In the second half of February, the restoration of the 400-year-old, 63-ton bronze, wood and iron gilded structure of St. Peter's Basilica, known as the “baldachin,” will begin. The high plinth, considered the mausoleum of the first pope, is expected to be completed by the start of the Jubilee, which is dedicated to the faith and called for 2025, in a work that will last ten months at a cost of 700,000 euros.
“This is a restoration with symbolic value, because the baldachin towering above the main altar represents with its majesty the location of the tomb of the Apostle Peter, to which the Vatican basilica is dedicated,” explained Cardinal Mauro Combetti, in charge. Basilica.
It will be carried out while the basilica is open for all Pope Francis celebrations and will be part of the first in 250 renovations to disrupt the 50,000 daily visitors to the world's largest church. It is the only collaborative work by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, the Boca-River protagonists of Rome's sculpture and architecture in the 16th and 17th centuries.
“Baltachino derives from Baldac, the ancient name of Baghdad, where the most expensive fabrics came from. In the Vatican Basilica, the four posts supporting these textile ceilings are replaced by gigantic twisted bronze pillars, a clear reference to the pillars seen around Peter's tomb in ancient basilicas,” Combetti explained.
More details at INFOBAE
