Santa Maria Maggiore

English name:	Great St Mary's
Dedication:	Blessed Virgin Mary
Denomination:	Roman Catholic
Type:	Papal basilica
Titular church	No
National church:	No
Built:	5th century
Architect(s):	Ferdinando Fuga
Address:	42 Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore 00185 Roma
Phone:	06 44 65 836 / 06 48 14 287

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Santa Maria Maggiore is a 5th century papal basilica with a postal address at Via Liberiana 27, which is in the rione Monti. The main entrance is on the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore. Pictures of the basilica on Wikimedia Commons are here. An English Wikipedia article is here.

Name

The dedication is to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Alternative names to be found in the sources are Santa Maria della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow) after the foundation legend (see below), and Santa Maria ad Praesepem after the relic of the manger (presepio) which is enshrined here.

The traditional English version of the name is "St Mary Major". This is confusing to many, but it simply means that this is Rome's principal church dedicated to Our Lady (there are very many others).

For historical reasons (see below), the appellation "Liberian Basilica" is also to be found.

Status

This is the junior of the four papal basilicas in Rome, the other three (on order of seniority) being San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro in Vaticano and San Paolo fuori le Mura.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI abolished the title of “patriarchal basilica” formerly given to these four churches. Before then, this church was traditionally ascribed to the Patriarchate of Antioch.

The basilica is regarded as the most important church worldwide dedicated to Our Lady.

It is served and administered by a Chapter of Canons, and has the King of Spain as its secular protector and patron. Unlike the canons at the Lateran, those here are secular priests and not religious.

The ancient parish has been appropriated to the church of Santi Vito e Modesto nearby, so the basilica is no longer parochial.

Since 1929, the basilica has been "extraterritorial". This means that it is part of Italy, but is completely in the care of the Vatican City with the same legal status as a foreign embassy.

History

Ancient times

This church is on the ancient Cispius, the main summit of the Esquiline Hill, which in ancient times was not a heavily built-up area.

It was not one of the original tituli, those places of worship putatively descending from the original house-churches used by Rome's Christians in the first two centuries AD. Instead, it was a 4th century foundation. Further, pace earlier publications, it was not on the site of the Macellum Liviae (a known ancient market building in the locality). Also, the 4th century BC temple of Juno Lucina, proposed as a progenitor of the cult of Our Lady (this goddess was a protectress of pregnant women), was not near here but near the church of San Francesco di Paola.

Archaeological investigations under the basilica between 1966 and 1971 revealed a 1st century building made up of a large courtyard, a porticus or colonnade and some ancillary rooms. This measured some 37 by 30 metres, and was six metres below floor level. The entrance was under the present apse of the basilica. On epigraphic evidence, it seems to have belonged to a villa complex of the Neratii family.

The walls were originally revetted in marble, but at some stage in the early 4th century this was removed and replaced with a series of frescoes representing a calendar with a bucolic scene for each month. Then, the fresco work was painted over with a decoration of imitation marble by the third quarter of the 4th century at the latest.

If the conclusion of the archaeologists as regards the last point is correct, then this ancient edifice seems to have post-dated the foundation of the first church traditionally located here. This is an important point.

Liberian Basilica

According to the Liber Pontificalis, this first church (the so-called Basilica Liberiana or "Liberian Basilica") was founded in the 350s by Pope Liberius. However, the ancient building that the archaeologists found in 1966 was not a basilica -and so it seems that Liberius did not build it on the site of the present church. It might have been immediately to one side, or somewhere in the locality, and only some future lucky archaeological discovery would solve the problem of its location.

A complication is that archaeological investigations under the present apse from 1931 to 1933 revealed foundations in opus vittatum, which at the time were interpreted as belonging to the Liberian Basilica. Another look was taken in 1960, and it seems that the old foundations belong to the apse of Sixtus III.

A further complication is that the name Basilica Sicinini occurs in early sources, such as Ammianus Marcellinus. This seems to refer to an otherwise unknown patron or benefactor called Sicininus. (There is, however, a minority view that the name referred to Santa Maria in Trastevere.)

