St Peter's Square

At the end of Via della Conciliazione opens St Peter's Square, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667 for Pope Alexander VII. The two curving colonnades, with 284 columns in four rows and 140 statues of saints, represent, in Bernini's own words, the motherly arms of the Church embracing the faithful.

1An obelisk that never fell

In the centre rises an Egyptian obelisk without hieroglyphs, about 25 metres tall, which Caligula brought to Rome in the 1st century to adorn his circus, which stood right next door. It is the only obelisk in Rome that never fell. In 1586 Pope Sixtus V commissioned Domenico Fontana to move it to its present position, a feat of engineering that, according to Fontana himself, took some 900 men and 140 horses.

According to tradition, the ropes began to give way during the operation and a sailor, Benedetto Bresca, broke the order of silence to shout «Water on the ropes!», saving the obelisk.

2A border on the ground

The square is part of Vatican City State, created by the Lateran Pacts in 1929. The avenue you walked along was opened between 1936 and 1950 by demolishing the medieval blocks of the Borgo, which until then had hidden the square until the very last moment.

3What to look for

• The two stone discs between the obelisk and each fountain: stand on one and the four rows of columns line up to look like one.
• The strip of travertine on the ground at the edge of the square, marking the border with Italy.
• The two fountains, twins even though they were made more than sixty years apart.