Santa Maria Maggiore is located inEsquilino, the 15thrione (administrative district) of Rome, on thePiazza dell'Esquilino [it]. Pursuant to theLateran Treaty of 1929 between theHoly See andItaly, the basilica is in Italy and notVatican City.[3] However, the Holy See fully owns the basilica, and Italy is legally obliged to recognise its full ownership thereof[4] and to concede to it "the immunity granted by international law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign states".[3] The complex of buildings therefore has a status somewhat similar to an embassy.
The Basilica is sometimes referred to asOur Lady of the Snows, a name given to it in theRoman Missal from 1568 to 1969 in connection with theliturgical feast of the anniversary of its dedication on 5 August, a feast that was then denominatedDedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives ('Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snows'). This name for the basilica had become popular in the 14th century[6] in connection with a legend thatc. 352, during "the pontificate ofLiberius, a Roman patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary."[7] The couple prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honor. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honor of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.[8]
The legend is first reported only after AD 1000.[9] It may be implied in what theLiber Pontificalis of the early 13th century says of Pope Liberius: "He built the basilica of his own name near theMacellum of Livia".[10] It is shown in the early 15th-century painting of the Miracle of the Snow byMasolino da Panicale.[11][c]
The feast was originally calledDedicatio Sanctae Mariae ('Dedication of Saint Mary's'),[12] and was celebrated only in Rome until it was inserted into theGeneral Roman Calendar, withad Nives added to its name, in 1568.[6] A congregation appointed byPope Benedict XIV in 1741 proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office and that the feast be given its original name.[12] No action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the feast was calledIn dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae ('Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary').[6] The legend is still commemorated by dropping whiterose petals from the dome during the celebration of theMass and during the SecondVespers on the feast day.
The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica orSanta Maria Liberiana, afterPope Liberius (352–366). This name may have originated from the same legend, which recounts that, like John and his wife, Pope Liberius was told in a dream of the forthcoming summer snowfall, went in procession to where it occurred and there marked out the area on which the church was to be built.[13]Liberiana is still included in some versions of the basilica's name, and "Liberian Basilica" may be used as a contemporary as well as historical name.[d]
On the other hand, the name "Liberian Basilica" may be independent of the legend, since, according toPius Parsch, Pope Liberius transformed a palace of the Sicinini family into a church, which was for that reason called the "Sicinini Basilica". This building was then replaced underPope Sixtus III (432–440) by the present structure dedicated to Mary.[13] However, some sources say that the adaptation as a church of a pre-existing building on the site of the present basilica was done in the 420s underPope Celestine I, the immediate predecessor of Sixtus III.[14]
Long before the earliest traces of the story of the miraculous snow, the church now known as Santa Maria Maggiore was called "Saint Mary of the Crib" (Sancta Maria ad Praesepe),[15] a name it was given because of itsrelic of the crib or manger of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, four boards of sycamore wood believed to have been brought to the church, together with a fifth, in the time ofPope Theodore I (640–649).[16][17] This name appears in theTridentine editions of theRoman Missal as the place for the pope's Mass (the station Mass) on Christmas Night,[18] while the name "Mary Major" appears for the church of the station Mass on Christmas Day.[19]
Along with the other major basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore is also styled a "papal basilica". Before 2006, the four papal major basilicas, together with theBasilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls were referred to as the "patriarchal basilicas" of Rome. WhenPope Benedict XVI abandoned the title "Patriarch of the West", the title of Santa Maria Maggiore changed from patriarchal to papal basilica, as found on its website,[23] and each was associated with one of thefive ancient patriarchates. Santa Maria Maggiore was associated with thePatriarchate of Antioch.[24] In 2024,Pope Francis reinstated the title, reversing Pope Benedict XVI's renunciation of it but, so far, the church designation has remained unaltered.[25]
It is now agreed that the present church was built on the Cispian spur of Rome'sEsquiline Hill underPope Celestine I (422–432) not underPope Sixtus III (432–440), who consecrated the basilica on 5 August 434 to the Virgin Mary.
