Vatican detains ex-employee over attempted sale of rare manuscript
- A former Vatican employee was detained for attempting to sell a valuable 17th-century manuscript back to the Holy See.
- The 18-page manuscript contains the first known specifications for the gilding of the famous Bernini canopy in St. Peter's Basilica.
- Vatican prosecutors took action to prevent the illegal sale of this historical document.
Vatican police caught a former worker who tried to sell an old manuscript back to the Vatican. The manuscript is about Bernini's designs for St. Peter's Basilica. The person worked for the group that manages the basilica and was arrested on May 27 for trying to sell the manuscript. The police started an investigation after the basilica reported the missing manuscript. They followed the negotiations until the exchange of money happened on May 27 in the Vatican. The ex-employee has been in Vatican custody since then. A newspaper mentioned that the origin of the manuscript and whether it was in the basilica archives before are being debated. An art historian, a friend of the accused, said the manuscript is not listed in the basilica archives catalog since at least 1900. The manuscript is about the design of the canopy covering the main altar of the basilica, made by Bernini in the 1620s-1630s. It is a complex artwork made of marble, bronze, wood, gold, and iron, with gilded cherubs and laurel branches around the columns. The canopy is currently covered in scaffolding for cleaning and restoration.