If you’ve not been in the Vatican basilica on February 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, by all means put that on your bucket list. Not only is February 22 the day when the statue of the Prince of the Apostles, with its famously worn-down bronze foot, is clothed in a splendid cope and crowned with a papal tiara, it’s also the only day on which the
Altar of the Chair
, the massive sculptural composition in the basilica’s apse, is ablaze with the light of over a hundred tapers. Better still is to get into the basilica as early as possible and watch the acrobatic
Sanpietrini
, the basilica’s maintenance staff, swinging from ropes and clambering about as they place and then light those six-foot-tall candles, which remain lit all day.