Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria hotel

Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four Papal basilicas of Rome (together with St. Peter's - San Pietro, St. John Lateran - San Giovanni In Laterano and St. Paul "Outside the Walls" - SAN PAOLO FUORI LE MURA), is called "Major" for two main reasons: "Major" since it is a major (or papal) basilica and the largest (major) church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome. It is still used by the Pope. According to the legend Pope Liberius wanted a shrine built in the place of an apparition of the Virgin Mary, followed by a snowfall that took place in the night between the 4th and the 5th of August of AD 352. Hence it gained the name “Santa Maria della Neve”. The present building dates back to Pope Sixtus III (432-440) and preserves many ancient mosaics of the period. The interior is divided into 3 naves, the central one with a magnificent ceiling decorated with frescos of the Renaissance. The bell tower (Campanile) is the tallest in Rome (XIV century) with its 300 feet in height (75 metres). Below the Sanctuary of Santa Maria Maggiore is the Crypt of the Nativity (or Bethlehem Crypt) with the tombs of St. Jerome, several popes and Gianlorenzo Bernini.

Santa Maria di Maggiore
by Markus Källander

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