ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

La Basílica de San Pedro no solo es el corazón espiritual del catolicismo, sino también un monumento que encierra siglos de arte, arquitectura y misterio. Desde sus orígenes en la época de Constantino hasta sus rincones subterráneos y pasadizos, este templo monumental sigue fascinando a millones de fieles y visitantes cada año. A continuación, te contamos algunos de los hechos más sorprendentes y desconocidos sobre la iglesia cristiana más grande del mundo.

La historia detrás de la Basílica de San Pedro

La Basílica de San Pedro que conocemos hoy no fue la primera en ocupar este lugar. En el siglo IV, se levantó allí una iglesia encargada por el emperador Constantino, que se mantuvo en pie durante más de mil años. No fue hasta 1506 cuando el Papa Julio II decidió reemplazarla por una nueva construcción monumental, como homenaje al apóstol Pedro, que se cree que fue enterrado en esa misma colina del Vaticano. Su construcción duró casi 120 años y contó con la participación de destacados arquitectos y artistas italianos como Donato Bramante, Miguel Ángel y Rafael. Mientras que Bramante tomó como referencia el Panteón romano para su diseño inicial, Miguel Ángel fue el responsable de la famosa cúpula.

El imponente espacio interior de la Basílica de San Pedro. Crédito: Fabbrica di San Pietro / Basílica de San Pedro.

La iglesia cristiana más grande del mundo

Esta obra monumental encarna el esplendor del Vaticano. Su cúpula, con 136,5 metros de altura, es la más alta del mundo. El interior abarca más de 3,7 acres —es decir, unos 15.000 metros cuadrados— y su superficie total se extiende a unas 2,3 hectáreas. Considerada la iglesia cristiana más grande del mundo, fue reconocida como Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO en 1984.

Vista del interior de la cúpula de la Basílica de San Pedro. Crédito: Fabbrica di San Pietro / Basílica de San Pedro.

Los santos reciben a los fieles en la icónica Plaza de San Pedro

Frente a ella, la Plaza de San Pedro puede reunir a miles de personas. De hecho, más de 100.000 personas asisten al primer saludo del nuevo Papa León XIV desde la Plaza de San Pedro, según el portal oficial del Vaticano Vatican News. En esta plaza diseñada por por Gian Lorenzo Bernini destaca la columnata elíptica formada por 284 columnas en cuatro filas, que en teoría simbolizan el abrazo de la Iglesia. En el centro destaca un obelisco egipcio flanqueado por dos fuentes. La plaza está adornada con estatuas de santos que reciben a los visitantes y que, según el Vaticano, representan la unión entre la Iglesia celestial y la terrenal.

La Plaza de San Pedro y su icónica columnata. Crédito: Fabbrica di San Pietro / Basílica de San Pedro.

Los papas que descansan bajo la Basílica de San Pedro

A lo largo de la historia, la Basílica de San Pedro ha alimentado numerosas leyendas sobre pasadizos ocultos y cámaras secretas bajo su estructura. Más allá del mito, lo cierto es que existen varios espacios subterráneos reales, como las Grutas Vaticanas y la Necrópolis, que albergan antiguas tumbas papales. Aunque el Papa Francisco ha elegido la Basílica de Santa María la Mayor como lugar de sepultura, bajo San Pedro descansan los restos de 91 papas, cuyos sepulcros —conocidos como tumbas papales— conviven con los de miembros de la realeza y la nobleza. Entre los pontífices enterrados allí, se encuentran figuras emblemáticas como Pío X y Juan Pablo II. Para los arqueólogos, este conjunto de tumbas constituye un tesoro histórico de valor incalculable.

 
 
La Necrópolis Vaticana. Crédito: Fabbrica di San Pietro / Basílica de San Pedro.

El pasadizo secreto del Vaticano

Muy cerca de este conjunto monumental se encuentra el Passetto di Borgo, un corredor fortificado que conecta la Ciudad del Vaticano con el Castillo Sant’Angelo. Aunque no pasa por debajo de la basílica, forma parte del sistema defensivo del Vaticano y fue construido como ruta de escape para los papas en tiempos de crisis. Su episodio más recordado ocurrió durante el Saqueo de Roma en 1527, cuando el Papa Clemente VII logró escapar por este corredor elevado hasta refugiarse en el castillo. “El Papa se salvó por los pelos, corriendo por el estrecho pasillo, mientras los cortesanos y nobles que le acompañaban lo protegían con un manto oscuro para evitar que su túnica blanca se convirtiera en un objetivo fácil”, indica el Departamento de Grandes Eventos, Deportes, Turismo y Moda de Roma. Hoy en día, algunos tramos del Passetto pueden recorrerse mediante visitas guiadas desde el Castillo Sant’Angelo, revelando uno de los rincones más estratégicos y desconocidos de la historia vaticana.

 
Vista del Passetto di Borgo desde el Castillo Sant'Angelo en Roma. Crédito: Departamento de Grandes Eventos, Deportes, Turismo y Moda de Roma.

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ISABEL RUBIO ARROYO | Tungsteno

Almost 100 kilometres off the coast of Baku, in the middle of the Caspian Sea, rises Neft Daşlari, an industrial city built on platforms. Its name, meaning “Oil Rocks,” reflects its function: a vast network of extraction wells and processing plants linked together by kilometres of steel bridges. Accessible only by a lengthy boat ride from the mainland, this enigmatic city floats in the middle of the world's largest enclosed body of water.

