vatican-coa

StPeters-050205-957a
Photo by Gertrude Meyer

The Colonade of Saint Peter's Square

Saint Peter's Square is the circular piazza in front of the Basilica of St. Peter. When the current church was built in the 16th century, the square was mostly square. Later pope Alexandre VII employed Gian Lorenzo Bernini with reordering the square. He added the circular colonnade and the two fountains, but kept the ancient Egyptian obelisk in the centre. The square is formally a part of the Vatican City State, but it is usually patrolled by the Italian police instead of the Swiss Guard of the Vatican.

StPetersSquare-engraving
This is an 18th century engraving of the Piazza of Saint Peter.

StPetersPiazza
This picture is the modern-day piazza as seen from atop Saint Peter's Basilica.

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