Rome: Apostles and Martyrs

9. St Peter's Square

Roma, Lazio

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The Piazza San Pietro is one of the greatest and most religious gathering points on the planet, built in and located in Vatican City in front of St. Peter's Basilica. It partly lies on the track of the Circus of Nero. Caligula, on land owned by his mother, started the constructing the circus and for a while it was the center of Roman entertainment. By the mid-60s AD it was regularly used for the crucifixion of Christians, with crosses erected along the central spine of the racetrack, between the two large stone turning posts. Part of the circus became Piazza San Pietro, with its curved shape serving as a distant echo of the spaces' bloodthirsty origins. At the center of the ovato tondo stands an Egyptian obelisk of red granite, standing 26 meters tall, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by the Chigi arms in bronze, which was situated on the spot where St Peter died for his faith. This has now been moved from its original location to inside the walls of the Vatican City and is not easily accessible by the general public. The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis by an unknown pharaoh of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt (2494 BC-2345 BC). During its more than 4400 year history, the obelisk has been successfully moved three times. Emperor Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD, had the obelisk moved to the Julian Forum of Alexandria, where it stood until 37, when Caligula ordered the forum demolished and transferred the obelisk to Rome. It was placed on the spina, which ran along the center of the Circus of Nero, where it presided over the arena's brutal games. Photo credit: John SY Lee