Vatican unveils plans for restoring Bernini’s canopy in St. Peter’s Basilica

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has unveiled plans for a yearlong restoration of the monumental baldacchino, or canopy, over the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, pledging to complete the work on Bernini’s masterpiece before Pope Francis’ big 2025 Jubilee. The 700,000 euros, or $770,000, restoration and conservation project, funded entirely by the Knights of Columbus and using the expertise of Vatican Museums’ restorers, marks the first comprehensive work on the 10-story tall baldacchino in 250 years. The structure, which is positioned over the basilica’s main altar to provide a ceremonial covering for the tomb of St. Peter underneath, dates from the 1630s, when Pope Urban VIII commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to create a canopy for the apostles’ tomb.