(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 07.13.2024).- For the first time in over half a century since the founding of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, two women have joined the maintenance team of the Vatican Basilica, the famous «sanpietrini.»
Lisa (26 years old, from the province of Padua) and Miriana (21 years old, from Reggio Calabria), both with training in artistic studies, have attended the course for decorators, plasterers, and bricklayers at the School of Arts and Crafts of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.
The presence of women is not new in the long and ancient tradition of work and art at the Fabbrica, but until now, no women had joined the body of the sanpietrini. For years, the presence of female mosaic workers in the Vatican Mosaic Studio, adjacent to the Fabbrica, has been well established.
In the past, during the 16th century, widows and orphans, almost always inheritors of a family business from a deceased husband or father, were hired as laborers. The Fabbrica guaranteed them the same economic conditions and work treatment that had been granted to the male head of the family. Over time, women were employed in various artisanal professions within the Fabbrica, but until now, none had managed to join the sanpietrini.
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