St. Peter's Square in Rome is rightfully the most famous and popular among Christians and ordinary tourists. In Italian, its name will sound like Piazza San Pietro. A historical complex was built in honor of the keykeeper of the paradise of St. Peter, so the panorama of the ensemble from a great height resembles a keyhole.
Architect St. Peter's Square
The ideologist and creator of this great complex was the famous Italian esthete and sculptor Giovanni Bernini. Born in December 1598 in Naples, in the family of an architect. From his father, Giovanni inherited the talent of creating in the Baroque style.
At the age of 7, Bernini began to make the first sketches. At that time, the Giovanni family moved to Rome, where Peter was one of the main revered saints. A year later, the young artist made a portrait of the great martyr, after which the boy was immediately dubbed the second Michelangelo. In 1614, Bernini created his debut sculpture dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The plaster bust impressed Cardinal Borghese so much that he decided to take the young man to his villa and make him his personal artist. Soon Giovanni was initiated intoknights and became one of the best friends of Pope Urban VIII. There is even an opinion that Bernini was the main adviser to Cardinal Barberini. Under such authoritative patronage, the young architect had the opportunity to freely implement his new grandiose ideas. It was during this period that he decided to decorate St. Peter's Square in the Vatican in the Baroque style.
In the mid-1620s, Giovanni had a family drama. For a long time he was in a relationship with the beautiful Constance. The spiritual idyll of two hearts was broken by the betrayal of a girl with his younger brother. Unable to withstand the betrayal, Bernini beat Luigi unconscious, and then gave the order to mutilate the face of Constance beyond recognition. However, these crimes easily got away with the sculptor, as Pope Urban VIII stood up for him.
All this shook Bernini's psyche, but the church came to the rescue here too. The architect was commissioned to reconstruct St. Peter's Square. Bernini wanted to escape from mental anguish, and therefore gladly agreed. In the summer of 1641, the first stone was laid for the construction of a new square. Today, a crater on Mercury is named after Giovanni, and the image of his face flaunts on the 50,000th banknote of the Italian lira.
The uniqueness of St. Peter's Square
In 1663 the church complex in the Vatican was completely finished. Bernini, who led the construction, was overjoyed and proud of his project. Today, St. Peter's Square in Rome is considered the main architectural ensemble of Italy and, possibly, all of Europe.
The complex consists of two parts: oval and trapezoidal. Both squares are on the same axis with St. Peter's Cathedral. During the construction of the complex, Bernini took advantage of the so-called monumental saturation. So, the main square of St. Peter is surrounded by high powerful columns standing in 4 rows. Ancient architects loved elliptical shapes because they created a sense of mobility and instability. Giovanni also used a similar baroque technique in his projects.
The center of the square is decorated with a grandiose Egyptian obelisk and two unique fountains. The Bernini ensemble made it possible to form a majestic monumental backdrop for church processions and other solemn events in a randomly built-up metropolis. One of the attractions of the complex is the Regia Rock, which was also created by Giovanni. It represents the Royal Staircase leading to the Vatican Palace from St. Peter's Basilica. When designing the Rock, Bernini used the technique of illusory perspective, so a person feels approximately as if he is in a theater. Peter's Square itself is divided by 8 makeshift paths. Thanks to this technique, a pronounced center in the form of the sun was formed in the middle of the complex.
Legend of the obelisk
Today, the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica is primarily remarkable for its centrally located 37-meter Egyptian stele, but this was not always the case. There is a legend that in 1586, by order of the Pope, architects needed tobegan to raise the obelisk on a meter pedestal.
Dozens of men struggled to pull the stele upright. Suddenly, the ropes began to tear one after another, and the obelisk deviated more and more. The chief architect of Fontana was frightened, he did not know how to remedy the situation. Then the legendary captain Breska came to the rescue. He ran up to the workers and began to pour water on the ropes, other people followed his example. Soon the ropes got wet, gained elasticity and elasticity. As a result, the incident was settled, and by the end of the day the obelisk was installed on its rightful pedestal. Today, one of the squares in Sanremo is named after Captain Brex.
History of St. Peter's Cathedral
This architectural Catholic complex is considered the most important building of the Vatican. The square of St. Peter's is also the main ceremonial site of the entire Roman Church. Such cult architects and artists as Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael and, of course, Bernini had a hand in its creation. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Catholic church in the world. Its capacity is 60 thousand people.
In ancient times, Nero's decorative gardens were located on the site of the construction. The first version of the cathedral was built back in 326, during the reign of Emperor Constantine. Until the 15th century, it was never reconstructed, so the building gradually collapsed. And only under Julius II, a powerful palace was erected from the ancient basilica, givenCatholic Church to serve. Over the next century, such legendary figures as Donato Bramante, Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangallo, Michelangelo, della Porta, Vignola, Maderno and, finally, Bernini had a hand in the cathedral.
Facade of St. Peter's Cathedral
It is 48m high and almost 120m wide. The attic of the façade is adorned with grandiose 6m statues of Christ, the Eleven Apostles and John the Baptist.
The only evidence and reminder of the ancient basilica are the doors of the main portal of the cathedral, which have been preserved since the 15th century. In total, 5 solemn entrances lead to the church. In front of the main building is Giotto's famous Navicella mosaic, made at the end of the 8th century. On the left side of the portal's façade are the Death Gates. Their author was Giacomo Manzu. Work on the project went on for 15 years, until 1964.
Interior of St. Peter's Cathedral
Inside, the building also amazes the eye with its grandiose size and rich decoration. The central hair dryer stretches for 212 m. At the end of the basilica is the famous miraculous statue of St. Peter. The main dome stands on large columns, at a height of 120 m, and has a diameter of about 42 m.
Above the altar there is a huge ciborium, the width of which is 29 m. It is installed on 4 decorative columns, on which statues of archangels stand majestically. Behind the ciborium is the pulpit of St. Peter, designed by Bernini. Left and right, the altar is decorated with unique works by della Porta, Michelangelo, Cavallini and Giovanni himself.
Reviews of St. Peter's Square
Any tour of Italy should begin with this architectural ensemble. You can easily get to St. Peter's Square by metro or on foot. As numerous eyewitness reviews show, the first thing that strikes the eye is the powerful columns on both sides of the complex. The main attraction is the Obelisk, near which there are always a lot of tourists. Entrance to St. Peter's Square is absolutely free, as well as to the Cathedral itself. If you wish, you can take the elevator to the bell tower for 7 euros, from where you can enjoy a stunning view of the beauties of Rome. In the church, you can not only sit on a bench and admire the interior, but also calmly pray.
Despite all this, the main advantage is that you are allowed to take photos of St. Peter's Square for free. Every minute on the territory of the complex, someone takes a selfie next to the majestic sculptures and architectural structures. There are also shops, restaurants and souvenir shops near the square.
Interesting to know
St. Peter's Square is one of the three most sought-after church ensembles on the planet.
In 2007, the archivists of the Vatican found Michelangelo's last work, which depicts sketches of one of the columns of the complex. The altar of the cathedral with from the very beginning it was turned not to the east, as is customary in Christianity, but to the west.
