St. Peter's Square

St. Peter's Square is a sizable and beautiful piazza located at the base of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It's an architectural wonder designed by Bernini. The square is comprised of an elliptical part and a trapezoidal part.

 At the ellipse's heart is a 25m obelisk flanked by two gorgeous fountains, one by Bernini and one by Maderno. One side of the ellipse is enclosed by Bernini's colonnades, consisting of 284 columns and 88 pillars and with many statues of saints on top. With dimensions of 320 meters long and 240 meters wide, it is believed to have the capacity to hold an astonishing total of 300,000 people. Bernini was commissioned by Pope Alexander VII between 1656 and 1667 to build the square where the apostle Peter had been killed. His pupils continued his work and created a total of 140 statues. The grandiose Royal Staircase was built just as the square neared completion to link it to the Vatican Palaces. Initially, this magnificent square was created for the Pope to make announcements from the basilica's balcony. The plainness of the colonnade's pillars and columns leads your eyes to the grand welcoming entrance of St. Peter's Basilica.