Wybrane relikwiarze ze Świętych Schodów („Scala Santa”) w krypcie pod kościołem Ojców Pijarów w Krakowie
Selected reliquaries from the Holy Stairs (“Scala Santa”) in the crypt under the Piarist church in Cracow

Summary/Abstract: In the years 2017–2020, comprehensive conservation and construction works were carried out within the crypt, basement and monastery of the Piarist church in Kraków. Numerous sensational findings were made during their course, including the discovery of 59 reliquaries in the mysterious stairs in the crypt’s chancel. As the conservation and research work progressed, it became clear that the crypt beneath the church was originally the Chapel of the Holy Stairs, a unique historical object on the world scale. Conservators excavated and conserved the reliquaries, and three of them underwent detailed examination. A reliquary containing a transparent cross with a particles of the True Cross and two opaque objects, a blue bead and a black bead, were selected. The objects were analysed by non-destructive and non-invasive methods. It was found that the reliquary cross is made of rock crystal, the beads are made of glass. The possible origin of the objects and the date of their manufacture were also discussed.

• Details
• Contents