Saint Peter

San Pietro The square is unique. It is dominated by the immense suggestive dome, by Michelangelo. When Michelangelo's immortal genius conceived it, he must have perceived this sense of the absolute and infinite that would impress the soul of whoever saw it. The colonnade is the finest work of Bernini and forms a superb entry to San Pietro and the Vatican. The two large wings opening like half circles seem like two outstretched arms of the temple receiving all mankind in one universal embrace. The obelisk was begun in 1586 by Domenico Fontana by the will of Sixtus V. The two fountains, the one on the right designed by Maderno in 1613 and the one on the left by Carlo Fontana in 1677, harmonize perfectly with the vast square. The Loggia of the Benedictions, above the central entrance, is used to proclaim the election of every new Pope and it is from here that he delivers his first blessing "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world).



Web Master: Cecilia Di Chio & Luca Satolli
Hexagon graphical line: Dario-Jacopo Laganà