The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
In August 356 the Virgin appeared to Pope Liberius and asked him to build a church, dedicated to her, on the spot where snow would have fallen during the night.
On the morning of 5 August a procession set out for the Esquiline Hill indicated by the Virgin and found an area covered with snow. Pope Liberius built a first building on this site...
Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four major basilicas of Rome, and one of the seven pilgrimage churches.
Getting there : Metro Termini, Cavour or Vittorio Emanuele station, or bus lines 16, 70, 71, 75, 360…
Address : Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore
Opening hours : every day from 7:00 to 18:45.
Ticket prices: free admission.
The present Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the result of many transformations carried out over time, from the 5th to the 17th century.
To the oldest parts were added the apse and the transept in the 13th century, followed by the construction of the great campanile in 1377.
The surroundings were laid out at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. It was then that the obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus, and the column from the Basilica of Maxentius, were moved to Piazza dell’Esquilino (behind the basilica) and to Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore.
The 16th and 17th centuries were also rich in transformations, with the addition of chapels and the construction of the two Baroque façades.
The main façade, on Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, has a very fine loggia for papal blessings. 14th-century mosaics adorn the interior of the loggia, accessible for a small offering…
The interior, although altered over time, keeps an appearance close to its origins. The central nave is lined with 40 Ionic columns, separating it from the side aisles and giving it the typical look of antique basilicas.
The many mosaics of the basilica are exceptional.
The oldest, from the 5th century, are in the central nave in small panels between the tops of the columns and the windows. They illustrate scenes from the Old Testament: on the left Genesis and on the right Exodus. Those of the triumphal arch, also from the 5th century, illustrate scenes from the childhood of Christ.
The mosaic of the apse, more recent, dating from the end of the 13th century, illustrates the Coronation of the Virgin and below it the Dormition of the Virgin. Find out more about the history of the Coronation of the Virgin.
The superb coffered ceiling is from the 15th century and was gilded with gold from the Americas, a gift from the King of Spain.
The two chapels deserve your attention. The first, in the shape of a Greek cross, called the Sistine Chapel, houses the tomb of Pope Sixtus V (shown kneeling) and of Pius V (enthroned).
In the centre a gilded bronze tabernacle supported by angels surmounts an underground chapel containing the relics of the crib of Bethlehem.
The second chapel, called the Pauline Chapel, houses the tomb of Paul V and of Clement VIII.
