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Take a Private Tour of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

People around the world can now explore St. Peter’s Basilica from the comfort of home via a 3D replica powered by artificial intelligence.


The digital twin of St. Peter's dome
The digital twin of St. Peter's | Microsoft

Released earlier this month, the virtual experience is the product of a collaboration between the Vatican and Microsoft, which cataloged every nook and cranny of the basilica, including parts that the public rarely sees, such as the papal tombs and artwork in the church’s dome. Essentially, they have created an extraordinarily life-like digital twin.


It is now possible to skip the long queues to enter the physical basilica in Vatican City, instead taking guided tours on the life of St. Peter and the basilica’s history or virtually strolling around to whatever area of the site catches your eye.


Experts at Iconem, a cultural heritage digitization start-up, spent three weeks using drones, cameras and lasers to capture more than 400,000 photographs of the basilica. After collecting the images, the team utilized A.I. algorithms to combine the photos into a comprehensive, three-dimensional model of the church. Then, tools developed by Microsoft’s A.I. for Good Lab “refined the digital twin with millimeter-level accuracy."


Construction of St. Peter’s Basilica began in 1506 under Pope Julius II and wrapped up 109 years later, under Paul V in 1615. The basilica is home to many artifacts of the Catholic Church, including the tombs of dozens of popes. The new digitization debuted ahead of the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee, a special celebration of forgiveness and reconciliation that is expected to bring around 30 million people to Rome next year.


Here's a video explaining how and why the digital twin was made...


 

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