St Peter's Square

St Peter's Square, in the Vatican

St Peter's Square is the majestic esplanade of the Vatican, a masterpiece of Bernini, place of the great gatherings of Christianity. The Rome audio-guided tour stops here, with respect, to evoke this monumental square embraced by its famous colonnade, in front of St Peter's Basilica.

The esplanade of Bernini and its colonnade

You are on the sublime St Peter's Square, in the heart of the Vatican City, the place of the great gatherings of Christianity. It is here that the faithful, by hundreds of thousands, gather to listen to the pope and attend the great celebrations. This monumental square is a masterpiece designed in the seventeenth century by Bernini, the genius of Roman baroque. Its most spectacular element is the immense colonnade that surrounds it, formed of hundreds of columns arranged in two vast hemicycles, that seem to stretch out their arms to welcome and embrace symbolically the faithful of the whole world, in the image of the maternal embrace of the Church. In the centre of the square stands an ancient Egyptian obelisk, framed by two fountains. At the end, the majestic façade of St Peter's Basilica and its dome crown the perspective. A place of spirituality, gathering and beauty, a witness of the grandeur of the Catholic Church, St Peter's Square is discovered with respect. It is a major stop of the discovery of Rome.

What to see

You admire, with respect, the majestic square of the Vatican, place of the great gatherings of Christianity, a masterpiece designed in the seventeenth century by Bernini, surrounded by its immense colonnade with hundreds of columns in two hemicycles that seem to embrace the faithful, with its Egyptian obelisk and its two fountains, in front of the façade and the dome of St Peter's Basilica. St Peter's Square is a major place of the Vatican. It is a stop to be discovered with respect.

Practical information

St Peter's Square lies in the Vatican City, in Rome, reachable on foot. It is a vast open-air space, generally freely accessible with respect for the place; the crowd may be very large during the celebrations. It is best to check the arrangements before coming and to respect the sacred character of the place.

Who designed St Peter's Square in the Vatican?

Bernini, the genius of Roman baroque, in the seventeenth century; its immense colonnade with hundreds of columns in two hemicycles seems to embrace the faithful, and the square, adorned with an Egyptian obelisk and two fountains, is the place of the great gatherings of Christianity, in front of St Peter's Basilica.

Where is St Peter's Square?

In the Vatican City, in Rome, in Italy.