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Saint Peter Square
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Saint Peter's Square, remarkable example of baroque architecture and urban planning, is place of daily pilgrimage for thousands of Catholic turists from all over the world. The public square was created between 1656 and 1667 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the most important italian architect of the period.
He created a trapezoidal open space that starts from the facade of the church and widens in the two semicircular wings of the colonnade, creating an ellipse 240 meters wide.
The two wings of the colonnade, considered two big arms that maternally hug the people, are formed by 284 columns and have 140 statues.
In the middle of Saint Peter's Square there is the vatican obelisk, of Egyptian origin, that was carried to Rome by the Roman Emperor Caligola. The Apostolic Palace, residence of the Pope, rises above the right wing of the colonnade: from one of these windows the Pope appears every Sunday, to pray with the people and recite the Angelus; moreover, on the right flank of the church you can see the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where is set the Conclave, that is the election of the Pope, and only for this occasion a chimney pot is placed on the roof, to let the people know if the Pope has been choosen, through the black or white smoke.
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