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Rome has been a major Christian pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages to Rome can involve visits to a large number of sites, both within the Vatican City and in Italian territory. A popular stopping point is the Pilate's stairs: these are, according to the Christian tradition, the steps that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial. The stairs were, reputedly, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th Century. For centuries, the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wished to honour the Passion of Jesus. Object of pilgrimage are also several catacombs built in the Roman age, in which Christians prayed, buried their dead and performed worship during periods of persecution, and various national churches (among them San Luigi dei francesi and Santa Maria dell'Anima), or churches associated with individual religious orders, such as the Jesuit Churches of Jesus and Sant'Ignazio. Traditionally, pilgrims in Rome visit the seven pilgrim churches (Italian: Le sette chiese) in 24 hours. This custom, mandatory for each pilgrim in the Middle Ages, was codified in the 16th century by Saint Philip Neri. The seven churches are the four major Basilicas (St Peter in Vatican, St Paul outside the Walls, St John in Lateran and Santa Maria Maggiore), while the other three are San Lorenzo fuori le mura (a palaeochristian Basilica), Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (a church founded by Helena, the mother of Constantine, which hosts fragments of wood attributed to the holy cross) and San Sebastiano fuori le mura (which lies on the Appian Way and is built above Roman catacombs).

Jewish pilgrimage to Rome
Interestingly Rabbinic literature also describes several early visits by Jews to Rome. The Talmud and Midrash recount rabbinic embassies that journey to Rome to vouch for the rights of the Jewish community there, as well as to connect with what seems to have been a sizable Jewish community. Other than political motives, Jews in the early first to mid-second century would have traveled to Rome to sight-see. Though not interested in Rome religious vestiges like the Parthenon. Jewish visitors would have especially been interested in seeing the arch of Titus depicting the spoils of Jerusalem, and the Temple of Peace which housed the looted Jewish temple cult objects. Rabbi Eleazar b. Jose is recorded as having successfully seen three objects at the temple of peace, the headband of the high priest, Solomon's throne, and the curtain of the Holy of Holies. It is likely that other Jewish visitors, especially ones of religious prestige would have taken advantage of the cult objects being in Rome on display. Because pilgrimage to the temple, an obligation for Jews was no longer possible, it is plausible that Jewish visitors to Rome would have visited these objects, even if that is not what motivated them to journey there. This would serve as a sort of neo-pilgrimage which was no longer possible to do in Jerusalem. It is unknown what happened to the Jewish temple objects after a fire destroyed the temple of peace in 192 CE. Since the Romans, even into the Christian period liked to flaunt their trophies and spoils from military victories, it is likely that some of the Jewish temple objects in the Temple of Peace were saved, or replicas were produced. Later accounts of plundering by Germanic tribes under Alaric and Gizeric of 'the treasures of the Jews' may have been replacements of the objects destroyed in the fire from the fourth century. Because the spolia of the Jews was useful in Christian propaganda, they would have been moved to different churches and locations as continual reminders of the triumph of Christianity over Judaism. An account of Benjamin of Tudela viewing two bronze columns in the Church of St. John Lateran in the 12th century, said to be the handiwork of king Solomon. This would suggest that early Jewish temple objects would have been on public display for Christians as well as Jews as late as the 12th century, and it is plausible that Jews could have continued travelling to view these objects as substitution to traditional pilgrimage as well.