Baldacchino
A baldachin, or baldaquin (Italian: baldacchino or baldachino), is a canopy of state over an altar or throne, It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals.
A cloth of honour is a simpler cloth hanging vertically behind the throne, which may be combined with a canopy.
St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
Pope Urban VIII commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to design and construct a structure that would be placed over the tomb of St. Peter during the building of the new St. Peter's Basilica (located in Rome).
Bernini's design for the Baldachin incorporated giant solomonic columns inspired by columns that ringed the altar of the Old St. Peter's. These columns were originally donated by Constantine and a false tradition asserts they are the columns from the Temple of Jerusalem; however, the columns are probably from a church in Byzantium. The lowest parts of the four columns of Bernini's Baldachin have a helical groove, and the middle and upper sections of the columns are covered in olive and bay branches, which are populated with a myriad of bees and small putti. Pope Urban VIII's family coat of arms, those of the Barberini family, with their signature bees, are at the base of every column.
All of these combined to create an upward feeling of movement.
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