St. Peter`s Collonade
The elliptical colonnade by Bernini frames the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica. Bernini's original idea was that the visitor would be walking down one of the narrow lanes of the neighborhood, dodging children playing and laundry flapping in the breeze, and would come upon this grand piazza, the piazza di San Pietro, a glorious suprise contrasting with the grime and minutia of everyday life.
St. Peter's Square is bordered on either side by semi-circular colonnades which, according to Bernini, symbolize the stretched arms of the church embracing the world. The colonnades were built in 1660 and consist of four rows of columns with in total 284 Doric columns and 88 pilasters. The columns are 20 meters high (66 ft) and 1.6 meter wide (5ft). 140 Statues were installed on top of the colonnades, all created by Bernini and his students. They depict popes, martyrs, evangelists and other religious figures.
St. Peter`s Collonade
The elliptical colonnade by Bernini frames the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica. Bernini's original idea was that the visitor would be walking down one of the narrow lanes of the neighborhood, dodging children playing and laundry flapping in the breeze, and would come upon this grand piazza, the piazza di San Pietro, a glorious suprise contrasting with the grime and minutia of everyday life.
St. Peter's Square is bordered on either side by semi-circular colonnades which, according to Bernini, symbolize the stretched arms of the church embracing the world. The colonnades were built in 1660 and consist of four rows of columns with in total 284 Doric columns and 88 pilasters. The columns are 20 meters high (66 ft) and 1.6 meter wide (5ft). 140 Statues were installed on top of the colonnades, all created by Bernini and his students. They depict popes, martyrs, evangelists and other religious figures.