St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City

St. Peter’s Square (Italian: Piazza San Pietro) is the great open space in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, at the heart of Vatican City. It was laid out by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1656–1667: two curved colonnades of 284 columns in four rows, topped by 140 statues of saints, enclose an oval about 240 meters across, like the open arms of the Church welcoming the faithful. The square is free and belongs to the Vatican, but there are no border controls: you simply walk in from Rome, usually along Via della Conciliazione from the Tiber.

In the centre stands a 25.5-meter Egyptian obelisk without hieroglyphs, brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula around 37 AD for the Circus of Nero, which lay on this site; it was moved to the square in 1586. It is flanked by two fountains, one by Carlo Maderno (1613) and a matching one added in the 1670s. According to tradition, the Apostle Peter was crucified in the Circus of Nero and buried nearby, which is why the basilica stands here.

The entrance to the basilica, which is also free, is through the security check under the right-hand colonnade; shoulders and knees must be covered. On Sundays at noon the Pope recites the Angelus from a window of the Apostolic Palace on the right, and on many Wednesday mornings he holds the general audience in the square; at Christmas and Easter he gives the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central loggia of the basilica. In December a large Christmas tree and a Nativity scene are set up in the square.

Key points:

• Designed by: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1656–1667.
• Colonnade: 284 columns in four rows, 140 statues of saints.
• Obelisk: 25.5 m, about 41 m with its base and cross.
• Entry: the square and the basilica are free; security check for the basilica.
• Getting there: metro line A to Ottaviano, then about 10 minutes on foot.