Papacy And Religion

The ruling Papacy in Rome during the 17th century was predominately concerned with spiritual its rule and an assertion of its authority, the approach of which had recently undergone a change in response to Protestantism and the Counter Reformation. The work on art and architecture at St Peters reflected the change in approaches towards religious representation, as it became more extravagant and acted as a physical embodiment of the church. The Papacy had often used visual representation as a form of religious communication; however this was a new style of display, in response to new objectives.

St Peters, as a symbol and centre of symbol of the Catholic Church and its power, was extremely significant in its establishment of a visual identity.
Also, in this way the visual components of the Catholic faith could be used to resemble some sort of ‘mystical revelation of Paradise’ as a way of making the claims of the church seem like a close reality. Another reason for this change, was that the Counter Reformation Catholicism had reworked the abstraction and ambiguity of much Renaissance theology and reverted to an almost medieval emphasis on direct, empathetic physical, and emotional aspects of worship. Allegorical figures of various virtues and statues representing the founders of the religious considerably became the focus. Protestantism was in nature, iconoclastic, and challenged the Catholic notions of visual identity and religious iconography. The physical presence of the church emphasised its extravagant
The Baldacchinno, with its column design and use of motif on a large scale, represents a “macroscopic seal uniting the Old Testament wisdom of Solomon, the Christian tradition of Constantine, and the rebirth of a triumphal Church under the guidance of the Berberini