The dedicatory inscription on the triumphal arch,Latin:Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei (Sixtus the bishop to the people of God), is an indication of that Pope's role in the construction.[29] As well as this church on the summit of theEsquiline Hill, Pope Sixtus III is said to have commissioned extensive building projects throughout the city, which were continued by his successorPope Leo I, the Great.[30]
The church retains the core of its original structure, despite several additional construction projects and damage by theearthquake of 1348.
Church building in Rome in this period, as exemplified in Santa Maria Maggiore, was inspired by the idea of Rome being not just the center of the world of theRoman Empire, as it was seen in the classical period, but the center of the Christian world.[31]
Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the first churches built to celebrate the Virgin Mary, was erected immediately after theCouncil of Ephesus of 431, which proclaimed Mary Mother of God.Pope Sixtus III built it to commemorate this decision.[32][33] Certainly, the atmosphere that generated the council gave rise also to the mosaics that adorn the interior of the dedication: "whatever the precise connection was between council and church it is clear that the planners of the decoration belong to a period of concentrated debates on nature and status of the Virgin and incarnate Christ."[34] The magnificentmosaics of the nave and triumphal arch, seen as "milestones in the depiction" of the Virgin,[35] depict scenes of her life and that of Christ, and scenes from theOld Testament: Moses striking theRed Sea, and Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea.
Richard Krautheimer attributes the magnificence of the work also to the abundant revenue accruing to the papacy at the time from land holdings acquired by the Catholic Church during the 4th and 5th centuries on the Italian peninsula: "Some of these holdings were locally controlled; the majority as early as the end of the 5th century were administered directly from Rome with great efficiency: a central accounting system was involved in the papal chancery; and a budget was apparently prepared, one part of the income going to the papal administration, another to the needs of the clergy, a third to the maintenance of church buildings, a fourth to charity. These fines enabled the papacy to carry out through the 5th century an ambitious building program, including Santa Maria Maggiore."[36]
Miri Rubin believes that the building of the basilica was influenced also by seeing Mary as one who could represent the imperial ideals of classical Rome, bringing together the old Rome and the new Christian Rome: "In Rome, the city ofmartyrs, if no longer of emperors, Mary was a figure that could credibly carry imperial memories and representations."[37]
Gregory the Great may have been inspired by Byzantine devotions to theTheotokos (Mother of God) when after becoming Pope during a plague in 590 that had taken the life of his predecessor, he ordered for seven processions to march through the city of Rome chanting Psalms and Kyrie Eleison, in order to appease the wrath of God. The processions began in different parts of the city, but rather than finally converging on St Peter's, who was always the traditional protector of Rome, he instead ordered the processions to converge on Santa Maria Maggiore instead.[38]
The basilica was restored, redecorated and extended by various popes, includingEugene III (1145–1153),Nicholas IV (1288–1292),Clement X (1670–1676), andBenedict XIV (1740–1758), who in the 1740s commissionedFerdinando Fuga to build the present façade and to modify the interior. The interior of the Santa Maria Maggiore underwent a broad renovation encompassing all of its altars between the years 1575 and 1630.
