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Visit Rome following 8 XVIIIth century itineraries XVIIIth century Rome in the 10 Books of Giuseppe Vasi - Le Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna The Grand View of Rome by G. Vasi The Environs of Rome: Frascati, Tivoli, Albano and other small towns near Rome A 1781 map of Rome by G. Vasi An 1852 map of Rome by P. Letarouilly Rome seen by a 1905 armchair traveller in the paintings by Alberto Pisa The 14 historical districts of Rome An abridged history of Rome How to spend a peaceful day in Rome Baroque sculptors and their works The coats of arms of the popes in the monuments of Rome Pages on a specific pope Pages complementing the itineraries and the views by Giuseppe Vasi Walks in the Roman countryside and in other towns of Latium following Ferdinand Gregorovius A Directory of links to the Churches of Rome A Directory of links to the Palaces and Villas of Rome A Directory of links to the Other Monuments of Rome A Directory of Baroque Architects with links to their works A Directory of links to Monuments of Ancient Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Medieval Rome A Directory of links to Monuments of Renaissance A Directory of links to Monuments of the Late Renaissance A list of the most noteworthy Roman Families Directories of fountains, obelisks, museums, etc. Books and guides used for developing this web site An illustrated Glossary of Art Terms Venice and the Levant Roman recollections in Florence A list of Italian towns shown in this web site Venetian Fortresses in Greece Vienna seen by an Italian XVIIIth century traveller A list of foreign towns shown in this web site
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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

To the Italian visitors of my web site

(Metà della) Piazza di S. Pietro in Vaticano (Book 2) (Map D2) (Day 8) (View D2) (Rione Borgo)

In this page:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
The fountains
The obelisk
Coats of arms

The Plate (No. 27)

Piazza di S. Pietro

This is the southern half (metà) of Piazza S. Pietro, less known than the northern one with the Vatican Palaces. Vasi chose not to show the Basilica to emphasize the value of the colonnade by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The view is taken from the green dot in the 1748 map below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Obelisco di granito orientale; 2) The two fountains; 3) Anfiteatro (the colonnade); 4) Giardino Barberini; 5) Parte della piazza verso S. Pietro. 4) and 5) are covered in other pages.

Small ViewSmall View

Today

The view today

On a summer early morning the sun lights up the colonnade and the Piazza is not crowded yet.
Read Charles Dickens's account of 1845 Easter Sunday in this square.

The Fountains

Paulus V's fountain

The one on the northern side was the first one to be built by Carlo Maderno during the pontificate of Pope Paulus V. Some of the small pillars still show the eagle of the Borghese. The southern side fountain was added by Bernini (who also modified the fountain by Maderno) and completed during the pontificate of Clemens X.

Clemens X's fountain

The Obelisk

The ObeliskCoats of arms

Built in Egypt during the reign of Augustus, it was moved to Rome by Caligula who placed it in the Vatican Circus. In 1586 Pope Sixtus V ordered Domenico Fontana to relocate it in front of St. Peter's. So the Obelisk was the first element of the Piazza (to see all the obelisks of Rome click here). The lions, distinguished by a star on the head, are a reference to the coat of arms of Sixtus V. The eagles on the obelisk and on the small pillars were added by Innocentius XIII. The top of the obelisk is decorated with the mountains and star of Sixtus V. The lamp bears the coat of arms of Pope Pius IX.
In 1817, in imitation of Augustus' sundial in Campo Marzio, the shadow of the obelisk was measured and since then it serves as a gnomon and its shade at noon indicates the day of the year. The pictures below were taken on June 19, 2001 and the shadow is just slightly behind the summer solstice mark. Dan Brown set here an episode of his novel Angels and Demons; read some remarks on it.

The shadow of the obelisk


The Coats of Arms

South coat of arms


The colonnade is surmounted by gigantic coats of arms of Pope Alexander VII. The one in the centre of the colonnade is a "full" coat of arms of Alexander VII in the sense that it shows both the mountains and the oaks. The lateral ones show just the mountains. The one below (south west of the Obelisk) was included by Juvarra in his selection on coats of arms. The statues (90) on the colonnade are by assistants of Bernini, mainly by Lazzaro Morelli and Giovanni Maria de' Rossi. In 1702 Pope Clemens XI decided to put statues (50) also on the walls with pillars linking the square with the basilica.

South West coat of arms


Note: More information about Piazza S. Pietro is available in my page It wasn't done in a day (a clue to the decoration of St Peter's).

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Piazza di s. Pietro in Vaticano
Nell'antico campo Trionfale, ove i Gentili apparecchiavano i vani e superstiziosi trionfi, si vede la sorprendente piazza della Basilica Vaticana, la quale tanto per la vastità e magnificenza, quanto per la distribuzione e decoro de' portici, delle colonne, delle statue, delle fontane, e dell'ammirabile obelisco egizio, che in mezzo alla gran piazza tiene inalberato il segno della ss. Croce, fa restare sorpesa l'immaginazione, sembrando opera non umana: perciò volendo io dar conto di ogni sua parte, principieremo dall'
Obelisco Egizio
Nocereo Re di Egitto fece erigere questo obelisco in Eliopoli, e conforme scrive Plinio, di là lo fece condurre in Roma Cajo Caligola l'anno III. del suo Impero, ponendolo nel Circo Vaticano, che poi fu detto di Nerone per i suoi orti, che quivi erano. Stette in piedi presso la sagrestia di s. Pietro fino al Pontificato di Sisto V. il quale quì dirimpetto alla Basilica lo trasportò per opera di Dom. Fontana, ed invece della gran palla di metallo, che aveva nella sua cima, ci pose tre monti, ed una stella, che sono le sue armi, e sopra collocò il segno della ss. Croce, tutte formate di metallo, la quale avendo per il corso degli anni in qualche parte patito, nel 1740. fu scesa e ristaurata, ed in tale occasione ci fu posta una particella del legno della ss. Croce; perciò furono concedute varie indulgenze ai fedeli, che passando la salutassero con un Pater, ed Ave. Questo maraviglioso sasso è di granito rosso senza cifre, ed è l'unico, che sia rimasto intero dopo le rovine de' barbari, e l'ingiurie de' tempi; è alto palmi 113. e mezzo, e col piedistallo, e croce di metallo palmi 152. Paolo V. per accrescere ornamento fecevi il fonte a destra, e Clemente X. quello a sinistra, i quali sono ammirabili non solamente per la copia e deliziosa comparsa delle acque perenni: ma ancora per le tazze superiori di granito egizio fatte tutte d'un sol masso. Alessandro VII. finalmente col disegno del Cav. Bernini fecevi i maravigliosi portici in forma di Anfiteatro di ordine dorico, ornato di 320. grosse colonne di travertino con cornici, balaustri, e 136. statue rappresentanti vari Santi e Sante, di cui la Basilica tiene reliquie, e varj Fondatori di ordini religiosi.

Next plate in Book 2: Campo di Fiore
Next step in Day 8 itinerary: Basilica Vaticana