The centuries-old dust that has settled on the gilded bronze canopy of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican will be removed. After 250 years, Bernini's masterpiece will be restored in view of the Jubilee. This is a restoration of great symbolic value because the canopy, which stands solemnly above the main altar, marks with its magnificence the place of the Tomb of the Apostle Peter to whom the Vatican Basilica is dedicated. This is a costly initiative, made possible thanks to the generosity of the Knights of Columbus and especially challenging considering that Bernini's work is immense, as tall as a ten-story building.
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'The work that Pope Francis has authorized - explained Cardinal Mauro Gambetti - will conclude in December of this year, shortly before the opening of the Holy Door. I also want to point out that this necessary intervention is undertaken - for the first time in a systematic and complete way - 250 years after the important eighteenth-century restorations and exactly 400 years after the start of work on the Canopy'.
It was Urban VIII, in the summer of 1624, who entrusted the Superintendence of the work to the twenty-six-year-old Gianlorenzo Bernini, an architect and sculptor of his trust who however was not alone in this venture: he was in fact assisted by Francesco Borromini and a large group of skilled sculptors, founders, carpenters and specialized workers.
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