The first half of the Monte alle Croci stairway, or via Crucis, was reopened on Wednesday for the first time since closing in March 2022 due to a structural failure. It is finally possible to climb the bottom half of the steps, which are situated past Porta San Miniato in the San Niccolò area, leading to a side entrance of the Giardino delle Rose. Within the opening hours of the Giardino (9am-5pm until March), you can go across and proceed up to piazzale Michelangelo, where you can find the other side of the stairway, which is still sealed due to ongoing restorations.
Before Giuseppe Poggi designed the viale dei Colli, this was the historic passageway linking the city center to piazzale Michelangelo. The date of original construction is unclear, but it was probably built shortly after San Miniato, the church erected in 1080 in honor of Florence’s first martyr. An inscription from Dante Alighieri’s Purgatory mentioning these steps is nestled at their base.
In 1320, Porta San Miniato was constructed at the base of the hill, and it became tradition for Florentines to walk this via Crucis, the oldest in Italy, over the course of Lent. In 1628, the Franciscan monk Salvatore Vitale installed a series of wooden crosses along the path, and during the 18th century, the abbot from San Miniato had a double file of cypress trees planted to shield pilgrims from the wind.
