A new exhibition at Rome’s Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica, housed in Palazzo Barberini, is examining the moment when Pope Urban VIII selected a young Gian Lorenzo Bernini to design and build the monumental bronze canopy over St. Peter’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Running through June 14, the exhibition highlights the relationship between Bernini and Pope Urban VIII, born Maffeo Barberini, who was Bernini’s first major patron. Exhibition curator Maurizia Cicconi explained that this initiative is part of events marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica in 1626 and is supported by the Fabric of St. Peter.
At age 25, Bernini was seen as inexperienced for such a significant project. “Urban VIII pushed ahead anyway, despite resistance from the body of cardinals overseeing the basilica’s building works,” Cicconi said.
Excavations for the canopy began in June 1623, shortly after Urban VIII became pope and before the basilica’s official consecration. At that time, St. Peter’s tomb was covered only by a simple wooden structure. According to Cicconi, Urban VIII wanted a permanent monument to highlight both the grandeur of the new basilica and its central religious importance.
The excavation process caused concern among some cardinals about disturbing relics associated with St. Peter’s tomb. “Every portion of earth removed was carefully preserved,” Cicconi said, adding that some soil was later donated to monastic orders for use in founding convents in Naples and Rome.
Bernini’s Baldachin stands nearly 100 feet tall and took ten years to complete, from 1624 to 1633. The exhibition traces its construction through drawings, coins, books, manuscripts, and studies for parts of the structure.
One early design problem involved an initial concept with arches topped by Christ that proved structurally unsound. “The final solution likely came from Francesco Borromini,” Cicconi said, referring to Borromini’s system of large volutes supporting a globe crowned by a cross.
Among notable artifacts on display is a medal found last year inside Urban VIII’s tomb—also designed by Bernini—featuring portraits of both pope and canopy. While there is speculation about who placed it there, Cicconi cautioned against attributing it directly to Bernini without evidence.
The exhibition also explores how Urban VIII used art during a period marked by political and religious conflict across Europe—including the Thirty Years’ War—to assert both spiritual authority and temporal influence through artistic commissions.
Visitors can see materials related to other Bernini projects at St. Peter’s Basilica: pieces linked to Matilda of Canossa’s tomb; terracotta models for charity figures intended for Urban VIII’s funerary monument; and sketches for St. Longinus’ statue.
Another section focuses on how Bernini shaped public perceptions of the Barberini family through portrait busts displayed alongside each other so visitors can compare different approaches taken by Bernini and his workshop over time.
Cicconi noted: “Bernini truly shaped the official image of the Barberini.” She explained that moving bust-portraits into palatial settings gave them dynastic significance beyond their traditional use in funerary contexts.
Works include marble, bronze, and porphyry busts made either directly by Bernini or under his supervision but always based on his designs.
The show also features paintings by Bernini—a lesser-known aspect of his work—and discusses how Urban VIII hoped he would become “the new Michelangelo” for his pontificate by decorating key spaces like the Loggia of Blessings at St. Peter’s Basilica. However, as Cicconi observed: “The freedom of Gian Lorenzo Bernini is seen precisely in the possibility — or not — of freely accepting commissions.”
While Bernini continued working under subsequent popes after Urban VIII died in 1644, this exhibition focuses on their collaboration during those decisive years when papal support helped launch him into prominence within Catholic art history.
“This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.”
Victoria Cardiel
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