 It
is also known as St. Peter’s Square. It is located directly
in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City in Rome.
Under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, Bernini redesigned the
open space in front of the basilica so that a large number of the
people could see the Pope when he gave his blessings from the middle
of the façade of the church or even from a window in the
Vatican palace.  He
gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, which inspired
awe and yet did not compete with the palace like façade by
Carlo Maderno. He used the Tuscan form of Doric architecture.
There were many structures already in existence and Bernini managed
to integrate all of them with immense skill and artistry. For example
a fountain by Carlo Maderno stood on one side but Bernini made it
appear to be one of the foci of the oval embraced by his colonnades.
 The
piazza has a trapezoidal shape. It has been praised as a masterstroke
of Baroque theatre though Bernini resorted to this shape mainly
due to space constraints. The Doric colonnades are four rows of
columns –300 all together carved from Roman travertine and
frame the trapezoidal entrance and the massive oval area, which
precedes it. They define the piazza and give it a characteristic
baroque feel.  The
oval center of the piazza is in contrast to the trapezoidal entrance
and encloses the visitor with “the maternal arms of the Mother
church” as Bernini has so aptly put it. The colonnades in
the Southern side define and formalize the space as the Barberini
Gardens fill the skyline with their umbrella of pines. The colonnades
in the Northern side mask an assortment of the Vatican structures.
However the upper stories of the Vatican rise above the colonnades.
A massive Egyptian obelisk stands at the center of the oval.  Though
Bernini had not constructed the obelisk he used it to full advantage
by using it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza.
Piazza San Pietro can be classified as Baroque Neoclassical at
its best. It acts not only as a dramatic façade for the church
and a nurturing enclosure for the faithful but also as a stage for
processions and other sacred activities of the Catholic Church.
It is one of the most famous piazzas or squares in Italy. No visit
to Italy is complete unless you visit this imposing and monumental
square to admire and be amazed at how well Bernini combined beauty
with functionality.
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