Chapelle Notre-Dame de Monserato

The Chapelle Notre-Dame de Monserato occupies a hillside position above the citadel, reached by a path from the upper town. Built in the 15th century as a chapel for Sardinian immigrants who had settled in Bastia, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat in Catalonia — a reminder of the complex Mediterranean connections of medieval Corsica.

The chapel's extraordinary feature is its Scala Santa, a staircase of 28 stone steps that the devout climb on their knees while meditating on scenes from the Passion. Panels depicting the Stations of the Cross are mounted on the walls alongside the staircase. The climb ends at a small oratory at the top of the steps. The chapel and its staircase are still actively used for devotion, particularly during Holy Week, when the Scala Santa draws pilgrims from across Corsica. The views from the hilltop position are also excellent.

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A story
The Chapelle Notre-Dame de Monserato is a 15th-century chapel that contains one of the rarest Catholic monuments in France: a Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs — a flight of steps that the faithful ascend on their knees in an act of penance. The original Scala Santa in Rome is said to be the staircase from Pontius Pilate's palace that Christ climbed before his trial; replicas were built across Catholic Europe, but very few survive outside Rome. This one, built into a hillside behind the chapel, is in regular use during Holy Week.