Michelangelo’s Pietà shines again in Saint Peter’s Basilica

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Michelangelo’s Pietà shines again in Saint Peter’s Basilica

As part of the works conducted by the Fabric of Saint Peter for the 2025 Jubilee, Michelangelo’s Pietà has been the subject of interventions aimed at improving its visibility and safety. As well as replacing the glass window protecting the work, a new lighting design, conceived by lighting designers Guido Bianchi and Nicoletta Rossi, has been installed and entirely sponsored by iGuzzini Illuminazione, the Recanati-based company responsible for the previous lighting system mounted in 2018.

The Pietà is now lit with iGuzzini’s new Sipario floodlight, a luminaire specifically designed to meet the lighting requirements of artworks, museum spaces, cultural venues, and theatres.
Characterized by its lightness, compact size, low consumption, integrated smart technology, and easy-to-replace components, Sipario is fitted with patented Opti Beam Reflector optics, designed and produced in-house by iGuzzini. Uniting photometric performance with exclusive quality emissions, these optics create a sharp, clean beam of light with no double-ring effect.
Designed to be sustainable, easy to disassemble, and lightweight, Sipario is made from recycled and recyclable materials. LED and driver maintenance is also facilitated thanks to openings in both the front and back. Consumption is low, too, thanks to the efficiency of its patented Optibeam optics, lenses, and refractors, which are also interchangeable.

cover image: photo Matteo de Mayda, courtesy iGuzzini

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photo Matteo de Mayda, courtesy iGuzzini

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photo Matteo de Mayda, courtesy iGuzzini

The lighting design
For this project that uses a new luminaire, the Lighting Designers Guido Bianchi and Nicoletta Rossi were once again commissioned to test the implementation and ensure the new system complied with the project they perfected in 2018. This sought to create a consistent overall vision that would allow visitors to see and enjoy the expressive intensity of every detail in this masterpiece. This required a measured and composed lighting design that would illuminate the contours of the sculpture and the glow of the marble.
In this case, the Sipario floodlights, all DALI-controlled, are divided into groups that can be switched on separately. This means the levels of light intensity emitted can be calibrated to create different lighting scenarios in line with a range of visual requirements and tasks that may change over time.

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photo Matteo de Mayda, courtesy iGuzzini

photos courtesy iGuzzini


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