At a press conference, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said that the entirety of the basilica’s rooftop terrace will now be fully accessible to visitors, compared with only about one-third of it previously. The existing “refreshment area” beneath Michelangelo’s dome will be nearly doubled in size to roughly 100 square meters to accommodate more space for pilgrims to rest and enjoy views of the Vatican. 

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Публикация от Hanna (@aerialviewworld)

The terrace expansion is part of broader efforts to improve visitor flow and enhance contemplation inside the basilica, which draws about 20 000 people a day. Exhibitions will also be hosted on the terrace, featuring educational displays on the basilica’s construction and history, with some activities designed specifically for children.

Gambetti acknowledged prior controversy over reports of a café at the site, which some critics saw as a commercialisation of sacred space. Officials have stated that providing basic refreshments for weary visitors, many of whom have climbed to the cupola, aligns with the tradition of welcoming pilgrims.

In addition to the terrace work, the Vatican is rolling out technological upgrades designed to make the basilica more accessible to a global audience. A new “liturgies” app and associated QR-code system will allow worshippers attending Mass inside St. Peter’s to follow the liturgy in up to 60 languages in real time on their smartphones. The service uses artificial intelligence developed in partnership with the Rome-based language services company Translated to provide both audio and text translations without requiring users to download a separate app. 

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Публикация от Roberto Celestri (@roberto_celestri)

“In making available a tool that helps many to understand the words of the liturgy, we wish to serve the mission that defines the centre of the Catholic Church, universal by its very vocation,” Cardinal Gambetti said in a statement about the translation platform.

The Vatican is also introducing a real-time booking system to help regulate crowds and shorten long entry queues that form on busy days. Behind the scenes, a new digital “Beyond the Visible” project has created a detailed 3D model of the entire basilica complex to support monitoring and maintenance work. 

Officials said the anniversary initiatives aim to balance reverence for the basilica’s sacred function, as the site of St. Peter’s tomb and a focal point of global Catholicism, with practical adjustments that reflect the needs of millions who visit each year.

L’article St Peter’s Basilica marks 400th anniversary with terrace cafe and AI-translated mass in 60 languages est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Indefinitely separated from the outside world, the cardinals are holding their secret election. They will not only be eating and sleeping in the Sistine Chapel but will have no signal until a decision on the next pope is made. The only way to communicate with the outside world during the conclave is the smoke signalling whether a majority has been reached.

For the 2025 conclave, which began on 7 May 2025, 133 cardinal electors will vote on choosing a new leader. The required votes to elect the next pope are 89.

Interestingly, food has been one of the riskiest things, as meals and provisions keep being delivered or taken out. A cardinal’s tortellini may deliver a secret message, or they can share an update on a dirty napkin.

Food stuffing used to be highly regulated. For example, dishes such as whole chicken or closed pies were not allowed as they may have carried a secret message. Furthermore, water and wine were delivered only in clear glass bottles, while napkins were carefully examined.

Nowadays, fears that food might conceal secret messages have largely disappeared. The real concern is illicit electronic communication.

For the 2025 conclave, nuns at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where the cardinals live while they’re locked away, will be cooking simple, traditional meals from the Lazio region around the Vatican and the nearby Abruzzo area. The meals include lamb skewers, spaghetti, boiled vegetables, and vegetable soup. These meals are prepared under strict oversight, while food deliveries are carefully inspected by Italian and Swiss guards.

“The food is pretty ordinary — pasta, soup and fruit, which is how Francis wanted it — but some are looking for something better,” said a Vatican insider who has eaten there. “Restaurants also mean more privacy if you are in a small group,” he added.

However, food and having a meal together seem to be an act of great importance. One example is the 2024 movie Conclave, in which many scenes take place not anywhere else but in the cafeteria. In fact, noisy and lively meals are the exact opposite of the entirely silent voting process.

While the movie’s accuracy in portraying the reality of a conclave is debatable, it underscores the broader cultural truth that in papal circles and everywhere else, the food eaten, the way of eating, and the dining companions convey meaning.

L’article Inside the conclave: what cardinals eat during the pope’s election est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

That means the 133 cardinals who have travelled to Rome from various countries to meet in secrecy in the Sistine Chapel will have no signal or means of communication with the outside world until a decision on the next leader of the Catholic church has been made. “The signal will be restored after the announcement of the election of the supreme pontiff,” the Vatican said in a statement.

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Old methods and new

The cardinals have handed in their mobiles and, wearing red robes and gold and white mitred hats, sworn an oath of “absolute and perpetual secrecy.” However, more scientific methods are also being applied to the issue of confidentiality. To remove all temptation or attempts at surveillance during the conclave, signal jamming devices are being deployed. A human shield also protects the building in the form of thousands of police and Swiss Guards.

When the decision on the new Pope has been reached, a white smoke signal will be issued from the chapel’s chimney. Black smoke signifies that no successor has yet been agreed and until the time the choice is made, the conclave – which means “with key” in Latin, indicating the cardinals are locked in – must continue.

Wider restrictions

It is not only the Cardinals who are affected by the blackout. The staff who service and maintain the buildings are also obliged to take a vow of secrecy and are “in full-time service, staying overnight in the Vatican, without having contact with their families,” the State Governorate said.

