonnade. Loading...
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864 x 579 From the foci, the columns of the portico align in such a way as to give the illusion that only a single colonnade exits rather than the actual four. Bernini planned the colonnade design by drawing chalk lines, and possibly using strings to carefully predict the visual illusions.
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575 x 864 Centro del Colonnaio - Center of the Colonnade. The long axis of the ellipse is 650 feet across - marked by three monuments: two fountains and an Egyptian obelisk in the center that had served as a turning post in the chariot races at the nearby ancient Circus of Nero, where St. Peter was crucified. Loading...
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579 x 864 The quadruple colonnade which borders the piazza form a portico wide enough to let carriages pass through.

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864 x 573 Looking across the piazza from inside the colonnade, composed of 284 Doric columns, carved from Roman travertine, arranged in a series of four rows.
There are 140 statues of saints and martyrs while are atop the balustrade of the ellipse.

Click on an image to see the full size photo

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(98K) 860 x 576	St. Peter's Square, designed by Bernini, an ellipse formed by the intersection of two circles joined together.	(116K) 576 x 860	It is said the Renaissance use of the ellipse was inspired by the Colosseum as a model.
(82K) 864 x 575	In 1655, Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to design a monumental square in front of the recently completed basilica.	(76K) 864 x 576	Bernini had several obstacles to overcome: giving the overpowering church facade greater breadth while hiding the irregularly placed buildings of the Vatican palace, as well as harmoniously incorporating the obelisk which was re-erected in front of the basilica in 1586.
(64K) 864 x 576	Bernini's solution was to design a piazza in the form of an ellipse, the foci of the ellipse are indicated by marble and granite disks embedded within the pavement of the piazza (here in the lower left corner). The elliptical shape also symbolizes the Church's embrace of all of mankind, "the motherly arms of the church," as Bernini described his Colonnade.	(100K) 864 x 579	From the foci, the columns of the portico align in such a way as to give the illusion that only a single colonnade exits rather than the actual four. Bernini planned the colonnade design by drawing chalk lines, and possibly using strings to carefully predict the visual illusions.
(101K) 575 x 864	Centro del Colonnaio - Center of the Colonnade. The long axis of the ellipse is 650 feet across - marked by three monuments: two fountains and an Egyptian obelisk in the center that had served as a turning post in the chariot races at the nearby ancient Circus of Nero, where St. Peter was crucified.	(100K) 579 x 864	The quadruple colonnade which borders the piazza form a portico wide enough to let carriages pass through.
(59K) 864 x 573	Looking across the piazza from inside the colonnade, composed of 284 Doric columns, carved from Roman travertine, arranged in a series of four rows. There are 140 statues of saints and martyrs while are atop the balustrade of the ellipse.