View Page: Bernini's work at St. Peter's

	Bernini's work at St. Peter's
	written by juliatm / 09.28.2004

Section Four

4 of 5

Personal Observations

One of Bernini's spots

One of the two viewpoints that Bernini enjoyed, from which the columns appear in single rank, marked inconspicuously by stone disks amongst the cobblestone.

During the excavation process for the foundation of the baldachino columns pagan sarcophagi were encountered, and it had never occurred to some people that St. Peter would be buried among non-Christians. Weird coincidences began to take place a few days into digging; the Keeper of the Vatican Library who was asked to keep a memorandum of the excavations suddenly died. Other deaths of those connected with the project followed, including the Pope's own private chaplain, and Urban himself fell ill. Upon the Pope's recovery, work was carried on and pagan and Christian relics continued to be uncovered.

Of a particularly conspicuous nature are the Barberini bees placed seemingly at random on the Urban VIII's tomb. Upon being questioned by a churchman (who apparently Bernini disliked) about the bees, Bernini said, "Yes, they are scattered, but as you know, bees reassemble at the sound of a bell." This cryptic remark was in fact a warning, and referred to the Cardinal-Nephews of Urban VIII who had fled to Italy after his death. When the Barberini cardinals heard the sound of a bell marking the death of a pope and announcing a meeting to elect a new successor, they would indeed return. Bernini was therefore, as this remark reflects, well aware that he might suffer personally as a result of the political upheaval that accompanied each new papal succession.

Walking across the piazza, this forest of 284 columns is four columns deep, and this depth adds to the idea of a fully-encompassed space. There are, however, two points along the broad axis of the piazza (spanning the obelisk and two fountains) from where the four-column-deep colonnades line up in single file.

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