The Vatican is marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica with a host of visitor-friendly initiatives, including expanding access to its spectacular terrace and its snack bar in the shadow of Michelangelo’s great dome.
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On Monday, the Vatican outlined its plans to make better use of St. Peter’s and better redistribute the millions of people who pass through it each year, while at the same time protecting its artistic treasures.
In 2025, during its Jubilee year, the Vatican welcomed more than 33 million pilgrims, with Italy, the US, Spain, Brazil and Poland the top nationalities represented, Vatican News reported. This exceeded initial projections of around 31 million pilgrims, estimated by the Roma Tre University.
Among the initiatives are a new online reservation system, to lessen the often hours-long wait to get into the basilica, and simultaneous translations for Masses in up to 60 languages. In addition, a new permanent exhibition tracing the history of the basilica is opening on the terrace, alongside an expanded snack bar for hungry pilgrims.
Recent reports in the Italian media about a bistro on the basilica’s terrace generated no shortage of raised eyebrows, amid questions about whether such a sacred place – the basilica houses the tomb of St. Peter – should be serving pizzas to tourists on the roof. The existing snack bar is being nearly doubled in size.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti insisted it was perfectly acceptable to provide a sandwich or drink, alongside bathrooms, to visitors to the basilica, especially those who have exerted themselves to visit the cupola of St. Peter’s, which was designed by Michelangelo.
To honour the Renaissance master is a related initiative: a new font available in Microsoft Office, entitled “Michelangelus”, is styled using his actual penmanship.
The basilica initiatives are being rolled out to commemorate consecration in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII of St. Peter’s, which replaced an earlier basilica.