All through the Middle Ages the pilgrims crowded into the town, as many as 30,000 a day when plenary indulgences were granted. They climbed the 223 steps, the most penitent among them in chains and on their knees. Today's pilgrims more often take the elevator to the top, then struggle down the stairway to buy schlock in the crowded tourist shops, where only the stone buildings distinguish them from Fisherman's Wharf.

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