Piazza San Pietro - Vatican

Piazza San Pietro - Vatican - Photo by: Cony

The open space which lies before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace" (Norwich 1975 p 175).

Bernini had been working on the interior of St. Peter's for decades; now he gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, using a simplified Doric order, to avoid competing with the palace-like façade by Carlo Maderno, but he employed it on an unprecedented colossal scale to suit the space and evoke a sense of awe. (Source of Wiki)

Photo was taken by Cony from NoobersTube at February 17, 2015 using SONY ILCE-5000 in photography details: ƒ/11 1/320 16 mm ISO100 under file size 16.7 MP 5456 × 3064, 5 MB.

Cony