Cielo: Bernini's dome becomes a starry sky in Rome

The Basilica of Santa Maria Montesanto, known as the Church of the Artists, in Rome's Piazza del Popolo, now features a light installation titled 'Cielo' by architect Susanna Nobili. The project transforms the 17th-century dome into a starry sky with projections of stars, nebulae, clouds, and comets, created by graphic designer Sergio Metalli. The installation is part of the 'Arte e Liturgia' cycle, which the church has promoted for over sixty years. The dome, originally designed by Carlo Rainaldi with later modifications by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (who made the plan elliptical and the cupola dodecagonal), was completed in 1675 with decorations finished in 1679. Nobili's work aims to restore the metaphorical reading of the cupola as a celestial vault, referencing the infinite multiverse. The installation runs from December 8, 2023, to January 7, 2024, open daily from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (except during mass from 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM). The church's history dates back to a smaller church dedicated to the Virgin, with the new building's first stone laid in July 1662 under Pope Alexander VII. Work was interrupted after his death and resumed under Carlo Fontana and Mattia de Rossi, supervised by Bernini.