Bernini's Embracing Arms
St. Peter's Square was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the behest of Pope Alexander VII and completed in 1667 after eleven years of intense construction. The square consists of an "oval space with three centres" measuring 196 by 149 meters—a geometric innovation that creates a sense of dynamic embrace.
The two colonnaded hemicycles connect to the Basilica via enclosed ambulacra (covered walkways), forming a large trapezoidal approach with the façade as its widest side. Bernini himself described his design as the church extending its arms to embrace believers—a powerful symbol of the universal welcome of Catholic faith.
The Colonnade
The colonnade consists of 284 columns arranged in four rows, each standing 16 meters high. These Doric columns of travertine stone create covered walkways that shelter pilgrims from sun and rain. Standing atop the colonnade are 140 statues of saints, each more than three meters tall.
The Disappearing Columns
Stand on one of the two circular porphyry discs set into the pavement (marked by small plaques) and all four rows of columns appear to merge into one—a stunning optical illusion demonstrating Bernini's genius for perspective.
The Vatican Obelisk
At the center of the square stands the Vatican obelisk, originally from Egypt and brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula in 37 AD to adorn the circus where Christians were martyred under Nero. This ancient monument once stood beside the very arena where Saint Peter was crucified.
In 1586, Pope Sixtus V ordered the obelisk moved to its present location—a tremendous engineering feat that took four months and 900 men with 140 horses. Today it is surmounted by an iron cross containing a relic of the True Cross, transforming this pagan monument into a symbol of Christian triumph.
The Mater Ecclesiae
The space of the square is blessed by the maternal gaze of the Madonna and Child—Mater Ecclesiae ("Mother of the Church"). This large mosaic, visible from anywhere in the square, is a copy of the fifteenth-century icon venerated inside the Basilica in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Column.