View
from the Nave
Bernini designed both the bronze canopy straight
ahead, and the elaborate alter beyond (mouse over for detail
of the star-burst dove window at the far end).
Colossal
Cupid
These putti sculptures are more than six feet tall.
(mouse over for detail)
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The overwhelming impression of St. Peter's is
simple: it's big. Huge, elegant, awesome, its six acres can
accommodate 95,000 worshipers.
Craning my neck,
I marveled at the ornate domes soaring many stories overhead.
Whispers of hundreds
of visitors merged into a soft white noise. As my
eyes adjusted to the dim interior, the richness of detail
and material was reveled.
 Hear
the sounds of St. Peter's (1:00)
From the rooftop
balcony I spied down upon the 70 foot tall bronze canopy,
and the splendidly colored patchwork marble floor. For scale,
see the tiny figures of people in the upper left corner.
The massive splendor
is intoxicating, and I felt curiously dwarfed and
elevated simultaneously. Being here was awe-inspiring, but
there was another element to the experience that I didn't
expect.
While the beauty was undeniable,
there was also a distinctly eerie side to this great
cathedral...
Next:
Macabre St. Peter's |