The original architecture of Santa Maria Maggiore was classical and traditionallyRoman, perhaps to convey the idea that Santa Maria Maggiore represented old imperial Rome as well as its Christian future. As one scholar puts it, "Santa Maria Maggiore so closely resembles a second-century imperialbasilica that it has sometimes been thought to have been adapted from a basilica for use as a Christian church. Its plan was based onHellenistic principles stated byVitruvius at the time ofAugustus."[43]
Even though Santa Maria Maggiore is immense in its area, it was built to plan. The design of the basilica was a typical one during this time in Rome: "a tall and wide nave; an aisle on either side; and a semicircular apse at the end of the nave."[31] The key aspect that made Santa Maria Maggiore such a significant cornerstone in church building during the early 5th century were the beautifulmosaics found on the triumphal arch and nave.[citation needed]
Detail of the external façade of the apse on the north-west of the church on Piazza dell'EsquilinoAn interior view of the dome
The Athenian marble columns supporting the nave are even older, and either come from the first basilica, or from another antique Roman building. Thirty-six are marble and four granite, pared down, or shortened to make them identical byFerdinando Fuga, who provided them with identical gilt-bronze capitals.[44]
The 12th-century façade has been masked by a reconstruction, with a screeningloggia, that was added byPope Benedict XIV in 1743, to designs byFerdinando Fuga that did not damage the mosaics of the façade. The wing of thecanonica (sacristy) to its left and a matching wing to the right (designed byFlaminio Ponzio) give the basilica's front the aspect of a palace facing thePiazza Santa Maria Maggiore. To the right of the Basilica's façade is a memorial constituting a column in the form of an up-ended cannon barrel topped with a cross: it was erected byPope Clement VIII to celebrate the end of theFrench Wars of Religion.[46]
In the piazza in front of the facade rises a column with a Corinthian capital, topped with a statue of the Virgin and the child Jesus. ThisMarian column was erected in 1614 to the designs ofCarlo Maderno during thepapacy of Paul V. Maderno's fountain at the base combines the armorial eagles and dragons of Paul V (Borghese). The column itself was the sole intact remainder from theBasilica of Maxentius and Constantine in theRoman Forum.[e] The statue on top of the column was made by the sculptor Guillaume Berthélot and cast by Orazio Censore. In apapal bull from the year of its installation, the pope decreed three years ofindulgences to those who uttered a prayer to the Virgin while saluting the column.[47]
The interior of the basilica. The view down the nave towards the high altar
The mosaics found in Santa Maria Maggiore are one of the oldest representations of the Virgin Mary in Christianlate antiquity. As one scholar puts it, "This is well demonstrated by the decoration of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome,... where the iconographic depiction of the Virgin Mary was chosen at least in part to celebrate the affirmation of Mary asTheotokos (bearer of God) by the third ecumenicalCouncil of Ephesus in 431 CE."[48]
The mosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave in Santa Maria Maggiore gave a model for the future representations of the Virgin Mary. The influences of these mosaics are rooted in late antique impressionism that could be seen infrescoes, manuscript paintings and many pavement mosaics across villas in Africa,Syria andSicily during the 5th century.[29] This being said, the crowning of Mary on the Apse was made much later by Torriti by commission of Pope Nicholas IV. (13th century).[citation needed]
These mosaics gave historians insight into artistic, religious, and social movements during this time. AsMargaret R. Miles explains the mosaics in Santa Maria Maggiore have two goals: one to glorify the Virgin Mary as Theotokos (God-Bearer); and the other to present "a systematic and comprehensive articulation of the relationship of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian scriptures as one in which the Hebrew Bible foreshadows Christianity."[49] This is explained by the dual images ofOld Testament andNew Testament events depicted in the mosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave.[34]
The mosaics also show the range of artistic expertise and refute the theory that mosaic technique during the time was based on copying from model books. The mosaics found in Santa Maria Maggiore are combinations of different styles of mosaic art during the time, according to art scholar Robin Cormack: "the range of artistic expertise and the actual complexities of production can hardly be reduced to a mentality of copying. A test case is given by the mosaics of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome".[34]
Detail of the mosaic in the triumphal arch, showing Bethlehem
The triumphal arch at the head of the nave was at first referred to as theapse arch, but later became known as the triumphal arch.[50] The triumphal arch is illustrated with magnificent mosaics depicting different scenes of Christ and the Virgin Mary. There was a difference in the styles used in the triumphal arch mosaics compared to those of the nave. The style of the triumphal arch was much more linear and flat as one scholar describes it, not nearly as much action, emotion and movement in them as there were in the Old Testament mosaics of the nave.[34]
One of the first scenes that were visible on the triumphal arch was a panel of Christ's enthronement with a group of angels as his court. As one historian describes it: "On the apse arch Christ is enthroned, a young emperor attended by fourchamberlains, angels of course".[31] This is a perfect example of mosaic art in the 5th century. Another panel found on the triumphal arch is of the Virgin. She is crowned and dressed in a colorful veil. Her wardrobe subtly brings to mind that of a Roman empress. She has her divine son walking with her and a suite of angels and Joseph ready to greet her. "The Virgin...shows to perfection the impressionistic character of mosaics."[51]
Another panel is known as theAdoration of theMagi. This mosaic depicts Infant Christ and The Virgin and the arrival of the three wise men, "mosaics illustrating Christ's first coming and his youth covered the triumphal arch."[51] The other panel depicts the Virgin accompanied by five martyrs.[29]
A nave mosaic from the story of MosesThe apse of the basilica
The nave of the basilica was covered in mosaics representing Old Testament events ofMoses leading theJews out ofEgypt across the Red Sea. "The nave mosaics (which represents stories of Old Testament history and accordingly offered Christians in Rome a new 'past') are illusionistic in a colorful and impressionist manner"[34] as this scholar puts it the scene was filled with movement, emotion, and it was to inspire thinking of Rome's "new" past; the past of the Old Testament.
