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St. Peter's Piazza |
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written
by minhan / 09.22.2005 |
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Personal Observations |
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In researching St. Peter’s and the history of Rome, I found it quite interesting to notice the shift in power and beliefs. Whether it was paganism or Christianity, the general theme was that the victor would allow the defeated to practice their beliefs as long as it was in private. It was interesting to read about the transition of Rome being the center of the civilized world and its inhabitants honoring the pagan gods to becoming the heart of the Catholic Church.
Personally as a Buddhist, I did not know much about the history of the martyrs of Christianity. Through researching, I learned so much and looked forward to seeing St. Peter’s Piazza through my eyes, someone that is not Christian but someone that appreciates the history and the spiritual importance of what St. Peter represented. Also, throughout the researching I began to form a passionate connection with the piazza and because of this, I understood more the importance of every detail Bernini designed. When I shared Bernini’s approach with the class as we went on our own little pilgrimage to the piazza, the class noticed the effects of light as they walked through the streets and then into the piazza. They noticed how in the streets, the only light source was above, which meant the pilgrims were drawn to look up, symbolizing looking up to God. It made my day to have them still be able to see the details of Bernini’s amazing talented work.
Most importantly, when I researched the piazza, it soon became apparent how important the theme of entryways was. Bernini’s son describes what Bernini had wanted to express in his piazza, “The Piazza and the cattedra are, as it were, the beginning and the end of that great church, and the eye is as much infatuated at the beginning on entering the piazza as at end on seeing the cattedra.” Bernini used the theme of entryway and exit ways by combining the two to form the piazza, where the pilgrim is doing both at the same time. As he/she enters the piazza, he/she is exiting the harsh world and as he/she is exiting the piazza, he/she is entering the basilica. Bernini’s path to the basilica contained many components of crossing the threshold, and each act of crossing the barrier had its own function and each induced its own set of feelings.
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