- On 09/11/2024
- In curiosity
- Tags: St. Peter's Basilica
ST. PETER’S SQUARE, STORIES OF COAT OF ARMS AND SPECIAL STATUES
The St. Peter’s Square and Colonnade are, without any doubt, the biggest works commissioned by Pope Alexander VII. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, appointed by the Pope, carried out the square arrangement of the square between 1657 and 1667. As a symbol of the power of Alexander VII, on the top of the Colonnade, there is his Coat of Arms, representing the Chigi Family.
The most incredible particular of this Coat of Arms is the statue on its side: it represents St. Petronilla, the woman traditionally thought to be the daughter of St Peter whose rests were transferred to a nearby Chapel where Michelangelo’s Pietà was originally placed. Also, an interesting game of perspectives makes this statue very small if seen from below; actually, the statue is 3 meters tall