La Mostra    The patriarchal Basilicas    Saint Mary Major

The façade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore at the beginning of XVII century

In this Giacomo Lauro veduta dated 1618, the mosaics by Filippo Rusuti (1290) from the old façade live on alongside work undertaken during the papacy of Paul V: the lateral right-hand palazzo by Flaminio Ponzio, and the Corinthian column from the Basilica di Maxentius, erected in the piazza outside the Basilica in 1614.

Giacomo Lauro, Ecclesia S. Mariae Maioris, in: Id., Antiquae Urbis splendor,Roma 1641

The apsidal area of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1600

This was the look of the apsidal area of Santa Maria Maggiore before seventeenth century works: you can see the late thirteenth century apse and the sistine age works (1585-1590) or the dome of the Holy Sacrament or Crib chapel and the Esquiline obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus. The view by Giovanni Maggi is included in a volume published on the occasion of the Holy year 1600, which describes the "deliciae divinae" (the churches) and "humanae" of Rome.

Giovanni Maggi, Ecclesia S. Mariae Maioris in Esquilino colle, tratta da: Dominicus Custos, Deliciae urbis Romae divinae et humanae anno sacro Jubilaei MDC, Augsburg 1600

Map of the ancient Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

The map shows the look of the basilica before the great sixteenth-seventeenth century works.

Veteris liberianae Basilicae adiunctorumque aedificiorum vestigium cum antiquo pavimento, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

The façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1621, with the projection of the works on the left side

The architectonic view of the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore basilica taken from De Angeli's work shows, beside the late Thirteenth century mosaics by Filippo Rusuti, the recent realization of the right side palace by Flaminio Ponzio during the pontificate of Paul V, and the palace to build, specular to the existing one, on the left side of the front façade, whose completion had to wait the Eighteenth century.

Orientalis facies Liberianae Basilicae cum orthographia tum nobilis sacelli aediumque perelegantium ad dexteram porticus canonicorum usibus a Paulo V pont. max. adiunctarum tum quae ad laevam construendae eiusdem sanctiss. domini erga deiperam eximia pietate ut spes est respondebunt, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

The apsidal area of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore after XVI and XVII century works wanted by Sixtus V and Paul V

This is how the apse area looked at St Mary Major after work undertaken during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We can make out the Dome of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Esquiline obelisk which Sixtus V had erected, along with the Borghese Chapel which Paul V commissioned from Flaminio Ponzio as a corollary to the Sistine Chapel, completed a few years before De Angeli referenced it in his work.

Facies occidentalis liberianae Basilicae addita utrinque orthographia lateris item occidentalis sacellorum qua maximi pontifices Sixtus V ad dexteram s.mo dni nostri praesepi Paulus V ad laevam ipsi deiparae magnifico opere extruxerunt, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

Map of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore after the works realized under the popes Sixtus V and Paul V

The layout clearly shows the major sixteenth/seventeenth-century works, including the two lateral chapels on the right and left designed by Domenico Fontana for Pope Sixtus V and by Flaminio Ponzio for Paul V.

Vestigium totius Basilicae liberianae et appositorum aedificiorum ea forma in quam Paulus V pont. max. magnifice exculta atque aucta redegit, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

The rear façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

This image shows the Basilica’s final external appearance on Piazza dell’Esquilino after completion of sixteenth-century work commissioned by Clement X from Carlo Rainaldi, whose design for restoration of the rear façade and a connection between the two chapels and the apse was preferred to the more-costly design put forward by Bernini.

Roma antica e moderna o sia nuova descrizione della moderna città di Roma, e di tutti gli edifizi notabili, che sono in essa, e delle cose più celebri, che erano nella antica Roma... Abbellita con duecento e più figure in rame, con curiose notizie istoriche, e con la cronologia di tutti li sommi pontefici, re, consoli e imperadori romani. Accresciuta in questa nuova edizione di un tomo terzo..., vol. II, Roma 1745

The rear façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1749

Piranesi’s veduta shows the final external appearance of the outside of St Mary Major on Piazza dell’Esquilino by Carlo Rainaldi, whose design for restoration of the rear façade and a connection between the two chapels and the apse was preferred to the more-costly design put forward by Bernini.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta della facciata di dietro della basilica di S. Maria Maggiore, in: Id., Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto veneziano, vol. I, Paris 1836

The "new" façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

In his 1749 veduta, Giovanni Battista Piranesi shows the “new” façade of the Basilica, which had only recently been completed (1741-1743) by Ferdinando Fuga for Benedict XIV, featuring a portico and an upper loggia for blessings, set over the thirteenth-century mosaics in such as manner as to frame them without destroying them.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta della basilica di S.ta Maria Maggiore con le due fabbriche laterali di detta basilica, in: Id., Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto veneziano, vol. II, Paris 1836

Inside view of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1768

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta interna della basilica di S. Maria Maggiore, in: Id., Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architetto veneziano, vol. I, Paris 1836

The "new" façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

Ferdinando Fuga built the Basilica’s “new” façade for Benedict XIV. It features a portico and an upper loggia for blessings, set over the thirteenth-century mosaics in such as manner as to frame them without destroying them.

