The bistro on the Dome will be built. Appeals, discontent within the Curia, nor a petition promoted by figures from the Catholic world were enough to stop the most debated project of recent months in the Vatican. After a long period of silence, the work has been completed and, unless there is direct intervention from Leo XIV, the refreshment point should open as early as September on the terrace of St. Peter’s, at the highest and most panoramic point of the complex, among the gigantic statues of the Apostles... ...The initiative was personally overseen by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s. His five-year mandate has meanwhile expired, and Leo XIV has not yet decided whether to renew it. According to reliable sources, the original project foresaw a large restaurant with capacity for hundreds of people. Subsequently, the plan was scaled down, though the philosophy remained unchanged. In recent days, some managers from the Fabbrica di San Pietro, who supervised the set-up work, carried out a final inspection that ended with a private tasting, organized to test the future facility and assess its potential. The new bistro occupies the space opposite the current bar. Those who visited the premises report that the kitchen is modern and fully operational, ready to function without further intervention. Already last February, during a press conference, Gambetti openly defended his project. If there have been restrooms and a bar on the terrace for years, he observed, there is no reason to prevent offering a dining service to visitors who, having paid for a ticket, reach the top of the basilica... ...And the online petition addressed to Cardinal Parolin, requesting a halt to any expansion of commercial activities within the Basilica and verification of the initiative’s canonical compatibility, has never stopped. The promoters refer to canon 1210 of the Code: in sacred places "only what serves the exercise and promotion of worship, piety, and religion is permitted," excluding "anything alien to the sanctity of the place." The final word may rest with Leo XIV himself, who so far has preferred not to take a public stance on a project destined to divide not only the Vatican but also part of the Catholic world.