A stairway linking the Grotto to the sky
In 1930 Sant'Angelo in Grotte is buzzing with activity: work begins on a structure meant to connect the Grotto of San Michele to the Bell Tower, the tall stone tower topped by the face of a clock that relentlessly marks the passing of time, through the tolling of the bells housed in the chamber below. On one of them the completion date of the structure would later be engraved: 1924.
The work is carried out in the belief of creating something monumental, as well as necessary. But no one, back then, could imagine taking part in the creation of something more: something that would go beyond, and that would mark Sant'Angelo in Grotte forever.
148 steps carved into the living rock
Largely carved into the living rock and made up of 148 steps — originally in stone, later replaced with concrete elements — the stairway develops as two side flights beside the Grotto, which join a third central flight climbing up to the monumental bell tower. The whole is set in greenery, on a rocky spur, in perfect harmony with the Grotto below.
The name: the "Scala Santa"
In 1932 the grand stairway is completed. All that remains is to give it a fitting name: this is done by the devotees of Saint Michael the Archangel, who call it the "Scala Santa" (Holy Stair). Indeed, it soon becomes essential for every pilgrim going to the Grotto of San Michele to climb the stairway to the top, praying with the invocation:
“Holy Stair, Holy Stair, Holy Angel. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Step after step you will reach the top, up there in Paradise…”