Santa Maria Maggiore - Wednesday, First Week of Lent

Today we are introduced to what is known in technical terms, as a whopper of a church. There is so much to see and to unpack when it comes to this magnificent basilica, it is best to simply jump in.

Santa Maria Maggiore is located on the Esquiline Hill, just south of the Termini train station. If you have stayed in the Monti section of Rome and walked from the train station, you will have passed this. The basilica dominates the hill and dominates the surrounding area; it is a massive, solid, structure.

As the name suggests, this is one of the older, more notable churches of Rome, and is dedicated to Mary. The structure that the viewer sees today - while heavily embellished, dates from the founding of the basilica in the early 400's! The most likely date places the construction of the church in the papacy of Sixtus III, 432-440. However, there are some sources that place the founding the to time of Sixtus's predecessor.

Santa Maria Maggiore, Exterior Apse, photo by Rick Bessey

A particularly wonderful story about the founding of the church states that the location of the basilica was determined from a vision in 352 wherein a Roman patrician vowed his goods to Mary, the Mother of God, and was only waiting on a sign. On August 5, 352, it snowed in Rome on the Esquiline Hill, and the site was set. In fact, Santa Maria Maggiore was referred to St. Mary of the Snow, and on August 5 of every year white petals are dropped from the heights of the church in acknowledgement of this story.

Santa Maria Maggiore, Approach, photo by Rick Bessey

The church is typical basilica form - in fact, it is a perfect architectural structure, according the the terms set forth by Vitruvius, written during the time of the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, who reigned from 27 BC to AD 14. (His rule covered the fictional, but useful year of "0", and was the Roman Emperor at the time of Christ.) The width of the nave is equal to the height (36 meters in this case) and the width of the columns within are nine and one-half times greater than their width.* This church truly is a Roman Basilica.

The interior of the church is bright and presents an overall sense of gold. The coffered ceiling gleams with gilded gold, and the mosaic along the sides contribute to this color throughout. At the end of the nave, the apse presents us with a mosaic of the Coronation of the Virgin. Typically mosaics of the fifth century will show Christ alone. But here, in Holy Mary's basilica, she is present in the apse with Christ as he crowns her Queen of Heaven. Review the surrounding mosaics which show scenes from the life of Mary.

Among the relics found in Santa Maria Maggiore, one holds prominence; a fragment of the crib from the Nativity of Jesus is housed here. Wooden fragments said the be those from Bethlehem are contained within the ornate reliquary. An interesting note is that Pope Francis returned one of these pieces to Bethlehem in 2019.

On a personal note, I have always associated the back side of the church as the front of the church. When you exit the train station and turn left, that road, Via Cavour, leads directly to the piazza behind the church. And so, for years, that is what I viewed as the main part of the church. And that is why this post leads with that view of the basilica!

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Santa Maria Maggiore, Google Maps

*Pulles, Gregory J., Rediscovering the Churches of Rome