Saint Peter's Square

Saint Peter's Square is a sizable square that faces St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, and is situated directly west of the Borgo district (rione). Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus who Catholics see as the first Pope, is honored with the namesake of both the square and the cathedral. An ancient Egyptian obelisk that was built in 1586 at the present location stands in the middle of the square. Nearly a century later, Gian Lorenzo Bernini created the square, with the enormous Doric colonnades with four columns deep that envelop people in "the maternal arms of Mother Church". A 1613 fountain created by Carlo Maderno and a 1675 granite fountain built by Bernini are complementary.

Today, one may go along the Via della Conciliazione's majestic approach from the Ponte Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's Square (in honor of the Lateran Treaty of 1929). Benito Mussolini personally destroyed the spina (median with houses that divided the two roads of Borgo Vecchio and Borgo nuovo) that originally stood in this majestic avenue leading to the Piazza on October 23, 1936. It was fully destroyed by October 8, 1937. The Castel Sant'Angelo could now easily see St. Peter's Basilica. One of the most significant medieval and renaissance neighborhoods of the city was completely destroyed after the spina, from 1937 and 1950, wheVatican Cityn practically all of the structures south of the passetto were destroyed. Moreover, the demolition of the spina canceled the characteristic Baroque surprise, nowadays maintained only for visitors coming from Borgo Santo Spirito.

Location: Vatican City, Rome