Foundation legend

According to the legend, the work was financed by a Roman patrician John, and his wife. They were childless, and so had decided to leave their fortune to the Blessed Virgin. She appeared to them in a dream, and told them to build a church in her honour on a site outlined by a miraculous snowfall -this was in August (traditionally in 358). Such a patch of snow was found on the summit of the Esquiline the following morning, and so the church was built.

This is a charming story, but unfortunately there is no trace of it before the second millennium. The first direct documentary reference to it dates from 1288.

A modern surmise is that the legend's odd detail about the snow derived ultimately from the memory of a violent and localised downpour of hail from a severe August thunderstorm. This is entirely possible, since Rome suffers thunderstorms serious enough to spawn tornadoes (there's a video of one here).

Civil war

The death of Pope Liberius caused a civil war among Roman Christians, because no agreed procedure for electing a pope had yet been worked out. Pope St Damasus I and a rival called Ursicinus were elected, and their supporters started to kill each other. Damasus obtained the support of the Imperial government and the possession of the Lateran, but Ursicinus had a strong following in the city and set up a rival court in the Liberian Basilica. After he refused the emperor's order to vacate, the partisans of Damasus laid siege to the basilica and killed over a hundred people inside it. Apparently the besiegers got onto the roof, ripped off the tiles and pelted those inside with them.

There is no record of the church after that, and after such destruction and desecration it might have been abandoned.

Re-foundation

Pope Sixtus III built a new church here to commemorate the declaration at the Council of Ephesus in 431 that Our Lady was Mother of God (Theotokos). The nave of this survives structurally intact, and has original mosaic decoration.

It was the first church dedicated to Our Lady in Rome, pre-dating Santa Maria Antiqua by about a century. As such, its original name was simply Sanctae Mariae.

Manger

It is not known how or when the relic of Christ's manger arrived here. In a recording of a donation to the church by one Flavia Xantippa in the 6th century, the name ad Praesepem first appears. The relic was provided with a replica Grotto of Bethlehem, which is thought to have been excavated outside the basilica at its far right hand side (where the Cappella Sistina is now) and provided with an external oratory. Also, it appears that the relics of St Jerome were brought here from Bethlehem and enshrined in the same place; unusually, they have since been mislaid although it is claimed that they are still here "somewhere".

Given the presence nearby of the pilgrimage basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, then simply called "Jerusalem", it seems persuasive that this church was set up as a Roman "Bethlehem". The Oratory of the Grotto was certainly extant by the mid 8th century, although it would not have hand an altar then and so was not a chapel. It was mentioned in a Vita of St Winibald, who was in Rome for two years from 721.

The relic of the manger is referred to in Italian as Il Presepe, or Sacra Culla. If you are not very sure of your spoken grasp of the language, be careful of the latter phrase. There is a centuries-old Roman joke originating in the basilica, concerning an English tourist who asked about the Sacro Culo -which means "Holy Arse".

Monastic colony

Rome's dignity as a great city came to an end in circumstances that remain very obscure, but the old idea that the barbarian sacks of the 5th century destroyed its civic identity is now discredited. The Senate and city government continued until the early 7th century. However, one change in circumstances massively altered the surroundings of the basilica. The collapse of the aqueducts meant that only those who able to afford the digging of deep wells could continue to live on the hills, so almost all of the surviving population had migrated down to the Tiber flood-plain and neighbouring small valleys by the 8th century. The vacated land was given over to vineyards (drinking well and river water was very unhealthy) and also monasteries.

The basilica, now ex-urban, became the focus of a monastic colony comprising several monasteries in the last quarter of the first millennium. Many, if not most, of the original monks were refugees from the Iconoclast persecutions in the Byzantine Empire and from the conquests of Islam, and so worshipped in the Eastern rites. The church of Sant'Antonio Abate nearby is the sole survivor of these monasteries, which became important in the 8th century. The basilicas of the Lateran and St Peter's also attracted monasteries in the same way.

The monks at the time would have had liturgical duties in the basilica, but the church itself never became monastic.

(The old tituli of Santa Prassede and Santa Pudenziana in the vicinity also became monastic, the former still functioning as a Vallumbrosan monastery and the latter as a Cistercian monastery until the 19th century.)