Basilicae Sanctae Mariae Maioris prospectus, in: Calcografia degli edifizj di Roma, ovvero vedute, piante, spaccati, ed elevazioni di belli edifizj antichi e moderni di questa superba città, vol. II, Roma 1779

The "new" façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

In his 1749 veduta, Giovanni Battista Piranesi shows the “new” façade of the Basilica, which had only recently been completed (1741-1743) by Ferdinando Fuga for Benedict XIV, featuring a portico and an upper loggia for blessings, set over the thirteenth-century mosaics in such as manner as to frame them without destroying them.

Philippe Benoist (draw.), Alphonse Bayot (lith.), Basilique de Sainte-Marie-Majeure: façade principale. Basilica di S.a Maria-Maggiore: veduta della facciata principale, tratta da: Rome dans sa grandeur. Vues, monuments anciens et modernes: description, histoire, institutions, dessins d'après nature par Philippe Benoist et Felix Benoist...,Paris 1870

Rite of opening and closing of the Holy Door of Santa Maria Maggiore

Giovanni Cristoforo Battelli, Brevis enarratio sacrorum rituum servatorum in aperiendo, & claudendo portam sanctam patriarchalis basilicae liberianae S. Mariae Majoris ab eminentissimo, & reverendissimo Petro card. Otthobono s. r. E. vice-cancellario, episcopo sebinensi, ejusdemque Basilicae archipresbytero & apostolico de latere legato, Roma 1726

Façade of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, albumen photo, about 1870

Facciata S. M. Maggiore,albumen photo, about 1870

Interior of Santa Maria Maggiore, albumen photo, about 1870

Interno S. M.a Maggiore, fotografia all'albumina, 1870 ca

The visit of pope Pius XI to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on the occasion of the Extraordinary Holy Year of 1933

Felici (papal photog.), Le cerimonie dell'anno santo. La visita del Pontefice alla Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in: L'illustrazione italiana, a. LX, n. 42, 15 October 1933

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the icon of Salus Populi Romani

The elaborate copper architectural frontispiece which opens the imposing monograph Abbot Paolo De Angeli wrote in the 1600s on St Mary Major presents key moments from the basilica’s history and the relics it houses through vignettes. Told in images, the account commences with the Salus Populi Romani icon, traditionally considered to have been painted by Saint Luke; it continues with the Madonna’s appearance to Pope Liberius in a dream, followed by the establishment of the church after Patrician John provided funding; it also illustrates a number of miracles. The story of Saint Gregory the Great holds pride of place in the centre of the frontispiece. It was he who, in 590, carried the icon in a procession to pray for the city’s liberation from the plague. On this procession, beneath Castel Sant’Angelo, the Madonna interceded to perform the miracle of Archangel Michael appearing to sheath his sword, indicating the end of the wrath of God and, in consequence, of the contagion. In the middle of the lower edge, we see the silver urn donated by Margaret of Austria in 1606 to house the wooden fragments of the manger on which Baby Jesus lay.

Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

The icon of Salus Populi Romani

The image of the Madonna with child who was the protectress of the people of Rome (Salus Populi Romani) – according to tradition painted by the apostle Luke – has not yet been dated with certainty owing to significant retouching work undertaken during the Middle Ages; the most recent studies generically attribute it to the late antique period.

La basilica romana di Santa Maria Maggiore,a cura di Carlo Pietrangeli, Firenze 1987, p. 124

About the ancient image of Maria Santissima in Liberian basilica and its cult

Francesco Fabi Montani, Dell'antica immagine di Maria Santissima nella basilica liberiana e del suo culto. Memorie storiche,2 ed., Roma 1861

Map of Cappella Paolina or Borghese in which is kept the Salus Populi Romani

Long located above the door to the Basilica baptistery, the Salus Populi Romani was later moved to the nave, where it remained until Paul V Borghese commissioned Flaminio Ponzio to build an ad hoc Chapel of the Madonna (also known as the Paoline or Borghese Chapel), which was consecrated on 27 January 1613.

Sacelli Sanctae Mariae Maioris a Paulo pp. V conditi adiunctarumq. ad varios usus aedium vestigium cum sacelli eiusdem pavimento, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

Altar of the Cappella Paolina or Borghese in which is kept the Salus Populi Romani

Insigne altare a Paulo V pont. max. in magnificentissimo suo Basilicae liberianae Sacello ex inaurato duntaxat aere pulcherrimaq. varietate pretiosorum lapidum atque gemmarum ad ornatum augustae imaginis Sanctae Mariae a B. Luca pictae constructum, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

Description of the Cappella Paolina or Borghese in which is kept the Salus Populi Romani

Luigi Portelli, Descrizione storico-artistico-morale della perinsigne borghesiana cappella eretta sul monte Esquilino dal sommo ponteficie Paolo V, ad onore della b. Vergine nella patriarcale Basilica liberiana..., Roma 1849

Story of the removal of the corpse of pope Paul V to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

Lelio Guidiccioni, Breve racconto della trasportatione del corpo di papa Paolo V dalla Basilica di S. Pietro a' quella di S. Maria Maggiore, con l'oratione recitata nelle sue esequie et alcuni versi posti nell'apparato, Roma 1623

