A Pilgrimage is a journey, usually of spiritual significance, to a place held sacred by members of a faith. Next to the Holy Land itself, Rome is the most important place in the world for Christians to make this pious journey towards God. As the centre of the Roman Empire, influential early Christians like Saints Peter and Paul made their own voyages to Rome – and were martyred here. The Vatican and Saint Peter’s are Rome’s best-known and most-visited pilgrimage sites, but there are other important places where the devout – or merely curious – make special journeys to pray, offer thanks, venerate a holy relic or simply kneel on the same spot where an Apostle once stood.

The official list of seven main sites in Rome was compiled by St Philip Neri, who devoted much of his life to helping pilgrims. During Holy Years, indulgences – or forgiveness of sins – were (and still are) granted to those who visited them. The canonical list includes: St Peter’s, San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura and San Sebastiano fuori le Mura. We have added the Scala Santa (across the street from San Giovanni in Laterano), which is of prime importance for pilgrims despite not being included on the official list. In addition to the churches, indulgence is also obtained by visiting one of Rome’s many early Christian catacombs.

An inspiring painting by Caravaggio ‘the Madonna of the Pilgrims’ in Rome’s Sant’ Agostino Church near Piazza Navona portrays a dusty man and woman kneeling barefoot at the feet of the Madonna and Child after a long and arduous journey – it offers an unforgettable glimpse of what conditions must have been like for the faithful in centuries past. Today, although most pilgrims arrive in Rome by air or coach, their spirit of faith lives on.