A wooden sculpture of a crucified Christ that survived the Sack of Rome and 700 years of termites is due to be unveiled after being "resurrected" and newly restored in St Peter's Basilica.
The 14th century wooden crucifix, with an arm-span of more than six foot, had languished behind an elevator shaft in a closed chapel before the restoration project began. At a Vatican news conference held on Friday, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, said:
"Darkened and confined in a neglected spot and nearly unreachable, it was forgotten by many,” he said.
