St. Peter's Square

Vatican, Vatican City State

St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbourhood or rione of Borgo.

At the centre of the square is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. It was made of red granite and is 25.5 metres tall. The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep. A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613.

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Address

Piazza San Pietro, Vatican, Vatican City State
See all sites in Vatican

Details

Founded: 1656-1667
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Vatican City State

More Information

www.vaticanstate.va
en.wikipedia.org
whc.unesco.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Colosseum (3,2 km)
Sistine Chapel (0,2 km)
Arch of Constantine (3,1 km)
St. Peter's Basilica (0,3 km)
Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (2,3 km)
Altare della Patria (2,3 km)
Pantheon (1,7 km)
Vatican Historical Museum (0,5 km)
Apostolic Palace (0,2 km)


Villa d'Este (28,8 km)

User Reviews

Daniel D. Reimer (5 months ago)
Impressive Square to be in the Vatican and have a beer at the same time.
vali ciudin (5 months ago)
Superb
Tshepiso Ramaboa (5 months ago)
amazing
Fleire Castro (7 months ago)
Huge crowd during pope's events
Franco Schettino (7 months ago)
Stunningly beautiful
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