Mike,

You asked:

> but can anyone who has seen the entire flight of steps describe
> its length
>
> photos seem to indicate its height & width are irregular
>
> that much seems clear
>
> but what i would really like to see or fully imagine at this point is
> an aerial view or architectural plan of the entire piazza with
> colonnades & steps in full detail

If you will go to the map on the official Vatican site at
http://tinyurl.com/3gjob , you will see the plan of the steps in front of the
Basilica. They are the trapezoidal area with a half-round projection on the
front toward the ellipse. I've searched in vain for a photo with enough
elevation to look down onto the steps, but most are like this, taken from the
plaza: http://www.freewebs.com/europetrip2003/t337.JPG .

These, of course, are the steps up to the bottom of which the Italian police
jurisdiction extends per the treaty, even though within the sovereign Vatican
City State. In other works, the Italians police the public part of the plaza,
into which people may freely roam from Rome. The steps are behind barricades.
The Vatican authorities police those areas of the Vatican where they have
control of access.

Lowell G. McManus
Leesville, Louisiana, USA