Pontificio Santuario della Scala Santa

This guide to the Scala Santa in Rome traces the tradition behind these twenty-eight marble steps, said to have been brought from Jerusalem by Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, and long climbed by pilgrims on their knees seeking indulgence. It follows the Augustinian friar Martin Luther's pilgrimage here in 1510, and the church's centuries of protecting the worn marble beneath wooden covers. You may see pilgrims climbing the stairs today, one step at a time.