The open space which lies before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt,
designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing,
either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace"
(Norwich 1975 p 175).
Bernini had been working on the interior of St. Peter's for decades;
now he gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, using the Tuscan form of
Doric, the simplest order in the classical vocabulary,
not to compete with the palace-like façade
by Carlo Maderno, but he employed it on an unprecedented
colossal scale to suit the space and evoke emotions of awe.