The Spanish Steps owe their existence to pilgrimage. When pilgrims made their way along what is known as the Via del Babuino and Piazza di Spagna, they had to make their way up a hill in order to get to the road that leads to St. Mary Major.

King Louis XV offered to build a set of stairs that spread out at the bottom to gather people together, resulting in an embrace that seems to reach the Trinity at the very top.

"From Tourist to Pilgrim" is a podcast by Liz Lev, with original music by Mara Miceli and Umberto D'Auria, editing and sound design by Mara Miceli, and directed by Johana Bronkova.