Santa Maria Maggiore

An interesting legend is associated with the foundation of this church. One of the summer nights of 352, Pope Liberia and the rich Roman Giovanni Patrizio appeared in a dream of Madonna and ordered to build a church on the spot where the snow would fall the next day. The next morning, on August 5, 352 , on Esquiline , where the basilica now stands, snow lay. After that, they began to build a church.

It was replaced by a basilica built in the 440s. Pope Sixtus III and consecrated Our Lady. Many popes, striving to make this very revered Roman church even more beautiful, completed and decorated it. The bell tower, the highest in Rome (75 m), dates from 1377 . The northwestern facade was decorated by Carlo Rainaldi in the 1673-1680s. The main facade with a portico and a loggia was built in the 1740s. Ferdinando Fugue . In the loggia, on the wall, which is the old facade of the church, the mosaic decor of the beginning of the 14th century is preserved.

The interior of the church, despite later alterations, gives an idea of ​​the huge early Christian basilica, distinguished by perfect proportions, harmony and solemnity. Of particular interest are the mosaics that adorn the church. In the central nave there are mosaics of the V century on plots from the Old Testament , striking with their freshness, brightness of colors and beauty. Footage of mosaics of the Arc de Triomphe - Annunciation , birth of Christ and worship of him. They were created in the 5th century, but probably later than the arches of the central nave — the influence of Byzantium is felt in them. The apse mosaic depicting the Coronation of Mary combines parts from the 5th century with those created by Jacopo Torriti at the end of the 13th century , when the apse was rebuilt at the direction of Pope Nicholas IV . It was to this time that all the figures belong.

Attention is drawn to the coffered wooden ceiling, considered the work of Giuliano da Sangallo . According to tradition, they used gold from the first batch brought from the New World (from Peru ) to gilding the ceiling, which Pope Alexander VI received as a gift from the Spanish royal house - Ferdinand and Isabella . Paul - the work of the Cosmatians of the XII century - is significantly changed by the restoration made in the XVIII century. In the depths of the right nave is the tombstone of Cardinal Consalvo Rodriguez of the late 13th century.

In "Santa Maria Maggiore" the Slavic liturgical books were first consecrated, and the Slavic language was declared liturgical. In the basilica there is a memorial plaque of St. Cyril and Methodius.

Of great interest are the three chapels .

The Sistine Chapel on the right was built on behalf of Pope Sixtus V Domenico Fontana . The chapel is crowned by a dome; it is distinguished by a rich decor. Sixtus V and Pius V are buried here. Their tombstones are decorated with bas-reliefs . The statue of the kneeling Sixtus V was made by the sculptor Giovanni Paracca, nicknamed Valsoldo .

After passing from this chapel to the left nave, you can get into the Paolin Chapel, also called the Borghese chapel, because it was built by order of Paul V , who came from the Borghese family. The plan of this chapel corresponds to the Sixtus chapel, but its decorative decoration is even more luxurious. Clement VIII and Paul V are buried in the chapel. In this chapel is the most revered image of the Virgin Mary of Byzantine origin, Salus Populi Romani, in Rome.

Located on the same side, but closer to the exit, the Sforza chapel was built by Giacomo della Porta , possibly according to the design of Michelangelo .

The body of the basilica is placed at the two ends of the transept and belongs to the work of the Mascioni family. It was created in 1955 by order of Pope Pius XII to replace the old organ located above the right choirs of the transept, built in 1716 by Cesare Catarinozzi and reconstructed in the 19th century. The old organ was not destroyed, but was transferred to the parish church of Aliforni, where it is located to this day.

Buried in the basilica: Giovanni Bernini , Pius V , Clement VIII , Clement IX , Paul V , Sixtus V , Pauline Bonaparte .

