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Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Fifth-century mosaics, gilded Renaissance ceiling, papal basilica, legend of the August snow.

Photograph · Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

At a glance

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore facts that matter

Names, makers, dates, and context before the story opens up.

What it isChurch
WhereRome, Lazio
Known forFifth-century mosaics, gilded Renaissance ceiling, papal basilica, legend of the August snow

The story

What you're looking at

The Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore stands on Rome's Esquiline Hill and is one of the city's four Papal Basilicas. The present church dates to the fifth century, in the context of the Council of Ephesus. Its central nave and triumphal arch retain early Christian mosaics, while later fabric includes Jacopo Torriti's apse mosaic, Cosmatesque pavement, Arnolfo di Cambio's Nativity scene and a fifteenth-century coffered ceiling. The August Snow story belongs to a living devotional tradition, not documentary construction history. The basilica is within the UNESCO World Heritage property Historic Centre of Rome, rather than separately inscribed.

Verified details

Each statement below is linked to the record or institution that supports it.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major stands on Rome's Esquiline Hill and is one of the city's four Papal Basilicas.1

The present basilica dates to the fifth century CE. Its construction is associated by the basilica with the Council of Ephesus of 431, which affirmed Mary as Theotokos.2

The Miracle of the Snows, in which Mary is said to have indicated the church's site through an August snowfall, is a devotional tradition commemorated annually by the basilica. It should not be treated as documentary construction history.1

The central nave preserves fifth-century mosaics, and the triumphal-arch mosaics date to the pontificate of Sixtus III (432–440). The apse mosaic was made by Jacopo Torriti for Nicholas IV in 1288–1292.2

Later layers include the Cosmatesque pavement donated in 1288, Arnolfo di Cambio's thirteenth-century Nativity scene and a gilt-wood coffered ceiling designed by Giuliano Sangallo in 1450.2

Santa Maria Maggiore is within the UNESCO World Heritage property Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura. It is not separately inscribed.3

Sources and citations (3)
  1. Basilica Papale di Santa Maria MaggioreHistory, Art and SpiritualityHistory, Art and SpiritualityRead source
  2. Holy See Press OfficeThe Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore: IntroductionInside the BasilicaRead source
  3. UNESCO World Heritage CentreHistoric Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le MuraProperty scope and inscription metadataRead source

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