by Giulio D'Ercole
Photographing St. Peter's Square
Every day, all year round, thousands of people, Romans and tourists, visit Saint Peter’s square and Saint Peter’s church, the largest Catholic Basilica in the world. No wonder! The center of Christianity offers hundreds of points of interests, even to not believers. Great architecture, amazing art works, splendid remains of ancient civilizations are here wonderfully displayed at the door of the Vatican State. At the center of the square is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's art and architecture
Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church". A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613. Then on columnades of the square, the arms of Mother Church embracing and welcoming the pilgrims, there are, positioned one above each column, like silent witnesses, 140 statues. Built by Bernini’s collaborators, under his strict supervision, they represent Saints and Popes, the actual “religious guides” of Christianity, overlooking on the believers inside the square. They all lead to, or they all depart from, the statue of Jesus, positioned at the center of the terrace above the Basilica, as shown in this silhouette shot.
Learning Artsy Photography Techniques to Capture Mystical Beauty
With Giulio D'Ercole, you will discover not only all possible angles and points of view to capture the many amazing beauties that St.Peter's square offers to visitors, but also new ways and techniques to truly originally and creatively impress your camera sensor with artsy images, those that others do not have or do not see.
