By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Feb 17, 2025 / 10:30 am
Experience the Jubilee of Hope like never before with a unique art installation that brings to life the historic bells of St. Peter’s Basilica. Created by American artist Bill Fontana, the installation, titled “The Silent Echoes of a Great Sound Sculpture,” premiered on the night of Feb. 16, captivating artists and pilgrims alike.
As visitors walked through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica after dark on Sunday, they were enveloped in the live soundscape of the bell, creating a truly immersive experience.
The after-hours opening of the basilica, part of the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture, known as the “Notte Bianca” or “white night,” offered a unique ambiance with blue lighting and live cello music.
Fontana’s contemporary art installation, which can be experienced here, utilizes speakers in the portico of St. Peter’s Basilica to bring the soundscape to life. The installation is set to play daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.
The mesmerizing soundscape is created using the largest bell in St. Peter’s Basilica, known as “Campanone,” cast in 1786 by Luigi Valadier. Weighing around 9 tons, the bell’s resonant frequencies are captured in Fontana’s installation, offering a unique exploration of sound and art.
Fontana elaborates on the installation’s process here: “Latent in the physical structure of everything, are resonant frequencies. … I began to explore this phenomenon using high resolution vibration sensors called accelerometers.”
Exploring the Artistic Soundscape of St. Peter’s Basilica
Imagine exploring the hidden sounds of a structure or object, revealing the silent echoes that lie beneath the surface. This is exactly what artist Luciano Fontana did with the Emmanuel bell of Notre Dame Basilica in Paris in 2022.
Using state-of-the-art sensors and an advanced audio system, Fontana captured the internal vibrations of the nine-ton bell, transforming them into an immersive auditory experience. These vibrations, normally inaudible, have now been amplified to create a unique sound sculpture that accompanies pilgrims and visitors on their spiritual journey at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Despite the cancellation of some events due to Pope Francis’ hospitalization, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Education and Culture organized various initiatives for the Jubilee of Artists weekend. At a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça read the pope’s message to artists, urging them to participate in the revolutionary vision of the Beatitudes and transform suffering into hope.
“Your mission is not only to create beauty but to reveal the truth, goodness, and beauty hidden within the folds of history, to give voice to the voiceless, to transform pain into hope,” the pope’s message stated.
