Under Urban VIII's patronage, Bernini's horizons rapidly and widely broadened: he was not just producing sculpture for private residences, but playing the most significant artistic (and engineering) role on the city stage, as sculptor, architect, and urban planner. His official appointments also testify to this—"curator of the papal art collection, director of the papal foundry at Castel Sant'Angelo, commissioner of the fountains of Piazza Navona". Such positions gave Bernini the opportunity to demonstrate his versatile skills throughout the city. To great protest from older, experienced master architects, he, with virtually no architectural training to his name, was appointed "Architect of St Peter's" in 1629, upon the death of Carlo Maderno. From then on, Bernini's work and artistic vision would be placed at the symbolic heart of Rome.
Under Urban VIII's patronage Bernini's horizons rapidly and widely broadened he was not just producing sculpture for private residences but playing the most significant artistic (and engineering) role on the city stage as sculptor architect and urban planner His official appointments also testify to this—"curator of the papal art collection director of the papal foundry at Castel Sant'Angelo commissioner of the fountains of Piazza Navona" Such positions gave Bernini the opportunity to demonstrate his versatile skills throughout the city To great protest from older experienced master architects he with virtually no architectural training to his name was appointed "Architect of St Peter's" in 1629 upon the death of Carlo Maderno From then on Bernini's work and artistic vision would be placed at the symbolic heart of Rome