Rome monuments - S. Maria Maggiore
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, is one of the largest and most beautiful churches in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Construction on the church began in 432-440, during the time of Pope Sisto the III and was completed in the following centuries. Its facade was decorated in the 13th century by Rusiti with the mosaic narrating the legend of the miraculous founding of the Libertarian Basilica in 352. for the occasion of Concilio di Efeso, in which Maria was proclaimed Mother of God. It could be thought that the veneration of the Virgin Mary was transferred from the Basilica of Santa Maria Nives, erected by Pope Liberio (352-366) to the new grand Basilica of Pope Sisto the III, because Santa Maria Nives was sadly famous for its uproars, that followed the election of Pope Saint Domaso (366-384), where many people were killed.
The apse was re-done by Nicolò IV (1288-1292) and the Roman bell tower which measures 75 meters, the highest in Rome, was erected in 1376.
The main facade was done by Ferdinando Fuga, who was summoned by Clemente X between 1743 and 1750 to design the beautiful facade facing the piazza of the same name, where the column of peace, erected by Carlo Maderno and taken from the Basilica of Massenzio, rises at a height of over 14 meters. The column is surmounted by a bronze statue of the Virgin Mary symbolizing this magnificent work of art.