Setting of mediaeval basilica

The basilica is now the centre of a system of major streets, but this was not the case in the Middle Ages. By the time the city had settled into its mediaeval built-up area, around the beginning of the 11th century, the ancient street plan around the church had been abandoned and become countryside. Before the Renaissance, the basilica was not on the road to anywhere. The main road of the Via Tiburtina ran from the Suburra neighbourhood along the present Via in Selci (the ancient Clivus Suburanus), through the Arch of Gallienus and so to the Porta Tiburtina and San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. The basilica had a short access drive running south past Santa Prassede to join this road. At the Trofei di Mario was an important road junction, with side roads going off to the Porta Pia, Porta Maggiore and the Lateran, and the last was the only route from the basilica to the Lateran.

The ancient Vicus Patricius, now the Via Urbana, also survived in use in the Middle Ages as a direct route from the Suburra past Santa Pudenziana to the Porta Pia, and there would have been another short road linking the basilica to this. Before it became the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the massive ruin of the Baths of Diocletian was the haunt of wild animals and robbers.

Fabric of original basilica

Up to the early 9th century, it is thought that the church was much as Pope Sixtus had left it. That is, it was of basilical form with a central nave and side aisles, and a semi-circular apsidal sanctuary at the end of the central nave. There were no side chapels then (apart from the detached Oratory of Bethlehem), and also no transept.

The side aisles were separated from the central nave by two rows of ancient columns of differing sizes and lengths, a total of forty supporting two horizontal entablatures (these columns were subsequently got at by restorers and made uniform). There was a round-headed window above each gap between columns, a total of twenty-one in each nave side wall (half of these were later blocked). The apse originally had five windows.

Mosaics embellished the nave side walls between the entablature and the windows, and over the triumphal arch of the apse (these survive). Further mosaics were in the apse conch and on the counterfaçade (these do not). It is on record that the counterfaçade mosaic incorporated a long dedicatory epigraph destroyed in the 18th century, similar to a surviving one at Santa Sabina.

The original floor was made of scavenged marble revetting slabs, laid irregularly. It is still there, only about 5 cm below the Cosmatesque floor which was laid on top of it.

Documentary evidence also exists that there was an atrium courtyard in front of the entrance originally, such as the other three major basilicas certainly had. The nearby San Clemente has a very good example.

Early middle ages

Alterations to the original fabric began with Pope Paschal I (817-24), who re-arranged the sanctuary. He provided a new high altar with eight steps in porphyry, over a devotional crypt or confessio. Also, the bishop's throne was moved back from the centre of the apse to the far point in its curve. Further, the pope arranged for an odd architectural addition to the apse, described as a porticus or gallery for lady patricians (the technical term is matroneum), from which they could allegedly hear everything that the pope said to his ministers while seated on his throne in the curve of the apse. The architectural arrangement might have been like that to be found now at Sant'Anna al Laterano.

This pope also made major interventions at the nearby Santa Prassede, and you can see him depicted in the main mosaic there.

The church emerges into mediaeval history when Pope St Gregory VII was kidnapped there while celebrating Mass in 1075, by a crew of rebel citizens led by one Cencio I Frangipane. He was rescued the next day. This is an early hint of a mediaeval attitude among ordinary Romans that the basilica belonged especially to them, since Pope Sixtus allegedly built it for them (there is an epigraph in the apse mosaic that supports this view).

The kidnapping was on Christmas Eve, and the pope was celebrating the Vigil Mass of the Nativity in the Oratory of the Grotto. This is the first evidence of a tradition that continued until the 19th century.

In the reign of Pope Eugene III (1145-53), a new external entrance loggia was added with a single-pitched roof on eight columns. Also, the extant Cosmatesque pavement was laid in the nave. The names of the patrons of the latter are recorded: Scoto and Giovanni di Paparone. A schola cantorum or choir enclosure was provided for the far end of the nave, together with a pair of ambones or pulpits halfway down the nave for the proclamation of Scripture (a surviving pair is at San Lorenzo fuori le Mura). These lost items also had Cosmatesque decoration.

The external Oratory of Bethlehem was rebuilt on the orders of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), becoming the Chapel of the Manger (Cappella del Presepe) on the site of the present Cappella Sistina.

