Basilica of Saint Mary Major

Overview

Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four prestigious major papal basilicas in Rome. Crowning the Esquiline Hill, it is spectacularly preserved and holds the distinction of being the first major church in the West dedicated explicitly to the Virgin Mary.

Highlights

• The Fifth-Century Mosaics: The astonishingly vivid, incredibly ancient mosaics lining the nave and the triumphal arch, dating directly back to its foundation in the 430s AD.
• The Gilded Ceiling: The spectacular, deeply coffered ceiling supposedly gilded entirely with the very first gold brought back from the Americas by Christopher Columbus (gifted by the Spanish monarchs).
• The Borghese Chapel: A breathtaking baroque chapel featuring an icon of the Virgin Mary supposedly painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.

History

According to legend, the basilica was founded after the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to Pope Liberius in 358 AD, telling him to build a church precisely where snow fell the next day. Miraculously, a freak snowstorm blanketed the Esquiline Hill the following morning in the exact shape of a floor plan. The current structure was built shortly after the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) officially declared Mary the "Mother of God."

Visitor Tips

• August Miracle: If you visit on August 5th, the church brilliantly recreates the foundational miraculous snowfall by dropping thousands of white flower petals from the gilded ceiling during Mass.
• Beneath the Altar: The crypt supposedly contains wood from the original Holy Crib brought from Bethlehem.