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What’s more, the area around the Vatican will be under strict a security regime during that time. Anti-drone systems, entry checkpoints, and metal detectors are among the measures and tools being brought into play by the Italian authorities.

However, the signal blocking will not extend beyond the cardinals’ immediate vicinity, so the crowds amassed in St Peter’s Square to pay their respects and bear witness to proceedings should still be able to use their mobile devices, a Vatican spokesperson explained.

L’article Vatican imposes signal blackout during conclave to elect new pope est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Professor Candida Moss, a theology professor at the University of Birmingham, told the BBC that the smoke in the air allows people “to feel included – as if they are incorporated into this mysterious and secretive affair”.

Black smoke signals that no decision has been made, while white smoke means Habemus Papam – we have a pope. This ritual is watched by millions and transforms the Eternal City into a stage of high suspense. 

During the conclave, two temporary stoves are set up inside the Sistine Chapel. One is used to burn ballots and the other to produce smoke signals by burning chemicals along with the ballots.  The stoves are linked to a narrow chimney that channels the smoke through the chapel roof to the outside. On 2 May 2025, firefighters were seen on the roof securing the chimney cap, while workers were building the stoves inside the chapel.

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This practice of burning the cardinals’ paper ballots dates to the 15^th century, intertwining elements of secrecy and spectacle. This tradition promotes transparency and guards against interference, especially in the past, when electing a pope was a frequent cause of public unrest and anger. 

The chemical compositions behind this religious ceremony were revealed in 2013 when the black smoke was created by burning potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar), and sulphur. In contrast, the white smoke was generated by using a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose, and chloroform resin. These chemicals are usually burned in the secondary stove to produce distinct smoke colours.

In the past, cardinals were using cartridges with specific chemicals to produce the smoke. According to The Times, during the 1958 conclave, black smoke was meant to be created by burning damp straw with the ballots, but it didn’t catch fire properly. This led to confusion as the initial smoke appeared white.

However, installing a chimney in the Sistine Chapel is an achievement. It is a detailed procedure because the Sistine Chapel was built more than 500 years ago, and it was not designed to deliver smoke signals. Securing the flue could be a difficult process with professionals using an existing opening or making a temporary one to insert it. Made of iron or steel, the pipe extends from the stoves to the exterior and extends through the roof above St. Peter’s Square.

“This is such a precise process because if one thing goes wrong, it’s not just a technical failure – it becomes an international incident,” Kevin Farlam, a structural engineer who has worked on heritage properties, told the BBC.

Over time, there have been proposals to modernize the process – using colourful lights or digital notifications. However, for the Vatican, this ritual serves not only as a means of communication but also as a connection to an old tradition.

L’article Centuries-old smoke ritual signals pope’s election est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Mercedes-Benz has been a vehicle supplier to the Vatican for nearly 100 years, including 45 years’ worth of so-called Popemobiles, some with armoured glass cages for the Pope to wave at crowds from. Now another innovation will bring the Pope fully into the 21^st century as Rome enters its latest Jubilee year in 2025, as the latest Popemobile incarnation will be fully electric with zero emissions, Mercedes-Benz announced after a private audience and the handover of the vehicle.

Adapted electric drivetrain for low touring speeds

“With the new Popemobile, Pope Francis is the first pope to be travelling in a fully electric Mercedes-Benz when making public appearances. This is a special honor for our company, and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust,” said Ola Källenius, the group’s Chair. “With this Popemobile, we are also sending out a clear call for electromobility and decarbonization. Mercedes-Benz not only stands for the special and individual – but also for consistently creating the conditions for a net-carbon-neutral new car fleet in 2039”.

With millions of people expected to descend upon Rome next year for the Jubilee celebrations, the Pope’s new wheels will have a specially adapted electric drivetrain, to cope with the low speeds required for touring the streets during public appearances, the company said in a press release.

The Pope has previously spoken of the need for sustainable development, in a so-called “encyclical” circular letter distributed in the Catholic Church. Mercedes says the new popemobile will contribute to the realisation of that doctrine.

Rotating heated seat and “floating” appearance

As well as modern green transition technology, the vehicle features “traditional coachbuilding style”, the manufacturer says and has been adapted to meet the Pope’s additional needs (he has been using wheelchair in public appearances since 2022).

Pillars have been removed to give “an unmistakable side profile”, a separate hardtop offers protection from the elements, and the left rear door was rebuilt by specialists from a single piece and seamlessly welded into the bodyshell. In keeping with the classic image of the Pope, the vehicle is painted in classic pearl white with crests on either side. And as well as being image-conscious, the vehicle designers took comfort into account, with a heated, rotating seat helping to keep the Pope warm and able to greet crowds on all sides.

“The Electric G is of course a car that could go anywhere,” Källenius said, saying His Holiness will be “almost floating across the streets in this very quiet electric vehicle.”

