St Peter`s Basilica Colonnade Unfluted Columns Editorial Photo

The colonnade is made up of 284 large, unfluted columns and 88 pilasters. The simplicity of the columns is intended to direct the eyes of the viewer to the front of the basilica. The space and structures of St Peter`s Basilica are an example of counter-reformation architecture. The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano, or simply Saint Peter`s Basilica Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri, is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal enclave that is within the city of Rome. It was initially planned by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the aging Old St. Peter`s Basilica, which was built in the 4th century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter`s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure.