The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, Italy

Front facade of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

Sainte Mary Major This 12th century basilica is called Saint Mary Major to indicate that it is the most venerable and precious of the churches consecrated to the Virgin Mary.

It is also in this basilica that Pope Francis wished to be buried in a simple and modest tomb.

Alexander III had the formula inscribed on the portal of the church: « Maria, via, salus, totius gloria mundi » which means « Mary, way, life, salvation, glory of the whole world ».

It was built by integrating the former 5th century church.

The original church was called Saint Mary of the Snow in memory of the miracle of the night of 4 to 5 August 356 when the snow had fallen on the hill of the Esquilino.

Rear facade of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

Rear facade Saint Mary Major The Virgin had appeared in a dream to Pope Liberus and a couple of Roman patricians who wished to build a church in her honour, announcing that a miracle had taken place; it was a cloak of immaculate snow which thus designated the location of the church.

The work took place during the years432-444, under the papacy of Sixtus III, illustrating the dogma of the Council of Ephesus (431) which affirmed the divine maternity of the Virgin by calling her « Mother of God » (against the Nestorians who considered her only the mother of Christ-man).

Sainte Mary Major has been enlarged over the centuries, but the essence of the original church has been preserved where the mosaics from the 5th century can be admired, illustrating the high dignity of the Virgin Mary within Christendom.

Triumphal Arch Mosaics, Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Massacre of the Innocents, Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

Triumphal Arch Mosaics Fifth century mosaics decorate the triumphal arch and depict the Christ-God, with episodes of his childhood with his mother.

Those on each side of the central nave, above the columns, depict scenes from the Old Testament.

In the XIIIth century, Pope Nicolas IV (1288-92) had the apse demolished, which was leaning against the Arc de Triomphe to build another one further on covered with mosaics by Jacopo Torriti, the one above depicts the « Coronation of the Virgin », the one below depicts the « Dormition of the Virgin » surrounded by the Apostles.

Then the cardinals Giacomo and Pietro Colonna had the exterior façade decorated with mosaics made by Filippo Rusuti that tell the story of the snow at the origin of the building.

Baldaquin and main altar of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

Baldaquin Saint Mary Major In the 15th century, Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) had the ceiling of the central nave with caissons gilded with the first gold to come from America offered by the king of Spain; a work by Sangallo the Elder.

In the 18th century, Pope Benedict XIV had the entire church restored by the architect Ferdinando Fuga, who designed the main facade and placed the high altar beneath a magnificent baldaquin.

The mosaics by Rusuti that adorned the exterior of the façade in the 13th-14th centuries are in the upper lodge known as Blessings Lodge, behind the façade designed by Fuga.

Thanks to the Latran Conventions signed in 1929, the Holy See owns the Basilica, making it a territory distinct from Italian soil.

The Bell Tower of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major

The bell tower of Santa Maria Maggiore is the highest bell tower in Rome.

It is 75 metres high.

Bell Tower of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

St Mary Major Bell Tower This bell tower of Saint Mary Major is the last Roman Bell Tower built and completed in the Medieval period.

Its construction took place from the end of the XI century until the middle of the XV.

The visible part protruding from the presbytery roof dates from the 11th century, during the pontificate of Gregory XI (1370-1378), is characterised by the arched pointed arches of its windows, which are a unique example of the Gothic influence on Roman bell tower architecture.

While the last floor that completed its construction, commissioned in the mid Vth by Cardinal Gugliemo d'Estouteville, is characterised by a return to the ancient round arches.

One of its bells was nicknamed « the Lost », because a woman who was coming on a pilgrimage got lost in the middle of the night on the outskirts of Rome had been guided by the sound of this bell to arrive safely at Saint Mary Major.

Sainte Mary Major

Rear facade Saint Mary Major

St Mary Major Bell Tower

Roman column surmounted by a statue of the Virgin in the square of Saint Mary Major in Rome

Column of Saint Mary