This is Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican, the best thing to see

The image of the St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican We cannot understand it without seeing it integrated into the imposing st peter's square.

When trips to Rome and go to visit the vaticanI tell you that the st peter's square You will undoubtedly find it impressive due to its dimensions.

But also for its great colonnades that give it that peculiar oval shape, and that surround the great egyptian obelisk which is located in the center.

You will be curious to know that in front of the St. Peter's Basilica The enormous square that we see today has not always been there.

History of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican

The urban configuration that we see now dates back to the mid-17th century because, before that, to reach the main entrance to the great basilica of the Christendom, the pilgrims traveled through an area called New Village,

It was an urban area in which numerous buildings were distributed.

In the year 1500, these buildings were demolished and a first large avenue was built between the San Angelo Bridge, Along the Tiber river, and the Basilica of Saint Peter.

This avenue was known as Straight Track o Via Alessandrina, which is the antecedent of the current Way of Conciliation.

It was between 1656 and 1667 when the project of the current St. Peter's Square, which was designed by sculptor and architect Bernini.

By then the central space was already occupied by the aforementioned great egyptian obelisk, located in said place since 1586.

The plaza was designed with two clearly delimited spaces.

Colonnades of Saint Peter's Square

As you arrive along the large avenue that is the Way of Conciliation, you enter a large oval plaza surrounded by two large colonnades semicircular.

Next to each of the colonnades there is a great font.

Initially, in 1613, a first fountain was built by Carlo Maderno, and after the remodeling of the square, in 1675, Bernini He commissioned the construction of the second fountain to place it symmetrically in front of the original.

And as you advance towards the great façade of the St. Peter's Basilica, and after passing by the great obelisk, you enter the trapezoidal area of ​​the plaza, which frames said façade.

Each of the colonnades that extend on both sides of the square is formed by a gallery of three passages, with four rows with a total of 284 Doric columns 16 meters high each, and whose diameter increases to maintain the proportion between available spaces and columns.

Above the colonnades there are a total of 140 statues of saints 3,10 meters high, as well as six large shields of the Pope Alexander VII.

Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square

For its part, regarding the large obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square, you may not know that it is a real egyptian obelisk

Indeed it was ordered to be built by the pharaoh Amenemhet II more than a thousand years before Christ in a single block of red granite.

At 25 meters high and weighing 330 tons, the obelisk in St. Peter's Square It is the second in height in Rome, after the Lateran obelisk, and it is the only one that does not have hieroglyphic inscriptions.

The reason why this obelisk was located in front of the St. Peter's Basilica, in the year 1586, it was because for many years it was built in the Nero's Circus, and it is considered that among the thousands of Christians who lost their lives there was himself. San Pedro.

El obelisk was brought to Rome in the year 40 AD from Alexandria on behalf of the emperor Caligula, where it was installed. In the aforementioned Nero's Circus the obelisk was dedicated to the Sun and the emperors Augusto y Tiberio.

To install it on the St. Peter's Square by decision of the Pope Sixtus The work of 900 men and 150 horses was required.

As a curiosity, it was thought that the bronze globe at the top of the obelisk held the ashes of the Emperor Julius Caesar, but during its installation in the Plaza del Vatican It was proven not to be true.

This globe was replaced by a cross and the lions that decorate the base were installed in 1818.

In short, one of the many essential visits on your trip to Rome.

Guided tour of the Vatican

If you prefer to visit the Vatican in a group with a guide in Spanish, you can sign up for this guided tour of the Vatican, which already includes the St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel.

Or also to a complete tour of Rome, which in addition to the Vatican, will take you to visit the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine.

Also, if your trip to Rome has religious reasons, here you have the information to attend Pope Francis' Wednesday audience.

Photos St. Peter's Square in the Vatican

Finally, here's more photos of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, which you will surely visit in your trip to Rome.