13th century

Between 1256 and 1259, two Gothic shrines were erected either side of the sanctuary. The left hand one was donated by Giacomo and Vinia Capocci, and was for the famous and venerated icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani. The other one was sponsored by the Senate and People of Rome (Senatus Populusque Romae -SPQR), and was used for exhibiting the relic of the Manger for veneration.

The icon was probably originally painted for the basilica in the 12th century, although an 8th century Byzantine provenance has also been claimed. A tradition grew up that it had been painted by St Luke, but this derives from the legend of the original icon of the Theotokos Hodegetria at Constantinople.

There was a major intervention under Pope Nicholas IV (1288-92), who demolished and rebuilt the apse of the church. This got rid of Paschal's matroneum. A slightly larger new apse was provided, not circular but polygonal with five sides and with four windows pointed in the Gothic style. A transept was erected immediately in front of the apse, slightly wider than the combined nave and aisles.

The new apse conch was provided with a magnificent mosaic, which survives. Also, the entrance façade over the loggia was embellished with mosaics as part of the same project. The transept was apparently going to receive a fresco cycle, but work was interrupted. A small part of the decoration survives high up in the far right hand corner, and features tondi with portraits of saints and prophets. The artist is unknown. A fragment of a scene of the Creation of Adam suggests that the right hand end of the transept was to be illustrated with scenes from the Old Testament, and the opposite end with some from the New.

The Chapel of the Manger was also re-fitted and embellished by Arnolfo di Cambio. This widely admired work was later destroyed accidentally, but some crib figures survive and are now in the museum. It had a vault in mosaic, and a Cosmatesque floor.

14th century

As the "People's Basilica", the church was the setting for the coronation of Cola di Rienzo as Tribune of Rome after he briefly succeeded in overthrowing the papal government on behalf of the citizens in 1347. The popes were residing at Avignon at the time, and law and order in Rome had collapsed. The abbot of San Paolo fuori le Mura was nominally in charge, but in practice the local nobility were terrorising and exploiting the population.

The church was damaged in an earthquake in the following year, and restored by 1377 when the campanile was built by Pope Gregory XI on his return to Rome from Avignon.

Renaissance

Up to the 15th century, the roofs of the nave and aisles in the interior were open. In 1455, Pope Callixtus III had the central nave covered by a flat coffered wooden ceiling allegedly designed by Giuliano da Sangallo, which would have been amazing since he was only ten at the time. The story is that the later gilding was done using the first shipment of gold to Spain from the conquered Inca Empire, presented to Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) by Ferdinand and Isabella. Both popes belonged to the Borgia family, hence its heraldry is displayed in the ceiling.

The side aisles were vaulted on the orders of Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville (1443-83). The cardinal also commissioned a new baldacchino or high altar canopy, and relief panels from this by Mino del Reame are now on the apse wall. As part of this restoration project, two entrances flanking the apse were opened and side chapels in the ends of the transept fitted out.

By this period, the sacristy and other ancillary accommodation for the church were located in a huddle of structures next to the bottom end of the right hand aisle. Most of these have gone but the Chapel of St Michael survives as the shop, and has frescoes by the school of Piero della Francesca. This is the oldest surviving side chapel, and was evidently built or re-fitted at this time.

The Sack of Rome in 1527 despoiled the Chapel of the Manger. As the main focus of devotion here it had become a treasure-house, and had altar gates of silver, an altar frontal of beaten gold and a golden statue of the Madonna and Child weighing over two kilograms. All were lost.

Further external side chapels began to be added to the basilica itself soon after, with access arranged by the simple expedient of knocking a hole through the ancient aisle side wall. The Cappella Cesi was first, about 1550, and the Cappella Sforza next door followed in 1573. The latter was allegedly designed by Michelangelo.

Sixtus V

The basilica saw massive patronage by Pope Sixtus V (1585-90), who began work on the Cappella Sistina in the year before his election when he was still Cardinal Felice Peretti. This was primarily intended as his mortuary chapel, but doubled up as the basilica's Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The architect was Domenico Fontana, who used some of the polychrome marble spolia available from the demolition of the ancient Septizodium. The result was an edifice that could count as a church in its own right -if it were free-standing.

