MADERNO’S FACADE

The façade designed by Maderno, is 114.69m (376.28 ft) wide and 45.55m (149.44 ft) high and is built of travertine stone, with a giant order of Corinthian columns and a central pediment rising in front of a tall attic surmounted by statues of Christ, John the Baptist, and eleven of the apostles. The inscription on the facade reads:

IN HONOREM PRINCIPIS APOST PAVLVS V BVRGHESIVS ROMANVS PONT MAX AN MDCXII PONT VII
In honor of the prince of apostles by Paul V Borghese, a Roman, Supreme Pontiff, in the year 1612 and the seventh year of his pontificate.

The façade is often cited as the least satisfactory part of the design of St. Peter's, was viewed as not given enough consideration by the Pope and committee because of the desire to get the building completed quickly, coupled with the fact that Maderno was hesitant to deviate from the pattern set by Michelangelo at the other end of the building. The problems of the facade as being too broad for its height, too cramped in its details and too heavy in the attic storey. The breadth is caused by modifying the plan to have towers on either side. These towers were never executed above the line of the facade because it was discovered that the ground was not sufficiently stable to bear the weight. One effect of the facade and lengthened nave is to screen the view of the dome, so that the building, from the front, has no vertical feature, except from a distance.


Left side of the facade, showing clock, bell, dedicatory inscription, and statues of apostles and Christ. The facade is topped by 13 statues in travertine. From left, the statues represent: Thaddeus, Matthew, Philip, Thomas, James the Elder, John the Baptist, and Christ the Redeemer.