The National Galleries of Ancient Art and the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican are promoting a calendar of guided tours of St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the consecration of the new Basilica, which took place on November 18, 1626 during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII, born Maffeo Barberini. The initiative is linked to the Bernini and the Barberini exhibition, running until June 14, 2026 at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, and is part of a program designed to explore the historical, symbolic and spiritual significance of Gian Lorenzo Bernini ’s interventions in the Vatican Basilica.
The series of visits will start on March 6, 2026, and will run every Monday, Friday and Saturday, with two shifts at 2:30 and 3 p.m., until June 30, 2026. Each visit will last one hour, will be available in Italian and English, and will have a maximum number of thirty participants. The thematic itinerary is designed to offer an articulated reading of the artistic season linked to the Barberini pontificate, a period that affected in a way the urban and monumental configuration of Rome in the seventeenth century.
The itinerary develops entirely inside the Basilica. After meeting at the Visits Desk located in the Reception Area, participants will be escorted to the main entrance. The tour will begin along the right aisle, where the Monument to Matilda of Canossa is located, and then stop outside the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, a space for which Bernini designed the Tabernacle. The itinerary will continue in the nave, where the statue of St. Longinus, the Baldachin and the Chair of St. Peter meet, until reaching the Funeral Monument of Urban VIII. The conclusion is planned on the parvis, with an in-depth study dedicated to the Colonnade designed by Bernini, analyzed in its structural aspects and in its symbolic, iconographic and theological value, in relation to the urban and religious significance of the space in front of the Basilica.
The initiative makes it possible to relate the exhibition set up at Palazzo Barberini to the places for which many of the works were conceived, offering a key that interweaves papal patronage, artistic production and the spiritual dimension in the Baroque age. The pontificate of Urban VIII coincided with a phase of profound transformation of the city and the consolidation of a figurative language destined to exert a lasting influence in the history of European art.
The Bernini and the Barberini exhibition, curated by Andrea Bacchi and Maurizia Cicconi, investigates the relationship between Bernini and Maffeo Barberini, who was elected pontiff in 1623 under the name Urban VIII. The exhibition project offers a visual and critical reconstruction of the personal, intellectual and political bond between the two, considered to be at the origin of one of the most incisive transformations in seventeenth-century art. The itinerary revolves around the figure of Maffeo Barberini, indicated by historiography as the promoter of the young artist, who supported his emancipation from his father’s workshop and accompanied his rise to full affirmation as the author of works destined to redefine the face of post-Tridentine Rome. The famous expression “mirabil congiuntura,” used by Galileo Galilei, is recalled to describe the convergence of circumstances that contributed to the definition of the Baroque as the dominant language.
To encourage the integration of the exhibition and the itinerary in the Basilica, there is a dedicated rate for Bernini and the Barberini ticket holders. There are also reductions for parish groups, school groups and teachers, while access is free for handicapped persons with an accompanying person. The meeting point is set at the Visitor Desk in the Reception Area of the Basilica. Entrance is from Via di Porta Angelica, on the right side of the colonnade looking at the facade, after passing the Italian State Police security checks. The organizers recommend arriving at the gate at least forty-five minutes before the scheduled time in order to allow the control procedures to take place. It is required to bring, in addition to the exhibition ticket, the confirmation of the guided tour reservation and a valid identity document, which may be requested by the Vatican authorities.
For security reasons, bulky objects such as suitcases, large backpacks, bulky bags or tripods are not allowed. Clothing appropriate for the sacred place is also required. The Fabbrica di San Pietro reserves the right to modify or cancel visits for justified circumstances, providing in such cases the rescheduling of the activity or the reimbursement of amounts paid.
The exhibition project is promoted by the National Galleries of Ancient Art with the support of the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture. Main partner of the initiative is Intesa Sanpaolo. The exhibition enjoys the patronage of the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the basilica’s consecration in 1626, and is organized in collaboration with the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Coopculture takes care of public services, while the catalog is published by Allemandi. Atac participates as a mobility partner. Urban Vision Group is media partner and Dimensione Suono Soft radio partner.
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| Rome starts special tours to discover Bernini in St. Peter's Basilica |
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