St. Peter's Colonnades, 1656, Vatican City Italy

Colonnades

 

The colonnades at St. Peters Square was designed by the architect Bernini. The colonnades define and enclose St. Peters Square in Vatican City, Italy. After spending years on the inside of the basilica, Bernini was offered to design the square.

The colonnades are constructed in the baroque school of architecture. Baroque architecture in Italy is the equivalent to gothic architecture in France. Baroque allowed Italian architects to distance themselves from the strict rules of the Renaissance. Often refereed as “Architecture for the senses”, Baroque offered a visual complexity not found in architecture prior to 1600. Baroque architecture blends the of architecture with art, blurring where architecture ends and decoration begins. ^[1]

St. Peters Square

Baroque architecture is characterized by fragmented or discontinued architectural elements, dramatic use of light; an overly artistic, decorative facade, and the use of trompe l’oeil (optical illusions). The Baroque style gave architects the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

When designing the colonnades at St. Peters, Bernini wanted to create a space that allowed as many spectators as possible to view the pope. The colonnades extend from St. Peters basilica, tapering as they reach the square before expanding into an ellipse. The colonnades appear arm like, this represents the maternal arms of the church.

Classic Orders

The colonnades were constructed using Tuscan columns. Four rows deep. Tuscan order columns are a simplified version of the Doric order. They were un-fluted columns with a simplified entablature. Not originally in the Classical Order. The Tuscan order was developed during the Italian Renaissance as a standardized, formal order.

[1] Roth Leland M. and Amanda C. Roth Clark, Understanding Architecutre Its Elements, History, and Meaning, Third Edition Westview Press 2014. P.365