As one scholar describes it: "Moses strikes the waters of the Red Sea in a heroic gesture, his toga in light and dark grays and blues, but lined in black, the folds white lines, the tunic underneath light blue; the man next to him wears a deep blue toga over a gray and white tunic."[29]
Another panel shows the demise of theEgyptians in theRed Sea. An observer describes the mosaic: "The Egyptians, clad in blue armor with gold bands and scarlet cloaks wildly flying, drown in the greenish-blue waters; the horses, white or light brown shaded with darker browns, highlighted in white, the accoutrements a bright red."[51]
Under the high altar of the basilica is theCrypt of the Nativity orBethlehem Crypt, with a crystal reliquary designed byGiuseppe Valadier said to contain wood from the Holy Crib of the nativity ofJesus Christ.[52] Here is the burial place ofJerome, the 4th-centuryDoctor of the Church who translated the Bible into theLatin language (theVulgate).[53]
Altar of Sistine Chapel and Oratory of the Nativity
Fragments of the sculpture of the Nativity believed to be by 13th-centuryArnolfo di Cambio were transferred to beneath the altar of the large Sistine Chapel[52] off the right transept of the church. This chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is named afterPope Sixtus V, and is not to be confused with theSistine Chapel of theVatican, named afterPope Sixtus IV. The architectDomenico Fontana designed the chapel, which contains the tombs of Sixtus V himself and of his early patronPope Pius V. The main altar in the chapel has four gilded bronze angels by Sebastiano Torregiani, holding up theciborium, which is a model of the chapel itself.
Beneath this altar is the Oratory or Chapel of the Nativity, on whose altar, at that time situated in the Crypt of the Nativity below the main altar of the church itself,Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first Mass as a priest on 25 December 1538.
TheMannerist interior decoration of the Sistine Chapel was completed (1587–1589) by a large team of artists, directed byCesare Nebbia andGiovanni Guerra. While the art biographer,Giovanni Baglione allocates specific works to individual artists, recent scholarship finds that the hand of Nebbia drew preliminary sketches for many, if not all, of the frescoes. Baglione also concedes the roles of Nebbia and Guerra could be summarized as "Nebbia drew, and Guerra supervised the teams".[citation needed]
Painter
Work
Giovanni Battista Pozzo
Angelic Glory, Visitation, Annunciation, Joseph's dream, St. Paul & John Evangelist, St. Peter enters Rome,& Massacre of infants
The column in the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore celebrates the famousicon of the Virgin Mary now enshrined in the Borghese Chapel of the basilica. It is known asSalus Populi Romani ("Protectress of the Roman People" or "Health of the Roman People") due to a miracle in which the icon reportedly helped keep plague from the city. The icon is at least a thousand years old, and according to a tradition was painted from life bySt Luke the Evangelist using the wooden table of theHoly Family inNazareth.
As a papal basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore is often used by the pope. He presides over the rites for the annualFeast of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August there. Except for a few priests and the basilica's archpriest, thecanopied high altar is reserved for use by the pope alone.Pope Francis visited the basilica on the day after his election.[55]
The pope gives charge of the basilica to an archpriest, usually acardinal. Formerly, the archpriest was the titularLatin Patriarch of Antioch, a title abolished in 1964. Since 29 December 2016, the archpriest has beenStanisław Ryłko.
