Steps Jesus walked to trial restored to glory

Worshippers at The Santa Scala in Rome; one of the Roman Catholic Church's holiest relics has been restored to its former glory
Worshippers climb the steps on their knees. Charles Dickens called the practice ‘unpleasant’

One of the Roman Catholic Church's holiest relics, which contains the steps believed to have been climbed by Jesus on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate, has been restored to its former glory.

Worshippers at The Santa Scala in Rome; one of the Roman Catholic Church's holiest relics has been restored to its former glory
Worshippers climb the steps on their knees. Charles Dickens called the practice ‘unpleasant’

The Santa Scala, or Holy Stairs, were brought to Rome from Jerusalem in the fourth century AD and placed in the former papal palace opposite the basilica of St John Lateran.

However, restorers found that the sanctity of the staircase had not had an effect on the behaviour of some tourists. "We found chewing gum stuck to the wood of the stairs," said Alessandra Scerrato, the secretary of the Friends of the Holy Stairs association.

The 28 white marble steps, which are encased in wood for their protection, are so holy that pilgrims are only allowed to ascend on their knees.

The kneeling position also allows them to gaze through holes in the wood which allegedly reveal spots of Christ's blood on the marble beneath. Pilgrims who ascend the staircase are given a full indulgence of their sins.

Charles Dickens, who visited the staircase in 1845, was unimpressed by the Catholic ritual, calling it a "dangerous reliance on outward observances" and added: "I never, in my life, saw anything at once so ridiculous and so unpleasant as this sight."

In 1589, Pope Sixtus V commissioned 17,000 sq ft of frescoes to surround the stairs. The painted walls and ceiling had been darkened by centuries of smoke from the candles of visitors.

"The hardest part was to remove the soot," said Francesco China, one of the restorers. A number of noted 16th century artists, including Baldassare Croce, who assisted in the painting of the Sistine Chapel, contributed to the frescoes.

They were restored millimetre by millimetre, using digital cameras to discern the original image.

Francesco Buranelli, the director of the Vatican Museum, said: "These are some of the most important, but least well known, frescoes in Rome, and they open a new page for 16th century art.

"The restoration has shown the very high quality of the work." The centre fresco depicts Sixtus himself, dressed as St Sylvester.

The lion's share of the funding of the restoration came from the American Getty Foundation. The foundation has contributed more than £300,000, even though it is locked in an acrimonious tussle with the Italian government over the ownership of several antiquities.

Deborah Marrow, the director of the Getty Foundation, said: "This is a landmark project of restoration and can serve as an example to all others." She added that Getty was delighted to work with the Holy See.

The restoration project will now move to the private chapel at the top of the stairs, which houses relics which have not been seen by anyone outside the Church since the 16th century.

  • The Holy Stairs originally led to the praetorium, or judgment hall, of Pontius Pilate's palace in Jerusalem. Worshippers believe that they were sanctified by Jesus's footsteps.

    They were brought from Jerusalem to Rome in 326AD by St Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, and placed near their current site. The church and palace of St John Lateran were given by Constantine to the Holy See.

    Several popes have undergone the ritual of ascending the 28 marble steps on their knees.