Vatican discovers rare Michelangelo sketch of St. Peter's dome

Published: 2007-12-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has discovered a rare sketch of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica drawn by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Some believe the 1563 drawing may be the last surviving example of the Renaissance master's work before his death in 1564, said the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. Dark-red-chalk lines show a sketch of "a partial plan of one of the radial columns of the cupola drum" of the basilica, said the paper's Dec. 7 edition. "The sureness of the marks, the expert hand used to making decisions before unfinished stone leave little room for doubt the sketch is by Michelangelo," it said. It said sculptors and stonecutters at the time commonly worked with red-oxide chalk because its marks were more visible than graphite or charcoal pencils against the black veins of the white travertine marble used for the basilica's construction. It said the torn sketch was found recently in the archives of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the office of the Vatican's chief engineer.

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