As pope, Francis visited the basilica often, mainly to visit theSalus Populi Romani. He visited before and after trips outside the Vatican, calling the icon his "great devotion." He had also constructed atomb next to the icon to be his final resting place uponhis death in 2025. Francis was laid to rest at Santa Maria Maggiore on the afternoon of Saturday, 26 April 2025, following a funeral procession fromVatican City.[57] Francis thereby became the first pope to be interred outside the Vatican sinceLeo XIII in 1903, and the first pope interred in Santa Maria Maggiore sinceClement IX in 1669.[58]
Archpriests of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore since 1127
^The church is also referred to asSanta Maria delle Nevi, from the LatinSancta Maria ad Nives, literally 'Saint Mary of the Snows'.
^Italian:Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore;Latin:Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris orBasilica Sanctae Mariae ad Nives. The official name seems to vary: theHoly See Press Office uses "Papal Liberian Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome" in Englishin a 2011 noteArchived 3 March 2013 at theWayback Machine, while theofficial Vatican site for the Basilica uses various formulas not including "Liberian" orLiberiana, some under a coat of arms that includesbasilica Liberiana in Italian.
^This triptych painted around 1423 was commissioned for the basilica by a member of theColonna family; it is now in theMuseo di Capodimonte, Naples (Paul Joannides, "The Colonna Triptych by Masolino and Masaccio,"Arte Cristiana no. 728 (1988:339–)). The miracle is depicted as witnessed by a crowd of men and women, with Jesus and the Virgin Mary observing from above.
^Prior authors refer to its derivation from theTempio della Pace orTemple of Peace, which was the name attributed to theBasilica of Maxentius and Constantine before the 18th-century.
^Note that, initially, not all archpriests of the basilica were cardinals.
^Archpriest Pietro Sasso is commonly identified with contemporary cardinal Pietro Sasso of S. Pudenziana (1206–1218/19). However, this identification remains uncertain because the only document which mentions this archpriest (dated 3 July 1212) makes no reference to his cardinalate, cf. Ferri in ASRSP, vol. 28, p. 24.
^Cardinal Pietro Capocci (died 1259) is mentioned in the majority of the catalogs of archpriests of Liberian Basilica but the documents from the archive of the Basilica, published by Ferri in ASRSP, vol. 27, pp. 34–39 and vol. 30, p. 119, give no support for this affirmation. Document dated 19 March 1244 mentions Astor (or Aston) as archpriest, documents between 13 February 1247 and 1 October 1255 mention archpriest without mentioning his name but also without indicating his cardinalate, and on 28 May 1258 Romano was archpriest of the Basilica; the latest document mentions also cardinal Pietro Capocci but makes no reference to his occupation of that post. If he was really an archpriest under Innocent IV, he must have later resigned, but it seems more likely that this statement resulted from a confusion.
^Gregorii XVI, Papam. Litteræ Apostolicæ:Cælestis Regina Maxima Virginum Mariæ Sanctissima Dei Genetrix, CLXXXIIIVatican Secret Archives, Actas Gregorii XVI Papae, p. 271.
Holy See (1969).Calendarium Romanum: ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum. Vatican State: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis.
Beny, Roloff; Gunn, Peter (1981).The churches of Rome. New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN978-0-671-43447-2.
Cormack, Robin (2000)."Chapter 30: The Visual Arts". In Cameron, Averil; Ward-Perkins, Bryan; Whitby, Michael (eds.).The Cambridge ancient history. empire and successors, AD 425–600. Vol. XIV. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-32591-2.
Eitel-Porter, Rhoda (1997). "Artistic Co-Operation in Late Sixteenth-Century Rome: Sistine Chapel in S. Maria Maggiore and the Scala Santa".The Burlington Magazine.139 (1139):452–462.JSTOR887503.
Magi, Filippo (1972),Il Calendario Dipinto sotto Santa Maria Maggiore, Atti della Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, Vol. III (in Italian), Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana.
Miles, Margaret R. (1993). "Santa Maria Maggiore's Fifth-Century Mosaics: Triumphal Christianity and the Jews".Harvard Theological Review.86 (2):155–172.doi:10.1017/S001781600003114X.S2CID154086584.The fifth-century mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome represent the oldest surviving program of mosaic decoration in a Christian church.
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