Spatial Analysis of the Route to St. Peter's Basilica

Spatial Analysis of the route to St Peter’s Basilica

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Fig. 1. Via della Conciliazione, Rome: view from the dome of Saint Peter’s.

Edmee Orombelli HTS – First Year Tutor: Emmanouil Stavrakakis

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At the heart of Rome, within the confines of the Vatican city, stands Saint Peter’s square as a transition point between civic and religious grounds. Located on the Vatican Hill across the River Tiber, it opens up to the public as a square divided into two parts that are surrounded and connected by two arms of white travertine colonnades on each side. These define and enclose the space to guide the visitors along the path towards the view of the dome. Bernini’s idea was not only to create a project that would in itself appear pleasing to the eye, but would glorify the solemnity and magnificence of the Basilica. It was designed to allow the greatest number of people to see the Pope give his blessing standing on any point in the square.

Fig. 2. Plan of St Peter’s square

The pilgrim’s journey begins from Via della Conciliazione, the road that originates down the western bank of the river Tiber. Other than being the primary access route to St Peter’s Basilica, it represents one of the much debated urban planning interventions of the 1930s, when Rome was under the fascist regime. The cluster of houses that existed prior to the construction of the square have been completely demolished in order to give rise to this monumental road leading straight up to the Basilica. It acts as a “visual and political frame”1 that reshapes, according to Mussolini, the urban experience of fascist Rome. Continuing along its sidewalk in the direction of the Vatican Hill, we reach the starting point of the cobblestone square where we are able to witness a sudden shift in space and geometry.

1

Kirk, Terry. "Framing St. Peter's: Urban Planning in Fascist Rome." The Art Bulletin 88, no. 4 (2006): 756.

First viewpoint: Entrance of St Peter’s square from Via della Conciliazione In entering the square, we leave behind us the longitudinal area that incorporates the existing architecture and witness a sudden progression into a more circular one, that extends along a perpendicular axis. This sudden shift in space and form marks the transformation of the whole scene, where only from this point on our path we are able to get a full perspective of St Peter’s square plan.

From a pedestrian point of view, one is striken by the theatricality of Baroque architectural elements and is absorbed by the vast expanse of the partially enclosed area that unfolds ahead of them.

Turning our backs onto Via della Conciliazione to face St Peter’s, we enter a point of transition between what Dr Beth Harris in her video reportage calls “the secular space of the city and the spiritual space of the Basilica”2. What we can infer from this statement is the idea that Bernini managed to turn the physical architectural scene into a representation of the more universal power of the Church, unifying the two in order to create a setting where Rome and the Vatican coexist in one reality. Thus it can be said that the objective to impose the papal authority over the Eternal city through Bernini’s design has in part failed as it seems to unite more than detach the two spaces.

As we are standing just before the porticoes, with their thick and almost impenetrable columns, they seem to “swing out powerfully toward us”3, dominating the scene. They act as a picture frame across which we view this impressive architectural ensemble that stands in front of us. Michelangelo’s dome, the monumental facade, the piazza with its central obelisk all become part of the scenography displayed by Bernini. In the distance, we catch a glimpse of the buildings that are part of the Church grounds and stand as a backdrop to the dome and colonnades. The facade, kept further back from the oval by the two convergent arms, results more balanced and slender in form by this illusory effect.

Instead of building a portico recalling that of the Pantheon, Maderno has decided to place the eight 90ft high columns, against the facade and made them protrude slightly outwards. This has created an effective juxtaposition of volumes heightened by the different colour tonalities. The apparently darker ones are standing behind and those that appear lighter are the ones that stand in front, giving a sense of depth to our vision. At the top of the facade, are placed thirteen statues in white travertine and two bell towers which raise the far ends of the plane to create an illusion of a compressed length. This also serves to frame the dome that stands above them.

