- Feb 5, 2002
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Bees, pregnant women and lizards
The acknowledged father of Baroque sculpture Gian Lorenzo Bernini (“the Shakespeare of sculpture,” according to Katharine Eustace, editor of The Sculpture Journal) was only 25 years old when Pope Urban VIII commissioned him to fashion the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. He was already an exceptional sculptor, but not yet an excellent architect. However, clever boy as he was, he decided to call his lifelong rival, Francesco Borromini, to join him in this exceptionally important task. From this exceptional joint venture, an equally exceptional work of art was born: St. Peter’s baldacchino, a pavilion-like structure which is 98 feet tall (we’re talking a 10-story tall building inside a basilica) considered to be the biggest bronze structure in the world.
Now, whomever approaches the baldacchino will immediately notice that its twisted columns, modeled on the pillars of Solomon’s temple, are decorated with laurel leaves and, strangely enough, bees. In fact, small sculpted bees are to be found almost everywhere around the Basilica, both inside and outside. These bees are the symbol of the Barberini family, to which Pope Urban VIII belonged. Their coat of arms included three bees on a blue background, next to a papal tiara and St. Peter’s keys.
Continued below.
Hidden symbols around the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica
The acknowledged father of Baroque sculpture Gian Lorenzo Bernini (“the Shakespeare of sculpture,” according to Katharine Eustace, editor of The Sculpture Journal) was only 25 years old when Pope Urban VIII commissioned him to fashion the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. He was already an exceptional sculptor, but not yet an excellent architect. However, clever boy as he was, he decided to call his lifelong rival, Francesco Borromini, to join him in this exceptionally important task. From this exceptional joint venture, an equally exceptional work of art was born: St. Peter’s baldacchino, a pavilion-like structure which is 98 feet tall (we’re talking a 10-story tall building inside a basilica) considered to be the biggest bronze structure in the world.
Now, whomever approaches the baldacchino will immediately notice that its twisted columns, modeled on the pillars of Solomon’s temple, are decorated with laurel leaves and, strangely enough, bees. In fact, small sculpted bees are to be found almost everywhere around the Basilica, both inside and outside. These bees are the symbol of the Barberini family, to which Pope Urban VIII belonged. Their coat of arms included three bees on a blue background, next to a papal tiara and St. Peter’s keys.
Continued below.
Hidden symbols around the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica
