St. Peter’s Square is one of the great symbols of the world: a World Heritage Site, visited by more than 10 million people a year and a universal icon of the Christian faith. This Saturday will also be the setting for the “Grace for the World” concert, which you can stream, including on Network 4, Hulu, Disney Plus and ABC News Live. To make your experience from home even more complete, here are three interesting facts you may not have known about the famous Vatican Square.
St. Peter’s Square began as a circus
In the days of the Roman Empire, where the square stands today was the Circus of Nero, an immense enclosure with chariot races, shows and even public executions, including, according to tradition, that of St. Peter himself. As the centuries passed, the circus disappeared and, in the year 333, Constantine ordered the construction of the first basilica on this site. It was the beginning of a transformation that centuries later would give rise to the present square.
The colonnade hides an optical trick
Erected in the 17th century by Bernini, the columns of St. Peter’s Square stretch more than 300 meters and are topped by 140 statues. The most curious thing, however, is not their grandeur (which is striking nonetheless), but the optical effect they conceal. In fact, if you stand on a tile next to the central obelisk and look around, you will see that the four rows of columns line up as one. How to recognize the tile? it is circular, white, marble and it says Center of the Colonnade.
The obelisk was in danger of falling
The obelisk arrived from Egypt at the time of Emperor Caligula and spent centuries in Nero’s Circus. In 1586, Sixtus V ordered it to be placed in the center of the square-a titanic challenge for the engineering of the time, as you can well imagine.
The complexity was such that the story goes that, during the maneuver, the ropes holding it up began to give way, and before it all ended in disaster, a man in the crowd saved the operation by shouting “Water to the ropes!” Since then, this 25-meter block of stone remains standing firm in the Vatican as one of its great emblems.
On Sept. 13, St. Peter’s Square will add a new page to its long history with “Grace for the World,” the first live concert at the Vatican. It will be a unique day, bringing together artists from around the world on stage and sending a message of unity, in these times more than necessary. Karol G, Pharrell, Andrea Bocelli and John Legend will perform in front of thousands of live people and millions of viewers connected to the broadcast.