This splendid square was conceived by Michelangelo, who also designed the two palaces on the opposite sides of the square, whoose divergence creates a widening perspective which is most effective. It is reached by the grand flight of steps known as the "Cordonata", built to a design by Michelangelo especially for the triumphal entry of the Emperor Charles V in 1536. Michelangelo placed on a new pedestal the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), removed in 1981 for some delicate restoration and situated on the ground floor of the Museo Capitolino.

In the classical period the site was occupied by Nero's Circus, between the Tiber, the Janiculum, and the Vatican Hill, and St.Peter's,the Prince of the Apostles, was martyred and then buried here. Pope Anacletus had already had a small basilica, ad corpas, or a simple shrine built here.

The Basilica of St. Peter's in Vatican also contains a whole collection of famous monuments, from Michelangelo's Pieta to the venerated effigy of St. Peter shown in the act of blessing, which dates to the 13th century; Bernini's Funeral Monument for Pope Urban VIII, and the analogous Funeral Complex for Paul III by Guglielmo Della Porta, the bronze Tomb created by Antonio Pollaiolo for Pope Innocent VIII, which was part of the original St. Peter's, and the neoclassic Monument to the Stuarts by Canova.

[source:ebeijing.gov.cn]