St. Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is situated to the east of the famous St.Peter’s Basilica in the city of Vatican, Rome.

The Square was redesigned in the Baroque architectural style by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and painted by Viviano Codazii in 1630. The design of the square was done by commission of Pope Alexander VII who wanted the great amount of people to be able to see when he gives his blessing.


In the centre of the St Peter’s Square is situated an amazing Egyptian obelisk of the 13th century BC, known as “The Witness”. The obelisk stands at a height of 40 metres, including the base and the cross on top, which makes it the second biggest standing obelisk.

The most prominent place in the square is taken by the two remarkable fountains, one on the right side of the square and other on the left side. Both of the fountains are very much alike with the only difference that they were built at different times.

The right side fountain was designed by Carlo Madeno and executed by order of Pope Paul V in 1614. The fountain depicts the Borghese family’s coat of arms and an eagle above a dragon.

The fountain on the left side of the square was established by order of Pope Clement X about sixty years later than Madeno’s one. It depicts an inverted pyramid of six stars.

The monumental colonnade of St.Peter’s Square represents the welcoming of all people around the world in the bosom of the Catholic Church. The colonnade consists of 284 columns, arranged in four rows which viewed from either side of the ellipse give the impression that the colonnade is composed of only one row of columns.

On the top of the colonnade there are statues of 140 saints, among them are the statue of St.Macrina, St.Francis, St.Benedict also the statues of St.Dominic and St.Ignatius of Loyola.

Undoubtedly the most famous statues in Rome are that of St.Peter and St.Paul, the patron saints of the city. Standing at a height of 5.55 metres, the St.Peter statue was designed by Giuseppe De Fabris in 1838-1840, while the statue of St.Paul was designed by Adamo Tadolini in 1838.

Address:
St.Peter’s Square
Vatican City
Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 06 6988 3712

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Naples: Visiting Pompeii

If visiting Naples then a visit to Pompeii is a must. Situated near Naples are the ruins of Pompeii.

Pompeii is a Roman city that lays desolate and partially buried after Mount Vesuvious erupted in 79AD causing catastrophe in the city burying the city and all the occupants who could not flee the devastation.

The city was lost for about 1,700 years under 60 feet of ash and pumice because of the huge eruption Mount Vasuvious caused and was discovered by accident in 1748.

Since Pompeii was found it has been carefully excavated to provide an amazing insight into the heart of the Roman Empire making Pompeii an important UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Undiscovered Pompeii

The reason that Pompeii lay undiscovered is because after being abandoned the people who managed to flee did not pass any information on to others about the citys name and location.

The excavations that followed once Pompeii was found have revealed whole buildings and streets intact along with ash castings of humans who had fallen victim of the eruption. These ash castings have been made into plaster casts so visitors can see just what happened to the people of Pompeii.

Visiting Pompeii

For over two hundred and fifty years since it was found Pompeii has been a huge tourist attraction with visitor numbers today reaching nearly three million a year.

Today Pompeii stands as the most popular of tourist attractions to visit in Italy and also one of the most historically important. Tourists have the ability to really explore large parts of the lost city (some areas are not allowed for health and safety reasons) to get a feel of just what living in the Roman Empire was really like and how devastating the eruption of Mount Vasivious was for the people of Pompeii.

You can also see the items the people of Pompeii used in every day life and the possessions they kept that were important to them as the ash protected many well preserved items. These items are now on show for visitors to see in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

The city is an eye opening and awe inspiring experience that really makes many people reflect on history and their own personal lives. If you are visiting Naples then a visit to the ruins of Pompeii should be top of your agenda.

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