Scala Sancta

Legend dictates that this was the staircase Christ once climbed to meet Pilatus, the governor of Jerusalem that sentenced him to be crucified. Helena, mother of Constantine, recovered it in Jerusalem, just like she found the true cross and the grave in which Christ lay till the third day. The stairs are actually a remnant of the old Lateran palace, leading to the Popes private chapel. The marble plates are protected by wood and just cleared in the midway to allow the faithful to ascend on their knees. At the top of the stairs there’s the Sancta Sanctorum, the inner sanctum, where the most sacred relics are being kept, among which is the portrait of Christ, believed to be painted by St Luke.