The baldacchino, baldachin in English, in the Basilica of St. Peter was sculpted in bronze by the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Commissioned by Pope Urban VIII in 1624 to top Saint Peter's tomb this large structure also serves as a canopy for the Papal alter. A statue of an angel sits on top each of the baldacchino's four twisted columns. The canopy top is shaped like a dolphin's back to make the heavy structure look light. The baldacchino is decorated with elements of nature such as the laurel leaf and bee that symbolize Urban VIII and reflect the Baroque style of the times. And while all of that is fine and good what makes the sculpture really interesting is the controversy surrounding the baldacchino's bronze. Papal accounts suggest the bronze came from Venice yet most Romans accept as true the story that Pope Urban VIII looted the portico of the Pantheon to save money.