The Arch of the Steps marks the beginning of what constituted the main access route, via the long staircase of the "steps," to the very frequented Sanctuary of the Madonna di Monte Berico until the 18th century.
The structure is a triumphal arch with a single opening between two pairs of Corinthian semi-columns on high bases and an attic divided into three parts by small pilasters. At the ends of the attic, there are two statues of the patron saints Leonzio and Capoforo, and in the center, the statue of the Venetian Lion, created by Francesco and Giambattista Albanese; it is probably Francesco who also oversaw the construction site. The building is made of stone from the Vicenza quarries, semi-hard in the lower part and soft in the upper part.
The arch, as noted in the inscription engraved on the attic, was commissioned by the Venetian captain Giacomo Bragadin in 1595, a good fifteen years after Palladio's death but, as many scholars believe, based on a Palladian design developed between 1574 and 1576 as part of a comprehensive plan formulated for the ascent path to the hill and, probably, also for the expansion of the sanctuary.
In an ex-voto from the late 17th century, the Arch is depicted with niches included in the frontal inter-columns; these were likely closed in those years to create the other two niches in the intrados of the arch, where the Announcing Angel and the Annunciated Virgin, works by Orazio Marinali, were placed.
The access staircase has also undergone many alterations. Originally, it consisted of steps as wide as the arch with lateral landings; subsequently, the width was reduced to the opening of the arch and shortened due to significant modifications to the road layout in front carried out in the mid-19th century.
The monument has been almost completely reconstructed, using as much of the original material as possible, following damage sustained during an air raid in 1944.
The Arch of the Steps represents a precious testimony of Palladio's noted ability as a designer of triumphal paths based on precise echoes of Roman classicism: it indeed corresponds to the scheme of the Roman arch with a single opening, like that of Trajan in Ancona.
