ROME Five hundred years after they were painted, frescoes adorning a chapel said to house the “Holy Stairs” climbed by Jesus when he was brought before Pointius Pilate, have appeared in their original colours.

The 13 months’ work on the Chapel of St Sylvester in the Basilica of St John Lateran is part of the restoration of the Sancta Sanctorum that houses the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs).

According to Catholic tradition, the wooden steps encase white marble steps that lead to Pilate’s headquarters in Jerusalem, where the Roman governor famously “washed his hands” of the Cruxifixion. They are said to have been brought to Rome by St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine I, the first Christian emperor.

The Getty Foundation, Rome’s provincial authorities and Selex Communications are coordinating the project. (AKI)

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