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Private Tours of the Vatican Museums

Piazza San Pietro

1/7/2019

 
Private Tours of the Vatican Museums
Aerial view of Piazza San Pietro, Rome
Piazza San Pietro

The Piazza San Pietro, which was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-67), is one of the most beautiful spaces in Rome. It was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and built between 1656 and 1667. 

The piazza is made up of two distinct parts. The first part is an oval space (196 m by 148 m), which is bordered by two semi-circular colonnades, made up of a total of 284 columns. The second part, intended to link the basilica to the oval, is a trapezium flanked by two arms.

The 140 statues of saints and martyrs, which crown the colonnades, were sculpted to Bernini’s designs by his large team of assistants.

Aerial view of St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square, Rome
Aerial view of St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square
Aerial view of St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square, Rome
Aerial view of St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square
Colonnade, Piazza San Pietro, Rome
Colonnade of St Peter's Square
Statues on Colonnade, Piazza San Pietro, Rome
Statues on the south colonnade
Coat of arms of Pope Alexander VIl, Piazza San Pietro, Rome
Coat of arms of Pope Alexander VIl

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    Blogging about the Vatican 

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.

    Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run
    ​ private tours of Florence, Rome &
    Venice.

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  • Private Tours
    • Private Tours of Rome
    • Private Tours of Florence
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  • Contact
  • Rome
  • Vatican
  • Florence
  • Venice
  • Tuscany
  • Gallery
  • Year in Art