L’article Mercedes-Benz presents first all-electric Popemobile to Vatican  est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

As the Pope asks for an agrivoltaic plant, the project foresees the use of the land for suitable agricultural purposes alongside the solar panels that will be installed. Once completed, it should provide “not only the power supply of the radio station there, but also the complete energy sustenance of Vatican City State”, his Holiness wrote.

Calling for a global transition to a sustainable development model, the Pope noted that “Mankind has the technological means to deal with this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic and political consequences, and, among these, solar energy plays a key role.”

There is a need to make a transition to a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, setting the goal of climate neutrality.

Pope Francis

Although no more details have been revealed about the project, once completed, if it indeed manages to complement existing solar infrastructure within Vatican City to completely power it via renewable sources, the city state would become the 8^th country in the world achieving this milestone, according to the Independent. The other countries powered at least 99.7% by renewable energy are: Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Iceland and Congo.

The Papal dedication to the environment was made clear in another letter in 2015. Citing a “strong scientific consensus indicating a troubling warming of the climate system, (…) a steady rise in sea levels and an increase in extreme weather events”, he invited all of humanity to become aware of the need to make “changes to lifestyles, production and consumption, in order to counteract global warming, which has a pervasive use of fossil fuels as one of its main causes.”

Cementing global warming as one of the main issues the Holy City addresses, on 6 July 2022, the Vatican joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a global agreement among nations to address “dangerous human interference with the climate system.” More recently, in May 2024, Pope Francis acknowledged the difficulties of changing the world in an interview with CBS News. “[World leaders] hold a conference, everybody is in agreement, they all sign, and then bye-bye”, he critiqued, calling global warming an “alarming” issue that can no longer be ignored.

L’article Pope Frances announces plan for Vatican City to be fully powered by renewable energy est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The works – a late-Augustan veiled elder and a bust of young man thought to be an heir of the Constantino family – were among a vast collection of ancient busts and statues displayed in the museum’s Galleria Chiaramonte corridor, where the incident took place.

Matteo Alessandrini, the Vatican Museums’ press office director, told CNN the artefacts are secured with nails. “He pulled down one and then the other and the guards came immediately and consigned him to the Vatican Police.”

Dear #American tourist that smashed some artifacts at the #Vatican. Please don’t come back to America. You are an embarrassment.

— Bart Lomax (@blomax476) October 6, 2022

The 65-year-old visitor was reported as having a history of public indecency and mental illness. He was later taken into custody by the Italian authorities and faces charges of aggravated damage.

In the wake of harm to other Italian masterpieces in recent months, questions will inevitably be raised again about how to protect cultural heritage sites. This year alone, Dutch tourists have breached the Trevi Fountain, scooters and a Maserati descended the Spanish Steps, and in the most head-thumpingly ironic incident, a Canadian carved her initials into the Colosseum, leaving a perfect evidence trail for police.

This time, the repair work is expected to take up to 350 hours and €15,000 to complete. According to Alessandrini, one of the works “lost part of a nose and an ear, the head of the other came off the pedestal.” Miraculously perhaps, though the works will never be the same, the damage was deemed minor. Restoration has already begun.

L’article US tourist throws 2000-year-old Vatican artefacts on the floor est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica – also called “The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter” – was built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world. Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter. The entire interior of St. Peter’s is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture, and gilding.

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2. Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope. It is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescos that decorate the interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo.

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3. Pinacoteca

Pinacoteca is An Art Gallery and was inaugurated on 27 October 1932. The Pinacoteca contains 16 rooms of priceless art from the Middle Ages to contemporary works. The art gallery was housed in the Borgia Apartment until Pope Pius XI. The museum takes its name from two popes; Clement XIV, who established the museum, and Pius VI, the pope who brought the museum to completion.

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4. Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square)

St. Peter’s Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. At the center of the square there is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. The square and the basilica are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus considered by Catholics to be the first Pope.

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5. Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museums are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world.

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6. Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican necropolis was originally a burial ground built on the southern slope of the Vatican Hill, adjacent to the Circus of Caligula.  Vatican Necropolis lies under the Vatican City, at depths varying between 5–12 meters below Saint Peter’s Basilica. A limited number of tourists are allowed to visit this place every day. 

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7. Vatican Garden

The Vatican Gardens are located in the west of the territory and owned by the Pope, There are some buildings, such as Vatican Radio and the Governor’s Palace, within these gardens. This place is opened to the public in 2014 thanks to Pope Francis and to visit the gardens you must be accompanied by the tour guide.

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8. Etruscan Museum

The Etruscan Museum was founded by Pope Gregory XVI in the mid-19th century, and the museum’s most famous single treasure is the terracotta funerary monument the almost life-size Bride and Groom (the so-called Sarcofago degli Sposi, or Sarcophagus of the Spouses), reclining as if they were at a dinner party.

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9. Vatican Library

The Vatican library is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. It has 75,000 codices from throughout history, as well as 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula.

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10. Chiaramonti Museum

This museum was founded in the early 19th century by Pope Pius VII, whose surname before his election as pope was Chiaramonti. The museum consists of a large arched gallery in which are exhibited several statues, sarcophagi, and friezes. The walls of each side of the gallery have a row of large niches in which stand marble statues.

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L’article 10 Tourist Attractions in Vatican City est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.