St. Peter’s Was Solidly Built Cathedral

Grey River Argus, 2 April 1948, Page 7

St. Peter’s Was Solidly Built Cathedral

VATICAN CITY, April 1. Keepers of St. Peter’s are not much worried that cracks will spoil the beauty of Rome’s historic landmark. “It has been built to last at least five more centuries.” says Professor Giuseppe Nicolosi, of Rome’s University of Architecture, and head of the Vatican’s maintenance staff. “The dome cracked?” Cavalier Giuseppe Gianfranceschi, superintendent of the works in the live centuries old basilica repeated, not believing the question. “It resisted the big ammunition dump explosion back in 1895,” Gianfranceschi said, “when all Rome’s window panes were broken, and the 1914 earthquake. The latter made the big ball on the top go to and fro —I was there and remember it all right—but the dome itself got no lesions.”

The old man. who has been working in “his” basilica for the past 57 years, said: “Just look for yourself, and you can be sure the men who did the work knew what they wanted. The basement contains as much stone as you can see above the earth. The foundation are sound. You can trust my word for it.”

“The architects at the time were not losing time in calculations. They had the feeling of proportions in their finger-tips and knew just how much you had to dig 1o erect something which would last.” Gianfranceschi added

“The four nillars on which the dome is based have 17 metres diameter,” Gianfranceschi said, “and are built in solid blocks of rock.” Professor Giuseppe- Nicolosi, in charge of Vativan’s maintenance work.% said: “The dome needs no particular care for the moment, as it has been built to last at least live more centuries. Nicolosi said that the dome is under constant technical observation as the big weight movements have to be watched. Its lead cover is inspected regularly, and its worst enemies are the pigeons which nest in the openings and bring seeds to their nests, which grow with the rains.

The “Sampietrini”—workers employed on basilica maintenance — take care to prevent the pigeons from multiplying too much. Pigeon is considered a delicacy on Sampietrini’s table.