027.

Metà della Piazza di S. Pietro in Vaticano

This "half" (Metà) of the piazza actually encompasses most of the great oval defined by Bernini's two curved colonnades (3) since it includes both fountains in addition to the obelisk. The closer of the two fountains (2), bears the Borghese coat of arms of Paul V (1605-21), so it preceded Bernini's 1650s layout of the piazza. Bernini moved the fountain to its new location on the long axis of the oval, itself determined by the location of the obelisk (1) that Domenico Fontana had moved to this position under Pope Sixtus V (1585-90). The coat of arms of the Rospigliosi on the far fountain indicates that this dates from the period of Clement IX (1667-69). The view captures the whole of the southern colonnade, topped by twice-life-size statues of saints and three great coats of arms of Alexander VII (1655-67) who commissioned the piazza. Beyond it on the left are the gardens of the Villa Barberini (4). At far right Vasi shows a corner of the trapezoidal part of the piazza (5), known as the piazza retta, directly in front of St. Peter's basilica (see Plate 41), which also includes a view of the northern colonnade.