Vatican Launches Restoration of Baldachin in St. Peter’s Basilica

Four hundred years after its creation, the famed baldachin that sits above the tomb of St. Peter in Rome will be restored ahead of the 2025 Jubilee year in what experts described as a titanic undertaking during a news conference at the Vatican on Thursday (Jan. 11). Nearing 100 feet tall and weighing over 60 tons, the bronze and metal structure decorated with gold details towers beneath the dome in St. Peter’s Basilica. The term “baldachin” derives from an ancient name of the city of Baghdad, Iraq, known for its precious fabrics. Four spiraling, 36-foot-tall bronze columns placed on 8-foot-tall marble blocks support a canopy made to resemble richly adorned cloths.