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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

Santa Maria Maggiore

17/10/2019

 
Map
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal basilicas of Rome, was built during the reign of Pope Sixtus III (r. 432-40) and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who was declared the Mother of God (Theotokos) at the Council of Ephesus (431). Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest Marian church in Rome.

The brick bell tower, which at 246 feet (75 m.) is the highest in the city, was completed in 1377. 

The rear of the church, with its imposing flight of steps, was created by Flaminio Ponzio and Domenico Fontana. It was completed, circa 1673, by Carlo Rainaldi. The obelisk, which once stood outside the entrance to the Mausoleum of Augustus, was set up here by Pope Sixtus V in 1587. 

A new facade was completed in 1743, the work of the Florentine architect Ferdinando Fuga (1699-1782). The portico is surmounted by a three-arched benediction loggia. 

The 14-metre-high marble column, which stands in front of the church, comes from the Basilica of Maxentius. It was set up here in 1613 at the behest of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21) and is crowned with a bronze statue of the Virgin and Child, the work of 
Guillaume Berthélot and Orazio Censore. 

At the time the column was set up, the Basilica of Maxentius was known as the Temple of Peace. The inscription explains that the column was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, for 'the Prince who gives true peace came from her womb' ('ex cuius visceribus princeps verae pacis genitus est donum dedit'). The column duly came to be known as the Colonna della Pace.

Facade of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Statue of Virgin and Child, facade of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
A statue of the Virgin and Child crowns the facade
Allegorical Statues of Virginity and Humility, facade of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Allegorical Statues of Virginity and Humility above the central door
Rear of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Rear of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore
Column of Peace, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Column of Peace
Virgin and Child, Column of Peace, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Virgin and Child by Guillaume Berthélot & Orazio Censore

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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    of Rome.

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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque