What to see at St. Peter's Square in Rome or Vatican Square?

Here are some figures that will give you an idea of the grandeur of the square and the richness of the architectural elements you will find there:

• 320 meters long,
• 240 meters wide,
• 300,000 people can be accommodated on this square,
• 284 columns 17 m high,
• 88 pilasters (columns embedded in a wall) 20 meters high,
• 140 statues of Saints 3.10 meters high,
• 1 Egyptian obelisk 25 meters high...

The square is composed of 2 arcs, each arc is composed of 4 rows of Doric columns, which allowed the creation of 3 circulation routes.

A small particularity: by positioning yourself on one of the 2 marble discs bearing the inscription "centro del colonnato" located between the obelisk and the two fountains, you will notice that the 4 columns merge into 1 single column. The optical illusion is perfect and really worth seeing.

The first space, located in front of St. Peter's Basilica, has the shape of a trapezoid representing two closed arms. The 2nd has an elliptical shape of two half circles composed of a quadruple colonnade representing arms that welcome the faithful. Moreover, Bernini (Gian Lorenzo Bernini) said on this subject: "Since the church of St. Peter is the mother of all others, it should have a portico that shows precisely wanting to receive with open arms, maternally, the Catholics" but also the "heretics, to guide them towards the Church and the infidels to enlighten them on the path of true faith". The construction of St. Peter's Square between 1656 and 1667 lasted no less than 11 years. The square can accommodate 150,000 people or more during major religious events.

In front of the steps of the basilica, you will see two large statues of 5.55 m in height each placed on a pedestal of almost 5 meters: the statue of Saint Peter to the south and the statue of Saint Paul to the north.

Statue of Saint Peter located in front of Saint Peter's Basilica

Statue of Saint Paul

The Vatican obelisk comes from Egypt, it was Emperor Caligula who brought it back from a campaign. Its location is not by chance, it is the precise place where the apostle Peter was crucified. It was the architect Domenico Fontana who took care of its displacement and restoration according to the order of Pope Sixtus V.

The twin fountains are arranged on each side of the obelisk: to the north (Gregoriana) and to the south (Clementina), papal coats of arms and dolphins adorn the fountains, in the center of St. Peter's Square. The upper basin is decorated with small reliefs that produce an effect of fine droplets spreading like a very fine veil of water. The authorship of these fountains is associated with Carlo Fontana who himself claims them as a work of Bernini (Gian Lorenzo Bernini)... Mystery. Maybe you will know more during a guided tour.

The wind rose, created by Filippo gigli in 1817, gives information about the 8 winds that cross the city of Rome, the sundial has the obelisk as its needle.

St. Peter's Basilica

Built in the 4th century, it was, from the early Middle Ages, the most important pilgrimage site in the West. It underwent major modifications in the 16th century under the impetus of Pope Julius II: what had been only a church for 1,200 years was at risk of falling into ruin and was replaced by the current basilica starting from 1506, the beginning of construction. This work lasted a century, thousands of workers participated in this titanic construction project in downtown Rome. The facade and nave were designed by architect Carlo Maderno.

Grandiose, monumental, superb... Superlatives are usually not lacking in visitors' comments as the exterior and interior views are simply fabulous. A legendary monument. Richness of decoration, fineness of details, monumental pillars, polychrome marbles, the dome designed by Michelangelo, the funeral monument of Pope Alexander VII Chigi... To finish the visit beautifully, thanks to an access that will take you to the top of the dome, you will have an exceptional 360-degree view of the city of Rome, the colonnades, the fountain, and its crowd of visitors, regardless of the schedule.