What is the name of the large oval piazza in front of St. Peter's?

The large oval piazza in front of St. Peter's is St. Peter's Square.

Known in Italian as Piazza San Pietro, the square forms the ceremonial forecourt of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Its present design was created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Alexander VII between 1656 and 1667. The broad oval space is joined to the basilica by a trapezoidal approach, producing a carefully staged transition from the city toward the church.

Bernini's curving colonnades are among the square's defining features. Their four rows of columns appear to merge into a single row when viewed from special marble markers, an optical effect that demonstrates the Baroque interest in perspective and theatrical movement. The colonnades were also conceived symbolically as welcoming arms embracing visitors.

A tall Egyptian obelisk stands at the center, flanked by fountains. The obelisk was moved to its present position in 1586, decades before Bernini designed the square. A common mix-up is Piazza Navona, another famous Roman Baroque space, but that piazza is associated especially with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.