to the vaspiazza and its enclosg lonnade, in front of the basilica of saint peter.he is a rare man," said urban viii, "and a sublime artist borne by divine disposition and for the glory of rome." these statements by the pope about his favorite artist are significant in two ways. they were prophetic of the prodigious role bernini would play in his works for urban and the succeeding popes for a period of 60 years. rome was transformed into a modern city replete with public monuments meant not just for the elite but for everyone to admire and enjoy. the open arms of the vast porticos in front of saint peter's convey exactly this sense of outreach beyond the traditional bonds of society to include every individual in a universal embrace. this concern is made visible in what bernini described as "his least bad work." the cornaro family chapel, dedicated to 16th-century spanish mystic saint teresa of avila, which bernini created about 1650 in the church of santa maria della vittoria in rome. our eyes are met by those of the cardinal patron who looks out from among his anc