Tuscan Colonnades | Saint Peter's Square | Vatican City

Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter's Square) is enclosed by the Tuscan Colonnades, massive columns four deep. The Colonnades define the boundaries of the square and provide shelter for weary pilgrims. During the mid-17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed this plaza under the patronage of Pope Alexander VII.

Unlike the tourist infested fountains and monuments, images of the Colonnades benefit from the presense of people. How? People impart a sense of scale, hence the strolling pilgrims image above. Without people, it isn't clear if the Colonnades are 5 inches or 50 feet tall.

My visit to the piazza was more of a circus than than a gathering of devout, with dozens of marching bands, hordes of tourists and marauding gypsies. I entertained a fantasy of shooting sweeping panoramas of the piazza, but found the piazza unphotogenic due to barricades and crowds. Not all was lost as there were abundant details to photograph.

EOS 40D and EF-s 17-55 2.8 IS USM