Staircase della Matrice in Paternò
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The Staircase of the Matrice di Paternò is an eighteenth-century staircase that connects the lower to the upper part of the city. It represents the main pedestrian gateway to the church of Santa Maria dell'Alto, located in the historic hill of the city.
The monument was built with money from the inheritance of a local religious who, dying in 1773, had left his possessions to Queen Maria Carolina, with the condition that part of the patrimony was used in the construction of the staircase.
The staircase, about ninety meters long, is flanked by two walls containing 64 blind arches, once flanked by some peasant houses demolished in the 1960s. The steps, 85 in total, are made of lava stone and complemented by pebbles from the Simeto river.