Up until 1656, in front of the Basilica, all that existed was a vast, empty space without any precise confines except for the small buildings, and workshops that surrounded the nearby area. Following a Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. 2012. Gianlorenzo Bernini, Saint Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), Vatican City, Rome, 1656-67. Video. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press.

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proposal from Pope Alexander VII for the design of the square, the architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini wanted to activate the church so that it wasn’t static anymore, and instead moved out to occupy the space in front. This gave rise to his idea of creating two arms composed by four orders of columns that originate from Maderno’s facade of the Basilica. These start in a trapezoidal shape and then turn outwards into an elongated ellipses to accommodate the faithful and represent the universal embrace of the Church4. The choice of an oval form for the square, observed in plan (Fig. 2), probably serves best to create the idea of an enclosed area as opposed to a more circular and open shape.

However, it might have been chosen purely for a sense of aesthetics, as Bernini mentions it is “the form that is most pleasing to the eye”5. Similarly, the creation of the porticoes introduces a rhythm of columns that frame the square but never fully enclose it, leaving the main view of the Basilica unchanged. What strikes us the most is how this intervention managed to unify the space and merge with the existing Basilica to become one, impressive monument. The colonnades have enabled Bernini to embed Saint Peter’s within the urban space of the city of Rome, becoming the single, unparalleled emblem of Christianity. His choice of incorporating the pre-existing obelisk as the central core to his design, transforms it into a significant architectural object that symbolizes the power of the Vatican City. In his essay, Hanno-Walter Kruft mentions how it could be possible to view the square as a “revival of the idea of the Roman circus with a New Christian content”6. It is not by chance that this sacred artifact was removed from what was once the Circus of Nero to be re-erected with a new function, in the square. The fountains placed on its sides serve to create a sense of balance and subtly divide the square into what we will observe later are two separate, interlocking circles.

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Il Colonnato Del Bernini. 2014. Film. Sky Arte.

5

Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 14.

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Kruft, Hanno-Walter. "The Origin of the Oval in Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro." The Burlington Magazine 121, no. 921 (1979): 800.

Second viewpoint: Centre of the square

As we continue walking along the path towards the centre of the square, we become fully immersed within Bernini’s masterpiece and feel as if “enveloped and protected” by the colonnades that surround us. There is a complete permeation between the architectural scenography and the colours, light of the surrounding city. The balustrade at the top of the colonnades, is crowned by an ‘army of saints’ in white travertine that stand up high against the clear, blue sky of Rome. As author Timothy Kitao mentions in his study, Bernini’s strength in urban planning was “closely linked to his scenographic approach to architecture”7. In fact, it is this idea of theatricality that enables him to create such a mesmerizing effect for the visitors when standing at the feet of these massive sculptures which seem to become part of the religious events that take place in the square.

The design of the colonnades is layed out in a circular geometry with a central obelisk that blocks the passage in the middle and channels us between it so that the viewer is unable to experience what initially seems the exact centre of the oval. However, we soon realize that the square is actually formed by two hemicycles that should be viewed only one at a time. They take the shape of an elongated ellipses which gives the colonnades their “immediate, tangible and dramatic”8 form. Their respective centres are marked on the ground by two porphyry discs positioned on a line that cuts horizontally through the midpoint of the cobblestone square. Standing on either of them and looking at the colonnades, creates an optical illusion intentionally devised by Bernini: the four rows of columns at that specific point merge into one and leave us with a perfect view of the Borgo and the streets around. The apparently random layout of the columns becomes ordered and clear creating a sense of geometric consistency. What once seemed an enclosed and tight space by the entrance from Via della Conciliazione, now opens up and gives freer circulation between the square and its surroundings. In fact, during that time, there had to be large spaces and escape routes to enable religious processions to take place and that is why Bernini decided to incorporate cross-passages that intercepted the aisles at specific points.

It is curious to observe a pagan monument standing right in the centre of one of the greatest squares devoted to members of the Catholic church. For the pagans, the obelisk was a solar symbol that represented a vital connection between heaven and earth, a route of communication with the divine.

