Tuesday, April 05, 2005

St. Peter's colonade a masterful illusion

St Peters Cathedral 25
St Peters Cathedral 25, originally uploaded by mharrsch.
Bernini planned the colonnade design by drawing chalk lines, and possibly using strings to carefully predict the visual illusions. - Father Gary Coulter

The Travertine columns were placed so that if you stood on the foci of the elipse, there appears to be only a single row of columns. The portico formed by the colonade is wide enough to let carriages pass through.

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