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St. Peter’s Basilica Rome

San Pietro Basilica Roma: Roman building photographs, Italy design by Carlo Maderno architect

31 January 2025

St Peter’s Basilica in Rome: launch of a major digital revolution project with Assist Group.

A video showing the digital ecosystem created to welcome to Rome millions of pilgrims

St. Peter's Basilica Rome, San Pietro building
photos © Adrian Welch

St Peter’s Basilica Rome Building News

Pilgrims, the faithful and visitors from all over the world will have access to information, services, and innovative tools thanks to a new digital platform, available to everyone in order to make the Basilica as user-friendly as possible.

The 2025 Jubilee officially started on the 24th of December 2024 at 7 p.m., with a Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, and will end on 6 January 2026.

This huge event is expected to bring 35 million pilgrims to Rome, the world centre of Christianity, with approximately 105 million overnight stays (source: Chambers of Commerce Tourism Economics Observatory).

In view of this extraordinary influx, Fabbrica di San Pietro has put in place a digital revolution to become the natural landing place and reference point for pilgrims and the faithful before, during and after their visit to Italy and St. Peter’s Basilica.

This has led to the creation of a digital ecosystem that will provide pilgrims with up-to-date information, services, and innovative tools, making the Basilica’s heritage accessible to all.

St. Peter's Basilica Rome, San Pietro building

The core of the digital ecosystem: the platform

The www.basilicasanpietro.va website is the only official digital channel giving pilgrims and visitors all the information they need to plan their visit to St. Peter’s Basilica. It will allow you to plan your own spiritual experience by booking your visit to the Basilica. It will also provide information such as Mass schedules and monitor visitor numbers inside the Basilica in real time, to help you organise your visit in the best way possible. This will make managing visitor flows easier and improve visits by pilgrims so that they can better enjoy their time inside the Basilica thanks to reserved access at their chosen time slot and guided itineraries.

All content is available in 4 languages: Italian, English, French and Spanish.

St. Peter's Basilica Rome, San Pietro building

Bookings and immersive visits

The www.basilicasanpietro.va platform, conceived, designed, and created by the Italy-based Assist Group, has a dedicated section that allows visitors to book the date and time of their admittance to St. Peter’s Basilica in advance, with a digital audio guide available in 8 different languages included. The reservation means visitors can be certain they will able to enter the Basilica on the busiest days, avoiding long waits and optimising flows.

And for those who cannot come to Rome in person, the platform offers an interactive immersive AI-Enhanced Experience, allowing you to remotely explore every detail of the Basilica, thanks to the contribution of Artificial Intelligence and the ‘Basilica Virtual Tour’ project developed by Microsoft.

St. Peter's Basilica Rome, San Pietro building

Project partner: Assist Group

This new digital ecosystem has been created by Assist Group, a holding company with a 37-year history in the field of global communication and strategic marketing. Its expertise and knowhow are integrated through a well-structured group of companies that have put their expertise and skills at the service of St. Peter’s Basilica. The group is leader in the field of big data and media intelligence, also thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence, and over the years has established a name for itself with initiatives that represent and promote Italy worldwide to increase incoming tourist flows.

St. Peter's Basilica Rome, San Pietro building

Speech Video Transcription

For the 2025 Jubilee, the Vatican has created a true digital ecosystem studied to welcome millions of pilgrims with visitor-centric services. At the core of this technological revolution is the official basilicasanpietro.va website, an innovative, intuitive platform designed and developed by Assist Group, an international company focused on integrated marketing solutions.

Up and running since last November, the platform is the only official digital channel that provides pilgrims and visitors with all the information they need to plan their visit to the Basilica. Basilicasanpietro.va not only guarantees an engaging and profound experience, it is also the safest and most direct way to book admittance and avoid long queues. Only those with an online reservation will be certain to gain access to the Basilica, even on the busiest days, and it will also include a digital audio guide available in 7 different languages.

Therefore, if you plan to visit Rome during the Jubilee year, you should consult the platform and book your visit.

The content of the platform is available in four languages – Italian, English, Spanish and French – to guarantee global accessibility. In addition to admission to St. Peter’s Basilica, it also allows you to book visits to the Dome, the Treasury Museum and the Vatican Necropolis in advance. You can choose a customised route, both for individual visitors and for groups, to make your experience smooth and hassle-free.

The website also offers real-time updates on Mass schedules, news and a visitor assistance service.

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Previously on e-architect:

San Pietro Basilica Roma

The Vatican

The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City.

St Peter’s Basilica + St Peter’s Square + Sistine Chapel

San Pietro : St Peter’s Basilica

St Peters façade

Design: Carlo Maderno architect

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world.

While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom”.

Piazza San Pietro : St Peter’s Square
Date built: 1656-67
Design: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor and architect

Piazza San Pietro St Peter's Square St Peters Square Rome Piazza San Pietro Roma

Piazza San Pietro St Peter's Square St Peter’s Square Rome Piazza San Pietro Roma

General photos of the Vatican and St Peter’s Square:
St Peter's Square Rome St Peter's Square St Peter's Square

Roman buildings : traditional architecture

photos of the interior:
St Peters Basilica St Peters Basilica St Peters Basilica

St Peters Basilica St Peters Basilica St Peters Basilica

Corteo di Sisto V – Sistine Chapel
Palazzi e Musei Vaticani

St Peter’s Basilica Building images by adrian welch available upon request:
photos 2816×2112 pixels

Piazza San Pietro architect : Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini

Location: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Rome, Italy

Architecture in Rome

Rome Architecture Designs – chronological list

Rome Architecture Walking Tours by e-architect – city walks

Rome Architecture News

Rome architecture : contemporary buildings

Architecture Walking Tours

Key traditional Architecture in Rome:

St John Lateran – Santa Giovanni in Laterano

The Pantheon
The Pantheon dome
photo © Adrian Welch

Sant’ Andrea di Valle
Facade by Carlo Rainaldi
Sant Andrea di Valle Rome - St Andrews Church
picture © Adrian Welch

Gesù – Gesu church, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II

Comments / photos for the St Peter’s Basilica building page welcome.