Bernini's Baldacchino in St. Peter's Undergoes Restoration for 2025 Jubilee

In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee, which officially begins on December 24, 2024, St. Peter's Basilica has initiated a restoration of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's baldacchino, created between 1624 and 1635. The intervention involves 10 to 12 workers and is scheduled to conclude by November 2024. Alberto Capitanucci, the engineer responsible for the technical area of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, stated that the baldacchino stands 30 meters tall—equivalent to a ten-story building—with statues 4 meters high and a complexity arising from the mix of materials: bronze, gold, and wood. The baldacchino was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) and executed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini with assistance from his father Pietro, brother Luigi, Francesco Borromini, and Carlo Maderno. It is a gilded bronze monument rising nearly 30 meters on four spiral columns inspired by marble columns around St. Peter's tomb in the ancient basilica. Inaugurated on June 29, 1633, work continued until 1635. The last restoration occurred in 1758, involving about 60 workers per day over three months; it included cleaning, removal of oxidations, securing various components, and redoing some gilding. Beneath the baldacchino lie the Vatican Grottoes, housing St. Peter's tomb, the geometric center and heart of the Basilica. The name 'baldacchino' derives from 'baldac,' ancient Baghdad, whence precious fabrics came, inspiring a structure evoking a cloth canopy since the 1600s.