Therefore its presence can be interpreted as a means of uniting humanity and acting as a universal

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 1-30, 69.

Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 1-30, 2.

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emblem of the Vatican City. As mentioned previously, it originates from an ancient circus that was built in the Vatican area and this suggests how Bernini has been able, to “reconcile a respect for antiquity with the functional needs of the present�9.

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Kruft, Hanno-Walter. "The Origin of the Oval in Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro." The Burlington Magazine 121, no. 921 (1979): 800.

Third viewpoint : Basilica’s facade As we continue walking along the path towards the Basilica’s facade, we witness a “progression from a more public space to a more private one”10 as the main components become “narrower, shallower, more closed”11. As we can observe in plan (Fig. 2), the area shifts from the previous elliptical shape into an elongated trapezoidal form so that the longer length of the trapezoid corresponds to the facade. Thus the movement that the design of the square strives to achieve is completely altered in our views as we now perceive it shaping "flow rather than collection”12, leading us towards our encounter with the religious temple. From a self-contained space, the area shifts into a directional route creating a stark contrast between the two. Even though the trapezoidal area is closed laterally, it opens up to the Basilica and as Kitao mentions in his study,“ the development is better characterized as an avenue than as an enclosure”13. This path was devised to guide the visitors to the main stage of the theatrical scenario that ends with the impressive view of St Peter’s facade, erected as a frame to the magnificent dome.

Once we turn our backs to the facade and look in the direction of our starting point, at the end of Via della Conciliazione onto the square, we get a clear view of the whole layout. The focus becomes the obelisk, which marks the centre of the square and gives the direction to the long strip of land that reaches further down into the western bank of the river. From this point, Bernini’s colonnades do not act as a set frame to enclose the Vatican city anymore, and instead turn into a lens through which the visitors can experience their connection to the surrounding city of Rome. According to Kuff’s study we can observe how the “ancient architecture and its Christian function are amalgamated into a whole”14.

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 8.

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 8.

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 8.

Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 8.

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Kruft, Hanno-Walter. "The Origin of the Oval in Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro." The Burlington Magazine 121, no. 921 (1979): 800.

It is here, at the end of our route that we are challenged on whether Bernini’s project succeeded in unifying the civic and religious grounds or whether it turned out into a disassociation of the two. But of course this is left to the single viewer, which as the architect wanted, becomes the “protagonist of the architectural space it defines”15 and thus is forced to interact with this theatrical setting.

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Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 70.

Bibliography

Books & E-books Angela, Alberto. 2017. San Pietro. Milano: Rizzoli.

Carlini, Alessandra, and Paola Magrone. 2017. Ellipses And Ovals In The Physical Space Of St Peter's Square In Rome. Ebook. Bratislava. http://www.formulas.it/formulog/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/0295_Carlini_Magrone.pdf.

Journal Articles Kirk, Terry. "Framing St. Peter's: Urban Planning in Fascist Rome." The Art Bulletin 88, no. 4 (2006): 756-76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067285 Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, 1-30, 67-70. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/fulcrum.vh53ww10x.

Kruft, Hanno-Walter. "The Origin of the Oval in Bernini's Piazza S. Pietro." The Burlington Magazine 121, no.

921 (1979): 796-801. http://www.jstor.org/stable/879774.

Videos & Films Il Colonnato Del Bernini. 2014. Film. Sky Arte.

Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. 2012. Gianlorenzo Bernini, Saint Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), Vatican City, Rome, 1656-67. Video. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Appendix

Fig. 1 - St Peter's Square, Vatican City. 2007. Image. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Peter%27s_Square,_Vatican_City_-_April_2007.jpg.

Fig. 2 – Rome, Piazza Obliqua , the “Vatican Plan”. Kitao, Timothy Kaori. 1974. "Circle And Oval In The Square Of Saint Peter's: Bernini's Art Of Planning". New York University Press, Illustrations. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/fulcrum.vh53ww10x.