Designed by the architect Carlo Maderno, the facade of St. Peter's Basilica, was completed in 1614. It is 114.69 metres wide and 48 metres high, and has an order of Corinthian columns and pilasters, over which lies an imposing cornice with a central tympanum, crowned by a balustrade with thirteen statues (nearly 6 metres high). An inscription on the entablature commemorates the fact that the façade was built during the pontificate of Pope Paul V Borghese (1605-1621).