Saint Peter's Square - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

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About Saint Peter's Square

St. Peter's Square is probably one of the world’s most famous squares and one of the most breath-taking. Designed by Bernini during the seventeenth century, it houses over 300,000 people. The most impressive part of the square, besides its size, is its 284 columns and 88 pilasters that flank the square in a colonnade of four rows. Above the columns, there are 140 statues of saints created in 1670 by the disciples of Bernini.

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Activities Around

Attractions Near Saint Peter's Square

Apostolic Palace

Apostolic Palace

0.15km from Saint Peter's Square

A majestic 135-acre building complex in a garden setting in the city of Castel Gandolfo, Italy. It consists of a 17th-century villa, an observatory, and a farmhouse with 75 acres of farmland. It has been a museum since October 2016. It served for centuries as a summer residence and vacation retreat for the pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, and is afforded extraterritorial status as one of the properties of the Holy See. It overlooks Lake Albano.

Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel

0.2km from Saint Peter's Square

The Sistine Chapel in Rome is named for Sixtus IV della Rovere, who was Pope from 1471 to 1484. The interior walls of the chapel are covered in exquisite frescoes painted by some of the greatest Italian artists in history, including Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rosselli, and of course Michelangelo, who painted the stunning frescoes which adorn the ceiling. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling an

Vatican Necropolis

Vatican Necropolis

0.23km from Saint Peter's Square

The suspected grave of Apostle Peter is located in the Vatican Necropolis. The Necropolis lies nder the Vatican City, 5-12 meters below Saint Peter's Basilica, and it was originally a burial ground outside of the the city walls of Rome. Guided tours can be arranged here in advance, if you contact the office of the Vatican sponsored archaeological excavations(scavi).

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

0.23km from Saint Peter's Square

St. Peter's Basilica is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The basilica is the burial site of the St. Peter the chief amongst Jesus's apostles and is situated in the Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome.

Saint Peter's tomb

Saint Peter's tomb

0.28km from Saint Peter's Square

Located under St. Peter's Basilica, it was built to memorialize the location of Saint Peter's grave. The complex consists of several graves, and it is was partially torn down during the reign of Constantine I in about AD 330 to provide the foundation for the first St. Peter's Basilica.

Vatican Museums

Vatican Museums

0.54km from Saint Peter's Square

With 54 galleries, this is one of the largest and most visited museums in the world. The museum displays works from the humongous collection acquired by the Catholic Church over multiple centuries. The collection includes the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art. The museum contains about 70,000 art pieces. The museum was founded in the 16th century by Pope Julius II.

Discover More Attractions in Lazio, Home of Saint Peter's Square

Lazio

Lazio

89 attractions

Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,864,321 inhabitants – making it the second most populated region of Italy – and its GDP of more than €197 billion per year means that it has the nation's second-largest regional economy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the capital and largest city of Italy.

Location of Saint Peter's Square

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For more information about Saint Peter's Square, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Square

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