St Peter's and the Vatican Palace
by HEEMSKERCK, Maerten van, Pen and ink, 276 x 623 mm
The Vatican loggias were based in one of Bramante’s projects, left unfinished at his death. The plan was to build three levels of superimposed walkways above the ground floor, with the external sides open to interact with the garden that it overlooked. The project was ultimately completed after the mid-sixteenth century under Pope Paul IV. The harmonious structure was conceived as an elegant fa�ade to mask the jumble of older buildings behind it, as seen in Van Heemskerck’s drawing from the 1530s.