The announcement made by the Vatican for tourists, before the anniversary of St. Peter's Basilica. Among the novelties, a cafe on the terrace of the basilica
Illustrative image from St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. PHOTO: Pierrette Guertin | Dreamstime.com
The entire terrace of St. Peter's Basilica will soon be open to the public, including a cafe, the Vatican announced on Monday as part of plans to mark the 400th anniversary of the building's completion.
A new application and digital booking system are to be implemented for St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world and the center of global Catholicism, in the context of preparations for the anniversary on 18 November.
“The entire terrace of the basilica will be accessible,” compared to about a third at present, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti said in a press conference.
The “cooling area” that currently exists will be roughly doubled, reaching an area of about 100 square meters, he added.
The Vatican has so far tried to play down rumors about the terrace cafe project, which had sparked outrage over the possible commercialization of a sacred site.
In addition, exhibitions, including for children, related to the history, construction and maintenance of the building will be organized on the terrace.
A real-time booking system
The basilica is visited by around 20,000 people every day and is considered a jewel of Renaissance architecture, and managing the number of visitors is a major challenge.
The Vatican on Monday announced a real-time reservation system for access to the basilica, with a network of sensors monitoring the number of people inside.
At the same time, a new application for Masses in the basilica was launched, which will allow pilgrims to follow Pope Leo XIV's service on their smartphone in 60 languages.
At the basilica in the Vatican, the smallest state in the world, is the tomb of Saint Peter, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ and also the first pope.
The foundation stone of the basilica, which replaced an older one at that location, was laid by Pope Julius II in 1506, and construction was completed in 1626.
PHOTO: Pierrette Guertin | Dreamstime.com
