Vatican to Restore Bernini's Canopy in St. Peter’s Basilica

Yearlong $770,000 project, funded by Knights of Columbus, aims for completion ahead of Pope Francis’ 2025 Jubilee.

The Vatican has announced a yearlong restoration of the monumental baldacchino, or canopy, over the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, aiming to complete the work before Pope Francis’ 2025 Jubilee.
The restoration project, costing about $770,000, is funded entirely by the Knights of Columbus and will be carried out by Vatican Museums' restorers.
This marks the first comprehensive work on the 10-story tall baldacchino in 250 years. The baldacchino, dating from the 1620s-1630s, was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII and created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The restoration primarily involves a systematic cleaning of the dust-and-grime covered structure, which features four, 2.5-ton statues of angels at its height.
Other work is aimed at conservation amid evidence that some pieces are coming apart, and addressing centuries of degradation from changes in temperature and humidity due to the large number of visitors to the basilica.