Nathaniel Kuffner St Peters Square today stands glorious in the heart of the Vatican City that attracts millions

of tourists each year. St. Peters Square was erected when Alexander VII was announced pope in 1655. He immediately assigned Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a visual artist, to create a new square in front of the St. Peter's Basilica. Bernini designed a massive oval shaped square that was 787ft by 643ft. There are many architectural aspects of the square that amaze people to this day, but the question is what does each part of the square really represent geometrically? A massive granite obelisk looms in the center of the square weighing 350 tons and standing 83 feet tall. The obelisk is a compound structure with a pyramid at the top and a rectangular prism near the base. The obelisk acts as a sundial that sits directly in the middle of the forum acting as the origin as some would call it. The obelisk uses angles to project a shadow that can properly tell the time within a minute. At the base of the obelisk are four lions that create a rectangle around the base of the obelisk. This massive obelisk was created entirely of geometric components. 140 colonnades encircle the obelisk each representing a different saint in the Christian religion. The cylinder shape makes the colonnades seem from above like points on the circumference of a circle. If a line were to be drawn from colonnade to colonnade, it would create chords and if one were to be drawn to the obelisk, it would form the radius of the forum. The colonnades can also create a cone with relationship to the obelisk. If all of the colonnades were to be connected to the top of the obelisk, a cone would form. Using the measures of the square having a radius of 393 feet, and a height of 83 feet, using the formula V= 1/3 r2h, the area of the cone shape would be 981000 ft3. That is enough to hold around 125000 gallons of water. Hundreds of spires, rectangles, squares, and triangles were all incorporated into the architecture of the Basilica. The entirety of the Basilica itself can be related to a compound figure. The body of the Basilica is roughly a rectangle and the dome is a hemisphere. If these two shapes were to be lain in a twodimensional state, it would almost look like the goalie box in soccer. The some of the basilica has some of the most perplexing design on it. For instance the turret at the top is made up of pillars that are arranged in a circle, and once again another dome. The systems of pillars are used for a way to control the sunlight that is let into the interior. Every aspect of St. Peters Square has geometry laced into its existence weather it is two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Circles were the main focus when designing the layout of the square. Wherever you look, you can see a little eminence of a circle or a sphere. Complex compound figures are also present in many structures across the site. There are still yet many things that are still to be unearthed about the construction and background of St. Peters square.

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Works Cited "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Gian Lorenzo Bernini (15981680). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. "St. Peter's Square & Basilica - Map." St. Peter's Square & Basilica - Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.