St. Peter’s Square - Vatican City

Pilgrims and visitors gather in St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) in Vatican City, and this camera looks across the vast piazza to the dome and façade of St. Peter's Basilica, where the pope leads services for huge crowds.

The square was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and built between 1656 and 1667. Its two curving colonnades, like arms reaching out to embrace visitors, are held up by 284 columns and topped with 140 statues of saints.

Vatican City, surrounded by Rome, is the smallest country in the world, covering about 109 acres (44 ha). The square is its most public space, open to everyone who walks in from the streets of Rome.

Did You Know? The Egyptian obelisk in the middle of the square was brought to Rome by the emperor Caligula and moved to this spot in 1586.

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