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• Paolo Scolari ( 1176 -?);

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• Francesco Napoleone Orsini ( 1297 - 1312 );

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• Marino Vulcano ( 1385 - 1390 );
• Stefano Palosti de Veraineris ( 1390 - April 24, 1396 );

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• Francesco Lando (October 1427 - December 26, 1427 );
• Antonio Casini (March 1437 - April 2, 1439 );
• Giovanni Vitelleschi ( 1439 - April 2, 1440 );
• Blessed Nicolo Albergati ( 1440 - 1443 );
• Giuliano della Rovere (August 1477 - August 11, 1483 );
• Rodrigo de Borja i Borja ( 1483 - August 11, 1492 );
• Giovanni Battista Savelli (September 1492 - September 19, 1498 );
• Giovanni Battista Orsini , Grand Master of the Hospitallers Order (September 1498 - February 22, 1502 );
• Giuliano Cesarini ( March 5, 1503 - May 1, 1510 );
• Robert Gibe ( October 4, 1511 - December 1511 );
• Francisco de Remolins ( 1511 - February 5, 1518 );
• Leonardo Grosso della Rovere (February 1518 - September 17, 1520 );
• Andrea della Valle ( 1520 - 1535 );
• Alessandro Farnese ( 1535 - 1549 );
• Giovanni Domenico De Cupis ( 1549 - December 10, 1553 );
  • vacant (1553-1564);
• Carlo Borromeo (October 1564 - November 3, 1584 );
• Filippo Boncompagni (November 1584 - June 9, 1586 );
• Deco Azzolini Sr. (June 1586 - October 9, 1587 );
• Dominico Pinelli (October 1587 - August 9, 1611 );
• Michelangelo Tonti (August 1611 - April 21, 1622 );
• Janbattista Leni (April 1622 - November 3, 1627 );
• Giovanni Garzia Millini (November 1627 - October 2, 1629 );
• Francesco Barberini Senior (October 1629 - 1630 );
• Antonio Barberini ( 1630 - August 3, 1671 );
• Giacomo Rospillosi (August 1671 - February 2, 1684 );
• Felice Rospigliosi (1686-1688);
• Philip Thomas Howard OP ( 1689 - June 17, 1694 );
• Benedetto Pamphili , the great prior of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem ( November 1, 1694 - April 20, 1699 );
• Jacopo Antonio Moridge ( April 20 - October 28, 1699 );
• Fabrizio Recession ( October 28, 1699 - June 15, 1717 );
  • vacant (1717-1724);
• Lodovico Pico della Mirandola (1724-1730);
• Pietro Ottoboni (1730-1740);
  • vacant (1740-1743);
• Girolamo Colonna di Sharra (1743-1763);
• Marcantonio Colonna, Jr. (1763-1793);
• Giovanni Francesco Albani (1793-1803);
• Antonio Despug y Dameto (December 28, 1803 - May 2, 1813);
• Giovanni Filippo Gallarati Scotty ( 1814 - October 6, 1819 );
• Antonio Doria Pamphili ( October 10, 1819 - January 31, 1821 );
• Annibale della Jenga ( February 10, 1821 - September 28, 1823 );
• Benedetto Naro (January 1, 1824 - October 6, 1832);
• Carlo Odescalchi (December 22, 1832 - November 21, 1834);
  • vacant (1834-1838);
• Giuseppe Antonio Sala ( December 11, 1838 - June 23, 1839 );
• Luigi del Drago ( August 29, 1839 - April 18, 1845 );
• Konstantino Patrici Naro ( April 24, 1845 - September 21, 1867 );
• Luigi Amat di San Filippo and Sorso ( September 21, 1867 - March 30, 1878 );
• Gustavus Adolf von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst ( July 15, 1878 - October 30, 1896 );
• Vincenzo Vannutelli ( December 16, 1896 - July 9, 1930 );
• Bonaventure Cerretti ( July 16, 1930 - May 8, 1933 );
• Angelo Maria Dolchi ( May 22, 1933 - September 13, 1939 );
• Alessandro Verde ( October 11, 1939 - March 29, 1958 );
• Carlo Confalonieri ( November 16, 1959 - August 1, 1986 );
• Luigi Dadallo ( December 15, 1986 - August 22, 1990 );
• Hugo Poletti ( January 17, 1991 - February 25, 1997 );
• Carlo Furno ( September 29, 1997 - May 27, 2004 );
• Bernard Lowe ( May 27, 2004 - November 21, 2011 );
• Santos Abril y Castello ( November 21, 2011 - December 28, 2016 );
• Stanislav Rylko (since December 28, 2016.

• Attractions Italy
• Church of Santa Maria Maggiore