Pope Blesses iPod Touch For Use at The Vatican

To businesses that continue to run Windows XP on PCs hooked up to CRT monitors, and those still issuing their employees with the Nokia 3310, take note: As part of a new pilot scheme due to run until December, The Vatican is issuing each of its visitors with an iPod Touch, pre-loaded with a special app that promises to make their visit even more enriching.

Touching the divine has never been so easy!

By introducing the Apple device, The Vatican hopes to reduce the amount of noise created by tour guides and their groups by offering them an alternative way of learning everything they want to know about Rome’s oldest basilica. Pre-loaded with a unique application, the iPod will provide access to high resolution art images, and information on architecture and Christian history.

Rev. Caeser Atuire, CEO of the Holy See’s pilgrim agency, also hopes the device will attract more visitors, and “appeal to a wider audience than the usual churchgoer.”

The Huffington Post reports:

Atuire suggested that, with a tap of the finger, tourists can zoom in on high-resolution images of artistic details, like the starry blue canopy above the towering high altar, decorating vaulted ceilings. The apps user also can refer to images from the Vatican Library not usually available to the public to enrich their understanding of their basilica tour.

The Vatican will unveil its experiment officially on Wednesday, however, it seems some lucky visitors have already been able to give the iPods a go. One visitor said:

It’s fantastic. I really appreciate it. You can see a lot [more] beauty this way.

[via AppAdvice]

Killian Bell

Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.