In Jerusalem, the Via Dolorosa or « way of the cross » is the path Jesus is believed to have taken from the place he was imprisoned, to his trial, his long way up to the hill where he was crucified and finally to his grave. In Christianity, it symbolizes the suffering of Jesus to redeem humanity.

Today, the path runs across the busy streets of the Old City from the Muslim quarter to the church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian quarter of the city of Jerusalem, a place of great importance for the three religions of the book.

Pilgrims come from all over the world to Jerusalem and follow the way of the cross to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. For some of them, sometimes travelling from remote places, this is a once in a lifetime journey deeply routed in their belief and spiritual life. Others come repeatedly. 

Christians stop by the 14 stations of the cross and all the places mentioned in the Holy Book, performing rites and prayers coloured by their culture and churches of origin.

In a globalised world of leisure, the way of the cross is also an attraction tourists in flashy colours are eager to visit during their tour of the Middle-East. Passers by are attracted by global culture and knowledge but also moved by sometimes deep spirituality or superficial religious attitudes.

Believers, pilgrims, curious, tourists but also friars, nuns and priests from all nations walk on the same ancient stones creating an incomparable aesthetic of modern times.

The photographic project Via Dolorosa - The human way of the cross is an attempt to document the humanity walking in one of the most meaningful place of today and ancient history, at the crossing of spirituality, globalised cultures, identities and civilisations.