A motorway in the middle of the sea

Founded in 1949, Neft Daşlari began with platforms built atop deliberately sunken ships. Over time, it evolved into a vast industrial city, linked by more than 200 kilometres of trestle bridges and supported by nearly 100 kilometres of pipelines transporting oil and gas. At its peak, the city boasted nearly 2,000 oil wells and some 320 production plants.

But Neft Daşlari is about more than industry—it has homes, shops, a theatre, a heliport and even a soccer field. Trees were even planted atop steel structures, and at its height, the city housed over 5,000 inhabitants. In recent decades, however, the population has dwindled and much of the infrastructure has fallen into disrepair, with some parts claimed by the sea.

Oil Rocks has served as the dramatic setting for numerous documentaries and films, including scenes from the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. It has also inspired renowned Azerbaijani artists, such as composer Gara Garayev and artist Tahir Salahov. Filmmaker Marc Wolfensberger, who shot the movie Oil Rocks: City Above the Sea, described the site as “beyond anything I had seen before.” As he told CNN, it was like “a motorway in the middle of the sea” that stretched out “like an octopus.”

Trailer for the documentary Oil Rocks: City Above the Sea. Credit: Marc Wolfensberger

"The Island of Seven Ships," a symbol in Azerbaijan

To shield the structure from the wind and waves of the Caspian Sea, seven decommissioned ships were deliberately sunk, their hulls forming an artificial bay around the original island. “Some of those ships are visible on the surface of the water where they were buried,” Mirvari Gahramanli, head of the Oil-Workers Rights Protection Organisation, told CNN. In Azerbaijan some refer to Neft Daşlari as “the island of seven ships” and even “the eighth wonder of the world,” she added.

Today, the oil field remains operational. Over the decades, 1,983 wells have been drilled, with 432 still active. According to SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company and the operator of Neft Daşlari, the field produced an average of 2,865 tons of oil per day as of 1 January 2024. Since production began, the site has yielded a total of 179.8 million tonnes of crude oil and 14.092 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Peak output was reached in 1967, when it produced 7.6 million tonnes of oil—about 4.5% of the total cumulative volume.

The industrial city is still operational with more than 400 active wells. Credit: SOCAR

The uncertain future of the “floating” city

Neft Daşlari’s importance has declined in recent decades, overshadowed by the development of larger fields and fluctuating oil prices. “The production at Neft Daşlari supplies only a minor part of Azerbaijan's oil production,” explains Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, who has advised oil and gas companies in the Caspian region. As output has declined, so too has the population, now estimated at around 2,000. Moreover, the floating city has not been without controversy: beyond the danger faced by those living or working there due to extreme weather conditions, Gahramanli has raised concerns about the discharge of raw sewage and reports of oil spills.

The floating city’s production now accounts for only a small share of Azerbaijan’s oil output. Credit: SOCAR

With its reserves gradually running dry, the future of this sprawling offshore settlement remains uncertain. Shaffer suggests it could one day become a tourist attraction. Filmmaker Marc Wolfensberger envisions a different future: “It’s really the cradle of offshore oil exploration,” he said, imagining it repurposed as a museum. As for the risk of it sinking—either due to structural fatigue or the effect of climate change—Mirvari Gahramanli was firm when asked by the BBC: “The island is not about to sink and, at the moment, no such risk is foreseen.”

Tungsten is a journalistic laboratory that explores the essence of innovation.

The jury selected two finalists per business unit and the winners from among the 36 candidate projects participating in the awards.

All finalists achieved the highest scores in accident rates, visible leadership, and compliance with preventive culture campaigns. Thus, the safety initiative developed by each project determined the winner's selection.

• In the Concessions category, the winner was Viastur (Spain), which designed and manufactured traffic signs that are lighter and more visible than conventional ones, optimizing road maintenance work. The other finalist was Gesvias (Peru), with its road safety campaign titled "Just like you, my family is waiting for me at home."
• In Engineering and Infrastructure, the winner was the Provincia Cordillera Hospital (Chile), recognized for its awareness campaign through videos and educational tutorials, as well as its alcohol and drug control campaign and promotion of healthy eating. The Belfast Transport Hub was selected as a finalist for group sessions raising awareness about workplace safety.
• In Water, the winner was the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (Australia), which used drones to mitigate falls from height risks and conducted an AI-driven study to prevent repetitive motion injuries. Sacyr Agua Norte (Chile) was recognized as a finalist for its toxic gas ingestion prevention project.

Sacyr Health Awards

Sacyr Health is the program that encompasses initiatives to care for over 5,000 professionals in the various countries where the company operates. Since its inception in 2019, it has evolved into a more global platform. Initially focused on nutritional, physical, and mental well-being, it now includes social, economic, and environmental well-being to nurture the talent and people that form Sacyr.

In 2024, Sacyr won the Gold Category of the European & International Sport and Healthy Company Awards, the highest recognition in this award funded by the European Union.

The company achieved this distinction in the Gold Category for the Sacyr Health initiative, which was first recognized in 2021. This event acknowledges companies with robust health policies to promote physical activity and health among employees. The evolution and continuous improvement of Sacyr Saludable since 2021 have been crucial in securing the award.

Additionally, in 2024, Sacyr won third place in the Financial Well-Being category at the Corporate Wellbeing Awards, thanks to its compensation and benefits program offered through Sacyr Saludable.

The Human Resources consultancy Intrama presents the Diversity & Wellbeing Awards, recognizing companies with the best practices in corporate well-being and diversity.

The Corporate Wellbeing Awards aim to identify, evaluate, and reward the most significant initiatives that contribute to organizational transformation and positively impact businesses through health and well-being policies from a cross-disciplinary perspective.