BASILICA DI SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE

It is one of the four great "patriarchal" basilicas, along with St. John Lateran, St. Peter's and St. Paul's Outside the Walls. Since the 1929 Lateran Accords, these four buildings have been part of the Vatican State. This is an imposing basilica, capable of welcoming large crowds. The building is uncluttered on all sides, with a vast piazza in front of the façade (Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore) and an even larger one in front of the apse (Piazza dell'Esquilino). The entrance is on the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore side. The^18th-century façade is the work of Ferdinando Fuga, a late-Baroque architect close to Francesco Borromini. Fuga built it over an earlier façade without removing the^13th-century mosaics, by Filippo Rusuti, which recount Pope Liber's dream that an exceptional event would mark this place. Indeed, on August 5, 358, snow fell on the Esquilino, and on this snow Pope Liber traced the perimeter of the new church. Every August 5, Rome still celebrates the miracle of the snow, with artificial snow falling on the square in front of the basilica. Quite impressive, considering how hot it can get in Rome in August! The present-day basilica dates back to the^{5th century} , and its construction is linked to the Council of Ephesus in 431, which proclaimed Mary the Mother of God. The church was thus commissioned by Pope Sixtus III. As you enter, the effect is grandiose, and you can still admire the columns and antique capitals of the central nave. The ceiling is gilded with gold leaf, the first gold brought back from the Americas by Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Spain for Pope Alexander VI, better known as the Borgia Pope. On the floor, the superb marble pavement is the work of the Cosmas, a famous family of marble masons from the 12th^and 13th^centuries .

36 mosaic panels line the walls of the central nave: among the most precious in Rome, they date back to the^5th century. They illustrate scenes from the Old Testament. In the apse, on the other hand, later ^13th-century mosaics depict episodes linked to the life of Mary, the work of Jacopo Torriti(Coronation of the Virgin). The^18th-century baldachin in red porphyry is by Ferdinando Fuga. On the steps to the right, Bernini's tomb appears modest by comparison with the heavily decorated funeral chapel of Pauline Bonaparte (to the left of the choir).