The old and much admired Cappella del Presepe by Arnolfo di Cambio was in the way, and the initial intention was to move it to the centre of the new chapel. Unfortunately, the attempt failed and the structure fell to pieces. The mosaics and Cosmatesque work were destroyed, but the crib figures were scavenged and so survive.

The pope also ordered new roads to be built to improve access to the basilica. To provide a direct link between the city centre and the church he laid out the Via Painisperna. The Via Merulana (actually begun by his predecessor, Pope Gregory XIII) linked the basilica with the Lateran. Then, the Strada Felice was built to Trinita dei Monti. The works were overseen by Domenico Fontana. A large formal piazza was laid out to the north of the basilica, and an obelisk provided in 1587 that was sourced from the Mausoleum of Augustus.

To make way for this piazza, the present Piazza Esquilino, the old church of San Luca was demolished. This had been the home of the city's confraternity of painters, and in compensation they were given the church of Santa Martina in the Forum. The painters took the dedication with them, hence their church is now Santi Luca e Martina.

17th century

The Cappella Sistina received its twin, the Cappella Paolina, at the start of the 17th century. This was intended as the mortuary chapel of Pope Paul V, and was begun in 1605. The structure was completed in 1611, but decorative work went on for another five years. The architect was Flaminio Ponzio.

The pope also commissioned Ponzio to do something about the mediaeval sacristy wing, which must have become an embarrassment by then. He demolished the old baptistry and sacristy, and replaced them with a new multi-storey block also including a set of papal apartments. Unfortunately, the frontage of this protruded beyond the façade of the basilica -aesthetically very unfortunate.

Exterior

Bell-tower

The Romanesque bell-tower is the highest in Rome at 75 metres. It was rebuilt between 1370 and 1378 on older foundations. The pyramidal spire was added in the 16th century.

Façade and portico

The façade was designed in 1743 by Ferdinando Fuga. He used a strong chiaroscuro effect, a play on light and shadows.

The gilded angels on top of the loggia are by Pietro Bracci and were made in 1749. They were originally placed on the canopy, but were moved here.

The mosaic behind the facade dates back to the papacy of Nicholas IV (1288-92), by Filippo Rusuti. The upper part shows Christ as Pantocrator (Ruler of All) and Teacher, in Byzantine style. He holds a book, which displays the text EGO SUM LUX MUNDI QUI, meaning "I am the light of the world who [takes away the sins of the world]." To the sides of the central images are Mary, the Apostles and saints. Closest to Christ are the Virgin and St John. The saints are identified through Latin inscriptions, but the Virgin Mary is identified with Greek lettering, a contracted form of Mater Theou, Mother of God. Further to the left are Sts Paul, James and Jerome (included because his relics are in the church). To the right of St John are Sts Peter, Andrew and Matthew. Above them are symbols of the Evangelists. Four angels hold the tondo with Christ's image. By the feet of the angels are two small figures, depicting Cardinals Pietro and Jacopo Colonna, who commissioned the mosaic. The artist has signed his work in the lower part of the band around the tondo. This was a new trend. In ancient times, artists had often signed their work, but in the early Middle Ages they had usually seen themselves as part of a workshop rather than as an individual artist.

This is a type of mosaic that is usually only found in the apse of a church; the effect was to turn the whole piazza into a church when the great pilgrim processions of the Middle Ages reached it on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. While the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin dates only to 1950, the Feast and the doctrine it is based on go back to at least before the year 500, and it was one of the most important Marian feasts. In the Middle Ages, the Pope would celebrate Mass from the loggia on that day.

On the lower part is the legend of the snowfall that marked the site. The style of clothes and the papal insignia depicted belong to the 14th century, rather than to the 4th century when the events took place.

The mosaic can sometimes be seen from the outside if the light is just right, but you will then only see a small part of it. It can be viewed by joining one of the church's own guided tours of the Loggia delle Benedizioni. From the loggia, one can also see San Giovanni in Laterano at the other end of the Via Merulana.

On the left side of the portico is the Holy Door, which is only open during Holy Years.

The dedicatory inscription from the reign of Pope Eugenius III has been moved to the outside wall of the sacristy, and is well preserved.

