Thread by @julieta_pedrosa

The Esquiline Obelisk and the Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore, #Roma 🇮🇹 which was built on the site where tradition says it miraculously snowed during the summer, some 1,700 years ago. Inside, now are two discreet tombs: Pope #Francis and #Bernini, the great sculptor of #Baroque.

The Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore is one of the four major papal basilicas as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the largest Marian church in #Roma 🇮🇹

The #basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore enshrines the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani, depicting the Blessed Virgin #Mary 🌹as the health and protector of the Roman people, which was granted a canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 August 1838.

#SantaMariaMaggiore is located in Esquilino, the 15th rione (or administrative district) of Rome, on the Piazza dell'Esquilino. Pursuant to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, it is in Italy and not the Vatican City, but the Holy See owns the basilica.

The present Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore was built on the Cispian spur of Rome's Esquiline Hill under Pope Celestine I who consecrated the basilica on 5 August 434 to the Virgin Mary. It retains the core of its original structure, despite the damage by the earthquake of 1348.

The #basilica was restored, redecorated and extended by various popes, including Benedict XIV (1740–1758), who in the 1740s commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to build the present façade and to modify the interior, encompassing all of its altars between the years 1575 and 1630.

The original #architecture of #SantaMariaMaggiore was classical and traditionally Roman, its plan was based on #Hellenistic principles stated by #Vitruvius at the time of #Augustus. There are beautiful #mosaics on the triumphal arch and nave.

The 14th-century bell tower is the highest in Rome, about 75 m. The #basilica's 16th-century coffered ceiling, to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo, is gilded with #gold brought by Christopher #Columbus, presented by Ferdinand and Isabella to the Spanish pope, Alexander VI.

The #SistineChapel off the right transept of the Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore is named after Pope Sixtus V. The architect Domenico Fontana designed the chapel; the main altar has four gilded bronze angels by Sebastiano Torregiani, holding up the ciborium.

It was in the Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, to which Pope Francis belonged, celebrated his first mass in #Roma 🇮🇹

Salus populi romani (Salvation of the Roman people, in the sense of "protector") is the title given in the 19th century to the Byzantine icon depicting the Madonna and Child found in the Pauline or Borghese Chapel of the Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore.

The #Basilica of #SantaMariaMaggiore is one of the oldest and most important churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Western world. The basilica is renowned for its ancient mosaics, its role as a pilgrimage site, and the presence of the Holy Crib (a relic of Jesus' manger).

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