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All roads might lead to Rome, but when they reach here, they are likely to be dug up, shut off or under renovation as the city undergoes a monumental facelift ahead of the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year. The Vatican expects up to 32 million tourists will descend on the Italian capital for the Jubilee, putting Rome's antiquated infrastructure under e...

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Question: What is the most mysterious country on the planet, a place where you don’t need a passport or visa to enter, a nation that hires soldiers from another country to protect it, a country that has a population of around 800, it’s only national dishes could be summed up as a small, circular piece of unleavened bread and a sip of red wine, and...

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Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006. Carlo Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London and then moved with his Italian parents to Milan as a child, was the youngest contemporary person...

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St. Peter's Basilica is located in the small Papal State of the Vatican in St. Peter's Square in Rome, the majestic facade and its dome visible from every corner of the city make it one of the iconic places of the city of Rome. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world, symbol of the Catholic Church and seat of the Pope. Con...

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Ahead of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year in 2025, restoration plans have been unveiled for Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s soaring Baldacchino (Baldachin), the 17th-century canopy that towers over the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, ceremoniously covering the tomb of St. Peter beneath it. The €700,000 (about $762,000) restoration will be funded entir...

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Friar Paolo Benanti wears the plain brown robes of his medieval Franciscan order as he pursues one of the most pressing issues in contemporary times: how to govern artificial intelligence so that it enriches — and doesn’t exploit — people’s lives. Benanti is the Vatican’s go-to person on the technology and he has the ear of Pope Francis as well as...

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For the first time, the Vatican is allowing the public to enter a necropolis. On November 17, it opened a gate along its walls to enter the Via Triumphalis Necropolis, an ancient Roman burial ground that lies beneath Vatican City. It is replete with marble sarcophagi, open burial graves, and Roman mosaics and frescoes. The tombs date between the 1s...

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St. Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church, stands as a testament to breathtaking architecture and awe-inspiring sculptures. Behind the scenes, a new generation is being trained in the delicate art of preserving the ancient treasures through a revitalized apprentice system.  The new program aims to address the scarcity of skilled restorers an...

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The Vatican is celebrating 50 years of the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. Commemorating the anniversary as a significant moment for the museum’s youngest collection, the Holy Father met with world-renowned artists in the Sistine Chapel. Addressing them, he praised – like his predecessor Paul VI – the beauty of art, sayi...

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Last month we introduced you the Italian company Kefa and their project to produce the first watch in the world that bears the emblem of the Vatican City State and the personal coat of arms of Pope Francis on the dial and back, respectively. When we met the founders of this company Gianluigi Di Lorenzo and Carmelo Caruso, we were impressed, even be...

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