Agreement has been reached between the Vatican museum and the Rome city council to prepare a project for the building of a new entrance to the Vatican museums. The entrance would be in the Piazza Risorgimento, probably through a crystal replica of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius at Testaccio and then down into a large gallery, six and a half metres below ground, with shops, information points, bookshops and restaurants. The entry to the Vatican would be under the great walls designed by Michelangelo Bonarrotti on the corner of Via Leone IV and the Viale Vaticano. The new entrance would be a great improvement to the present arrangement and the public would no longer have to stand outside in very long queues in all weather.

A competition would be held to find the best project, which could be completed within 4 years. The city mayor, Walter Veltroni, is hoping to finance the project by giving the commercial properties in the gallery to the construction company in exchange for the work.