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"A Walk Through The Vatican"

At the very centre of the basilica, immediately below the monumental cupola, stands Bernini's Baldachin. This enormous, bronze baldachin (a part of which was originally in the Pantheon) measures 29 metres in height and covers the most sacred section of the church, the legendary, final resting place of Saint Peter. The baldachin covers the main altar, and the most eye-catching elements are the two, spiral columns that support it. There are a number of interpretations about the columns' intended meaning. The majority of experts agree that Bernini used them to symbolise the columns that supported Christ in the Temple of Solomon. Each column measures 11 metres in height and weighs 10 tons.

Bernini was only 25 when we built the baldachin, a structure that is as much an architectural feat as a sculptural one. Other artists, such as Pietro (Bernini's father) and Borromini collaborated with the young Bernini in decorating the piece. The baldachin is crowned by a globe that is encircled by the Barberini family's coat of arms. Some interpret this ornamentation as a symbolic gesture on Bernini's part to refer to the church's and the Barberini family's power. Pope Urban VIII, the pontiff who commissioned the piece from Bernini, was a member of the Barberini family.