St. Peter’s Basilica is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. According to Osram, it is on the way of getting transformed and upgraded by LED lighting. Also, the Vatican Museums bestowed artistic expertise for the lighting project, which is scheduled to be completed by Christmas 2018.
“Lighting calculations and simulations have been completed,” said the firm. “In the basilica, the LED lighting system has been tested in many areas, and everyone involved is really pleased with the results. Tests show that the illumination level of the domes is 10 times brighter than before. The new indirect lighting system also eliminates unsightly drop shadows on the circular inscription, which is carved into the wall below the cornices.”
“During the first round of tests, we could clearly see details of artwork in the domes that we could only guess at in the past,” said Vatican State technical services director Monsignor Rafael De La Serrana Villalobos. Along with these features, the lighting can be changed accordingly for different occasions. “For television broadcasts the altar area will be lighted very brightly,” said Osram.
As per Osram, the new lights will also cut down energy consumption by ~85%. Almost, 700 custom luminaires with >100,000 LEDs are involved in the lighting transformation of St. Peter’s Basilica.
