Rome is making preparations for the upcoming 2025 Year of Jubilee, which is expected to draw in excess of 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City over the course of the year. To make ready, the city has launched a campaign to update its infrastructure and roadways, leaving much of the city looking like an open-air construction site for the time being.
While the city is working to prevent catastrophic road congestion, the Vatican is taking measures to ensure that the increased foot traffic will not lead to any unsavory attempts on one of its most priceless works of art: Michelangelo’s Pieta. It is not often that Vatican artworks are placed in jeopardy, but it has happened before and to the Pieta no less. In 1972 a man attacked the statue with a hammer and it required extensive restoration to return to form.
As a preventative measure, Catholic News Service reports, the Vatican is equipping the statue with a multi-layer protective glass covering that is both bullet-proof and shatter-proof. While there are nine layers of the glass, it is said to have been designed with “maximum transparency” in mind. It is unclear if photographs of the Pieta would be affected by the protective glass, but the Vatican promises improved visibility for visitors.
The office of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, which is entrusted with the care and maintenance of Vatican artworks, explained on its website:
“Specially designed by a team of experts, it will be equipped with an innovative high-tech anchoring system, carefully studied in every component for the best protection and enjoyment of the venerated and admired sculpture.”
CNS notes that the genuine statue has not been on display throughout the maintenance of the Chapel of the Pieta. The marble statue carved by Michelangelo when he was just 23 will return to the display after the glass is installed and just in time for the opening of the Vatican’s holy door on December 24, 2024.
