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Bernini’s Baldacchino shines again at St. Peter’s
The Baldacchino, the great canopy above the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica designed by Baroque master architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, has been revealed in its original shining gilded glory after nine months of restoration. Funded by the Knights of Columbus at a cost of 700,000 euros ($770,000), this is the first comprehensive restoration of the massive 10-story structure in 260 years. It has only been dusted and superficially cleaned (by people suspended from ropes).
Pope Urban VIII Barberini (1623-1644) commissioned Bernini to create a grandiose ciborium (a canopy under which the sacrament of Communion took place) for the new basilica in 1624. The Baldacchino was inaugurated in 1633, but work would continue for another two years after that.
More than 95 feet high and weighing 63 tons, the Baldacchino is located at the crossing of the apse and the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, the very heart of the church under the dome and above the tomb of St. Peter. The four helical columns are 37 feet high and weigh about nine tons. Bernini cast them in three sections and partially filled them with concrete for stability. They took so much bronze to make that they looted some from the bronze lattice of portico of the Pantheon and even cannibalized the ribs of the dome of St. Peter’s which were then recovered in lead.
The columns spiral upwards from marble and alabaster pedestals bearing the Papal coat of arms and the bees of the Barberini coat of arms. They are fluted on the lower third and wound with gilded laurel branches in the upper two thirds. They are topped with Corinthian capitals.
The corkscrew shape of the columns is known as Solomonic, based on the erroneous belief that a set of 12 twisted marble columns Constantine gave to the Old St. Peter’s Basilica to reuse over its high altar he had brought from back the “Temple of Solomon” in Jerusalem. Of course, the Temple of Solomon had been destroyed for 900 years by the time Constantine showed up, and the Second Temple for 250 or so. They were likely taken from a Greek temple as they are made of Greek marble.
When the old St. Peter’s was torn down in 1505, eight of the original columns were reused in the new basilica and can be seen on the four walls across the Baldacchino under the medallions of the Four Evangelists that link the massive square piers of the church to the round dome. Bernini used them as examples when he designed his enormous bronze columns. Today they overlook their replacements, incongruously tiny in comparison.
More bees, cherubs, dolphins, laurel leaves and grotesque faces adorn the columns and canopy. Panels with tassels edge the top, made to look like the fabric banners that would have draped over the processional canopies that inspired this immovable version. The inner ceiling of the canopy is made of gilded wood and features the dove of the Holy Spirit framed by acanthus leaves, harpies and, of course, bees. Angels stand on the four corners of the canopy while two cupids hold the papal mitre over the keys of St. Peter.
The size and complex materials (marble, bronze, iron, various types of wood, various types of gilding, paint) used to create this structure make it an enormous conservation challenge. Even the simplest of cleaning is far from simple, and less than 130 years after it was built, the Baldacchino was in need of thoroughgoing treatment. Documents in the historical archives of the basilica record that 60 people a day worked for three months to clean, consolidate, repair and replace damaged or worn parts of the baldachin.
The latest restoration project was announced in January of this year. The entire 10-story structure was covered in scaffolding and restorers began to clean centuries of grime, pollution and dust glued to the gilded surfaces by condensation from hundreds of thousands of breathing humans and temperature fluctuations. Bronze indoors naturally patinates to a mahogany color rather than the green seen with bronze exposed to the elements out of doors, but the bronze of the Baldacchino was almost black. Oils, waxes and resins used in previous restorations also darkened the surfaces. Cleaning and conservation returned it to its warm brown and brough the gilding back to a high shine. The restored Baldacchino was unveiled to the public and rows and rows of bishops on October 27th at the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality.
Also on display is the Chair of St. Peter, a wooden throne that according to tradition belonged to the Apostle Peter, but is in fact a medieval throne given by Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, to Pope John VIII at Charles’ coronation on Christmas Day, 875. The oldest parts of it date to the 6th century, so Peter was definitely not involved. Also, it is decorated with ivory panels engraved with scenes from the Labors of Hercules.
Usually the chair itself is not visible. It is encased in another enormous gilded bronze reliquary made by Bernini hovering over an altar while four gigantic statues of the Doctors of the Church Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Athanasius stand under its corners. The Bernini reliquary is currently undergoing restoration as well, so the chair is on display for the first time since 1867. It will be in front of the high altar until December 8th.
This video from the Knights of Columbus goes into depth about the restoration of the Baldacchino and captures unique views of the process.
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