Here is an image which reconstructs a peculiarity of St. Peter's Basilica of Rome, which for about 1600 years has stood proud and gigantic in a small valley, now imperceptible, located between the Vatican Hill and the Janiculum Hill. Here we see a St. Peter's Square without its classic colonnade, famous and brilliant work by Bernini. But what surprises mostare the two bell towers that adorn the facade of the basilica, whose enormous bulk partly ruins the harmony of the entire structure. Keep in mind how the facade was the last element which was completed before the inauguration of the St Peter's Basilica, after more than a century of changes in progress, changes in the projects, changes in the ideas of artists and architects. And sometimes the result the fact of all this can be not very harmonious.

Already Maderno, however, the last architect who put his hand to the central body of the basilica, took care to refine the enormous facade by adding two bell towers, which immediately however brought more problems than anything else. Probably due to structural problems, but also, perhaps, due to lack of funds, the construction of the two side turrets was interrupted, as well as the works. Only after a few years, an artist of undoubted fame resumed the project, driven by the papal desire to complete a titanic undertaking, which found its completeness in the inauguration of the basilica in 1626 (after even 120 years from the laying of the first stone). In fact, Bernini was called by pope Urban VIII in 1637 to direct the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the office that for more than a century had supervised the works and construction site relating to the basilica. Bernini followed the pontifical indications, for which the bell towers had to be erected on the sides of the façade, in order to soften it making it more harmonious, so as to diminish and weaken the criticisms that followed the construction of the façade. The genius of the Baroque, therefore, partially resumed the works already begun by Maderno and interrupted both due to the latter's death and, unfortunately, due to geological problems detected immediately after the beginning of the works. Bernini therefore partially resumed Maderno's projects, modifying them in a way by designing two tall bell towers of three floors each, a way to give verticality to the facade and make it a massive memo for the observer.

Already in 1641 the southern bell tower was solemnly completed and inaugurated on the day of Saints Peter and Paul, but unfortunately Bernini was not supported as he believed. Despite the efforts made, Urban VIII did not like the new bell tower at all, as he found it too thin, thus going against Bernini's intentions. Not only that, as the numerous, clearly visible cracks that the pontiff pointed out to the architect, mainly present on the facade of the basilica, at the height of the base of the bell tower, were the most worrying. Due to the numerous criticisms, and also because in the meantime Bernini threw himself heart and soul into the project of the magnificent bronze canopy still placed inside St. Peter's Basilica today, the work on the bell towers was interrupted. Unfortunately for the architect, the bell towers were never completed especially with the election of pope Innocent X Pamphilj when Bernini had to suffer the blame of the destruction of the bell towers, which took place in 1644, pontifical decision following technical and static surveys promoted by Borromini, Bernini's rival. An unhappy parenthesis, therefore, for the master of the Baroque, who in his brilliant career also suffered a small defeat.

P.S. Credit photo Roma Ieri Oggi