In partnership with Microsoft and Iconem, the Vatican has created an ultra-detailed digital replica of St. Peter’s Basilica, using artificial intelligence and 400,000 images taken using drones, cameras and lasers.
The Vatican has collaborated with Microsoft and French company Iconem to develop a digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica, notably leveraging artificial intelligence. The project aims to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of the basilica. It was also developed in view of the Jubilee 2025, during which more than 30 million pilgrims are expected.
Over three weeks, nearly 400,000 images were taken using drones, cameras and lasers to document the exterior and interior of the building. The data, stored on Microsoft’s Azure cloud, was used to produce a faithful digital replica, accurate down to the smallest detail, reads the Microsoft press release. Via a dedicated site, Internet users can explore at their leisure the smallest details of the architecture and works of art it houses.
The Vatican oversaw the collaboration to ensure the preservation of the basilica as a cultural, spiritual and historical site for years to come. During the press conference presenting the project, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and president of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, compared this digital twin to a powerful tool capable of “penetrating hidden meanings” and put in contact with the interiority of each person. This replica, in addition to a 3D photogrammetric view, will offer immersive routes as well as an educational program based on the Minecraft model. “If the people who enter the Basilica have in one way or another had an intuition of the Mystery which inspired it and which radiates it, our mission will have been accomplished,” declared Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.