Interior

Nave

The columns of Athenian marble were possibly reused from the first basilica

The basilical plan has been well preserved. The columns flanking the nave are of Athenian marble. They were in all probability part of the first basilica, and are possibly reused from an older Roman building. Above them are mosaics of Old Testament history, which probably makes them the oldest Christian mosaics in a church in Rome. They were thought to be from the first church, but later research has dated them to c. 432–440, in the pontificate of Sixtus III. It is hard to see them, since the light is very dim. There are now 36 panels left of the original 42. Six were lost when the Pauline and Sistine Chapels were built. Some of them were heavily restored with paint during the Middle Ages, and some were reconstructed in 1593 and later.

Originally, the basilica did not have a transept. The reason was that the main purpose of the transept was to provide space for pilgrims flocking to a saint's tomb. In the case of this basilica, the main focus was not on a grave such as the Apostles' tombs in San Pietro in Vaticano or San Paolo fuori le mura; Mary had been assumed body and soul into Heaven, and there was therefore no tomb (there is a monument in Ephesus known as the tomb of Mary, but the origin of this is unclear). The transept was added by Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292), and as a result a new apse also had to be added.

Part of the floor is in the Cosmatesque style, but the repairs have not been altogether successful.

The ceiling is by Sangallo, and is gilded. The gold used here is said to be the first gold brought from the New World, given by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.

Monuments by the entrance

The funerary monument of Pope Clement IX (1667-1669) was made by Carlo Rainaldi in 1671. The statue of the Pope is by Domenico Guidi.

On the opposite side is the funerary monument of Pope Nicholas IV, designed by Domenico Fontana in 1574.

Close by is a bust of Costanzo Patrizi (died 1623) by Alessandro Algardi.

Sacristy

You may ask the sacristan to admit you to the sacristy and the rooms behind it. They contain frescoes of the Blessed Virgin from the early 17th century by Passignano and Giuseppe Puglia, and sculptures from the 15th century. The present design is by Flaminio Ponzio, from 1605. In the rooms behind the sacristy, known as the Hall of the Washbasins, are fragments of the reliefs of the early baldachino and altar.

A relic of St Thomas of Canterbury is preserved here, and groups of pilgrims may ask to see and venerate it.

Baptistery

The baptistery was designed by Flaminio Ponzio in 1605 as the Chapel of the Winter Choir. The font is from 1825, and was made by Valadier.

Odoardo Santarelli is buried here; the tomb dated c. 1640 is by Allessandro Algardi.

The next room on the right side, the Chapel of St Michael and St Peter in Chains has 15th century frescoes of the Annunciation attributed to Piero della Francesca and behind this room is the column erected by Pope Clement VIII in memory of the abjuration of Emperor Henry IV during the investiture conflict.

Chapel of the Holy Relics

This chapel was designed by Ferdinando Fuga, about 1750.

Outside and to the left of the chapel is a fresco from c. 1740 by Pompeo Baoni, the Annunciation.

Sistine Chapel

To the right of the high altar is the domed Blessed Sacrament Chapel, designed by Domenico Fontana. He started work here in 1585. It was named after the founder, Pope Sixtus V.

The tabernacle dates from 1599. It is now opened only on Holy Thursday. It is held aloft by four bronze angels made by B. Torrigiani. The tabernacle itself was made by L. Scalzo to a design from 1590 by Giovanni Battista Ricci.

Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) is buried on the right-hand side of the chapel. Although he has never been canonized, he was venerated as a saint here for a long time. The tomb is by Domenico Fontana.

Opposite this tomb is the funarary monument of Pope St Pius V, also by Fontana.

In the sacristy of the chapel are vestments worn by Pope St Pius V, a 15th century holy water stoup by Isaia da Pisa and landscape paintings by Paul Brill.

Crypt beneath the Blessed Sacrament Chapel

As early as the 7th century, this crypt was arranged as a reproduction of the cave in Bethlehem. The Christmas crib here is one of the finest in the world, with statuettes made by Arnolfo de Cambio c. 1289.

St Jerome, Doctor of the Church and translator of the Bible into Latin in the 4th century, is buried here. He lived as a hermit next to the cave in Bethlehem, and it was thought fitting to preserve his relics here, in the "Bethlehem in Rome".

