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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

A Most Puzzling Mosaic!

14/9/2019

 
Map
Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Santa Maria in Trastevere

The exact meaning of the beautiful mosaic on the facade of Santa Maria Trastevere has long been a puzzle. 

In the centre of the mosaic, which may date back to the 12th century, sits the Virgin 
Mary suckling the Christ Child, an image known as the Madonna Lactans. At the base of her throne kneel two tiny figures, whose tonsured heads indicate an ecclesiastical background. 

Mary is flanked by ten female figures. Eight of the ten are crowned and clad in royal regalia, while the two to the Virgin's left do not wear crowns and are more simply dressed. All ten figures have halos and are carrying lamps, but the lamps of the two uncrowned figures are unlit! The iconography of this scene is unique and its significance unclear. The mosaic was once thought to illustrate the story of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, but this is now disputed. 

Santa Maria in Trastevere, thought to be the first church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was founded during the reign of Pope Julius I (r.  337-52). It was rebuilt by Pope Innocent II (r. 1130-43), a member of the Papareschi, a wealthy local family. The campanile sports a small mosaic of the Virgin and Child.  

The portico, which is crowned with four statues, was added in 1702 by Carlo Fontana. 

There are more beautiful mosaics inside the church. 

Mosaic, facade of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Mosaic, facade of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Mosaic, facade of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere
Medieval mosaic of Virgin and Child, Bell tower, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Medieval mosaic of Virgin and Child

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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
    small-group walking tours
    of Rome.

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  • Home
  • Private 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
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      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
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      • 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
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    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
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      • Piazza del Quirinale
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      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
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    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City