Bernini's colonnade in the Vatican will undergo a cleansing treatment

Vatican - The famous 17th-century colonnade in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City will undergo an extensive cleansing treatment over the next three and a half years. The operation will involve not only the 284 massive columns but also 140 statues and 20,000 square meters of marble in the square. This was announced today by the Vatican administration.
    The estimated cost of the repairs is between 10 and 20 million euros (270 to 540 million crowns) and will be fully covered by private sponsors.
    Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano earlier this month that the repairs will also include monitoring the water flow in the square, removing the remnants of previous restorations, eliminating sulfur deposits, and ensuring the protection of the columns against pollution.
    The colonnade, which extends in a semicircle on both sides of St. Peter's Basilica, is the work of the Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), who was renowned not only for his architecture but also for his sculptural creations.