St Ignatius of Loyola offered his first Mass at the Cosmatesque altar in the crypt. The altarfront is by the Vassalettis.

The sculpture of the Nativity is from the 15th century. The statue opposite the altar depicts St Cajetan holding the Holy Child, and is by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. In a letter the saint wrote to a nun at Brescia, he explained that when he was once lost in prayer at this spot, the Holy Child climbed into his arms.

The crypt is not always open to the public. It is possible to see some of it if you look over the balustrade.

High altar and confessio

The high altar is a papal altar, reserved for the Holy Father. It can only be used by others by special permission. The altar and canopy, are by Fernando Fuga, who also designed the façade. The sculpture at the high altar is by P. Bracci, made c. 1750.

In the confessio, St Matthias the Apostle is buried. He was the thirteenth Apostle, elected after Judas Ischariot had left the disciples. Above the altar in the confessio is a reliquary which holds five pieces of wood. They are said to be from the Santa Culla, the Holy Manger that Christ was laid in at Bethlehem. Pope Theodore (642-649) is said to have brought them to Rome shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 638. The authenticity is uncertain, and it is thought that it might be the manger from one of the first Christmas cribs. The reliquary is made of gold and silver, with a figure of the Holy Child on top. The container has several crystal windows through which the relics can be seen. The relics are displayed on the 25th of each month, and large groups of pilgrims can ask at the sacristy if they wish to see them at other times. The confessio is designed by Virgilio Vespasiani in 1864. The statue of Pope Pius IX is by Ignazio Jacometti, made in 1880.

Sanctuary and apse

Behind the altar are three mosaics. The two on the arches were ordered by Pope Sixtus III in the 5th century. They were ordered after the Council of Ephesus, which had proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God, and this is emphasised in the mosaics. In the one showing the Adoration of the Magi, the Blessed Virgin is depicted as an Augusta, a Roman empress.

On the first arch behind the altar the subject is the childhood of Christ. He is followed by angels, showing his divinity. Many of the scenes are from early legends about the childhood of Christ, rather than from the Gospels. The inscription in the centre of the arch, XYSTUS EPISCOPUS PLEBI DEI means "Sixtus, bishop to the people of God". This refers to Sistus III (432-440), who rebuilt or restored the church. The arch was originally an apsidal arch, but it was transformed into a triumphal arch when Pope Nicholas added a transept and a new apse to the basilica.

The arch above the apse shows scenes and symbols from the Apocalypse, such as the Lamb of God and the seven-armed candlestick, a symbol of the seven churches John's vision was sent to.

The apse mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin, is from the late 13th century, by Jacopo Torriti, a Franciscan friar. Traditionally, in apse mosaics Christ was shown alone as Ruler (Pantokrator) and Teacher, but here he is shown with Our Lady. He shares his throne with her and crowns her. The orb surrounding them represents the universe. At the base is the River Jordan, a symbol of baptism. It continues between the pointed windows with scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin. Saints and two of the donors, Pope Nicholas IV and Jacopo Colonna, are also depicted.

In the sanctuary area, you will find the relics tabernacle, a special tabernacle placed here to hold several important relics. It was donated in 1256 by Giacomo and Vinia Capocci. It has Cosmatesque decoration, and a mosaic showing the donors presenting the shrine to Our Lady.

Near the door leading out of the church on the right-hand side is the 14th century tomb, in the Gothic style, of the Spanish cardinal Gonzalo Rodriguez Hinojosa, Archbishop of Toledo and Cardinal Bishop of Albano, who died in 1299. The mosaic on the tomb is signed by Giovanni de Cosma, of the family after which the Cosmatesque technique is named. The inscription reads HOC OP(US) FEC(IT) JOH(ANN)ES MAG(IST)RI COSM(A)E CIVIS ROMANUS, "This work was made by Cosma, a citizen of Rome".

A short distance away, in the floor to the right of the high altar, is the burial place of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his family.

On the left side of the apse is the tomb of Clement Merlini, designed by Francesco Borromini c. 1650.

The exterior of the apse was designed by Bernini. Carlo Rainaldi carried out the work in 1673 to his design.

