In 1655, Pope Alexander VII commissioned Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini to design a monumental square in front of the recently completed St. Peter's basilica.
"The immense piazza is bounded by two semicircular colonnades, each of which is made up of four rows of Doric columns. In the centre of the piazza is an obelisk brought to Rome by Caligula from Heliopolis in ancient Egypt." - Lonely Planet
The obelisk had served as a turning post in the chariot races at the nearby ancient Circus of Nero, where St. Peter was crucified.
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