articles/The embrace of the Catholic Church made more inviting — theartnewspaper.com

Designed by the sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the crescent-shaped colonnade was last restored in the 19th century The throngs expected in Vatican City to visit St Peter’s for Easter celebrations and the canonisation of popes John Paul II and John XXIII will have the opportunity to see firsthand the results of an ambitious six-year, €14m project to restore Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s colonnade that encircles the basilica’s square. Designed by the sculptor and architect to symbolise the embrace of the Catholic Church, the crescent-shaped colonnade was built between 1656 and 1673 and was last restored in the 19th century.

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