Pauline Chapel

The chapel was founded in 1611 by Pope Paul V, and is named after him. It was designed by Flaminio Ponzio, who also made the monuments of the Paul V and Clement VIII.

The icon of the Blessed Virgin enshrined here is difficult to date, but it is at least a thousand years old. Legend claims that it was made by none other than St Luke the Evangelist, but this is clearly not true. It is called Salus Populi Romani, "Well-being/Salvation of the Roman People". According to tradition, it was this icon that Pope St Gregory the Great carried through the streets in 593, when Rome was suffering under the plague. On his way back from St Peter's, he saw St Michael the Archangel above the Mausoleum of Hadrian (later named Castel Sant'Angelo because of this vision. The archangel drew his sword to ward off the plague, and the city was saved. Later instances of processions with this icon are well recorded; the last time was in 1837, when Pope Gregory XVI had it carried through the city during a cholera epidemic.

Pope St Pius V came here to pray during the Battle of Lepanto, when Christendom was saved from the Ottoman expansion. Eugenio Pacelli celebrated his first Mass at the altar beneath the icon in 1899, and in 1939 he returned as Pope Pius XII to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving after his election. The people of Rome also gathered here in 1944, when the Battle of Anzio was fought close to the city. The icon originally depicted Our Lady sitting on a throne with the Holy Child on her lap. The lower part was destroyed by fire at some point, and the remaining part was damaged; fortunately, the restoration was successful. It is in the Eastern style, with Greek letters identifying the figures. It is also decorated with jewels. Both figures have been crowned by the Vatican Chapter.

The sculpture above the altar depicts the legend of the snowfall.

Guido Reni painted most of the frescoes in the chapel c. 1613. The is also a fresco by Giovanni Lanfranco above the monument of Pope Clement VIII.

The sacristy of the chapel, also desgined by Ponzio, has paintings by Passignano.

Below the chapel is the burial crypt of the Borghese family. Popes Paul V and Clement VIII are buried here, in porphyry tombs. The entrance to the crypt is in the sacristy.

Sforza Chapel

The chapel was designed by Michelangelo in 1564 and completed by Giacomo della Porta in 1573.

Cesi Chapel

Martino Longhi the elder or Guidetto Guidetti designed this chapel c. 1550. Peolo and Federico Cesi are buried here, in tombs by Guglielmo della Porta.

Access

The basilica is open daily from 07:00 to 19:00, although the custodians might start shepherding you out fifteen minutes beforehand.

The museum opens from 09:30 to 18:30.

Redemptorists assist in the basilica as sacristans, but the custodians are employees of the Vatican since the basilica is extraterritorial.

Liturgy

Mass is celebrated, usually in the Cappella Paolina:

Weekdays 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 12:00, 18:00.

Sundays 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 (solemn high Mass in Latin), 11:30, 12:15, 18:00.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place from 9:00 to 16:30, Monday to Friday.

Confessions can be made from 7:00 to 12:00, and 15:30 to 19:00. A 'college' of Dominicans has responsibility as confessors. The friars speak several different languages, and the basilica is one of the most important locations in Rome for both locals and pilgrims wishing to approach the Sacrament of Penance.

Vespers is celebrated in choir on weekdays at 16:15, and Sundays at 17:00.

Feast Day

The church's dedication is celebrated in the general calendar of the Catholic church with an optional memoria on 5 August.

The title of the celebration is now given as the “Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major”. However, before 1970 the title was “Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow” in acknowledgement of the fictional foundation legend. Recommendations to change the name of the feast had been made as far back as the 18th century, but the change was delayed owing to a wish to respect the dignity of other churches worldwide with an official dedication to Santa Maria ad Nives.

Traditionally, on this day white rose petals were dropped from the dome of the Cappella Paolina during the Mass. In recent years, these have been replaced with dahlia petals.

External Links

Official diocesan web-page

Italian Wikipedia page

More pictures of the basilica at Wikimedia Commons.

Basilica's website

Museum website

Virtual Tour of the Basilica and Loggia (on the basilica's website)

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Exterior

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Apse

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Interior

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Loggia

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Museum

"De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr -Sala dei Papi

Info.roma web-page

"Romeartlover" web-page