Bull of Sixtus V for the crib chapel

Sisto V, Gloriosae et semper virginis (9 giugno 1587), in: Pietro Marcellino Di Luccia, L'Abbadia di S. Giovanni a Piro unita dalla sa. mem. di Sisto V alla sua insigne cappella del Santissimo Presepe eretta dentro la Sacro-Santa Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore..., Roma 1700

Transfer of the crib medieval chapel to the new one built for Sixtus V by Domenico Fontana

At the end of the sixteenth century, Sixtus V wanted to build a large chapel in the right nave of the Basilica of St Mary Major, to be known as the Sistine Chapel or Blessed Sacrament. This chapel was to host his tomb and that of his relations, as well as Pope Pius V. The design called for a classically-inspired work, but owing to the holiness of the place, the Pope established that the medieval nativity chapel should be moved en bloc, without demolition, from its original position to a crypt beneath the new altar of the Blessed Sacrament. Architect Domenico Fontana oversaw this complex operation, designing a wooden frame within which the chapel was enclosed before being hoisted using a complex system of winches and pulleys. The system is depicted in a book illustrated by Natale Bonifacio, in which Fontana himself describes all of the “fabbriche” he undertook for Sixtus V.

Domenico Fontana, Narratione del modo tenuto in trasportare la capella [sic] vecchia del presepio tutta intiera, in: Id., Della trasportatione dell'obelisco vaticano et delle fabriche di nostro signore papa Sisto V fatte dal cavallier Domenico Fontana architetta di sua santità..., Roma 1590 [ma 1604]

Map of Sixtin or Crib Chapel

Sacelli D. N. Iesu Christi praesepi a Sixto papa V conditi vestigium et pavimentum, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

Sixtin or Crib Chapel

Sacelli Christi D. Salvatoris n. Praesepi in Liberiana Basilica a Sixto papa V opere magnifico extructi quatuor interiores partes..., in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

Altar in the Sixtin or Crib Chapel

The engraving shows the new place of the crib under the altar of Sixtin chapel.

Sacratissimi Christi corporis ara in medio Sixti V sacello posita... sub eadem sacrum Christi domini Praesepe, in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

History of the relics kept in the Crib Chapel and functions which take place there

Presently the cradle is treasured in a silver and gold shrine by Giuseppe Valadier realized on the occasion of the of 1825.

Porzione del Presepio, trasferita in Roma nel VII secolo alla Bas. Liberiana, che d'allora in poi incominciò a chiamarsi S. M. ad Praesepe, e funzioni, che ivi si fanno la notte di Natale per onorarla, in: Francesco Cancellieri, Notizie intorno alla novena vigilia notte e festa di Natale con una biblioteca d’autori che trattano delle questioni spettanti alla nascita del Redentore, Roma 1788

Description of chapels and relics in Santa Maria Maggiore

Le cose meravigliose dell'alma città di Roma, dove si veggono il movimento delle guglie & gli acquedutti per condurre l'acqua felice; le ample & commode strade fatte a beneficio publico dal santissimo Sisto V... et si tratta delle Chiese, rappresentate in disegno da Gieronimo Francino, con le stationi & reliquie de' corpi santi che vi sono; et un trattato del modo d'acquistare l'indulgenze; la Guida romana cge insegna facilmente à i forestieri à ritrovare le più notabili cose di Roma..., Venezia 1588

The Column of the peace

The Column of the peace

Paulus V pont. max. columnam veteris magnificentiae monumentum informi situ obductam, neglectamque ex immanibus templi ruinis quod Vespesianus Augustus... paci dicaverat..., in: Paolo de Angeli, Basilicae S. Mariae Maioris de Urbe a Liberio papa I usque ad Paulum V pont. max. descriptio et delineatio..., Roma 1621

The column in its original position in the Basilica of Massenzio, before called temple of the peace

The column got placed by Paul V in front of Santa Maria Maggiore is the only left of the eight ones which held up the middle vault of the Basilica of Massenzio.

Étienne Dupérac, Vestigij del tempio della pace edificato da Vespasiano imperatore... in questo tempio si vede... una colonna di marmoro in opera d'ordine corintio... Oggi questa colonna fu fatta trasportare da Paolo V avanti la Chiesa di S. M.a Maggiore dedicata alla Ss.ma Concetione..., in: Id., I vestigi dell’antichità di Roma raccolti et ritratti in prospettiva con ogni diligentia..., Roma 1773

The lost bell

Every evening, the people of Rome can hear the sound of the sperduta, the “lost woman”, as the bell at St Mary Major became known in the sixteenth century, according to a legend recounted in verse by Roman dialect poet Giggi Zanazzo. A female pilgrim heading to Rome was overtaken by darkness in the middle of the countryside, and consequently lost her way. In desperation, she prayed to the Virgin Mary and all of a sudden the bell at St Mary Major rang out to guide her to safety. To thank the Madonna for delivering her safely, the woman left a legacy to the church so that every evening the church bell would be rung, “and now, on winter’s nights when people who live nearby hear the bell at Santa Maria Maggiore ring out, they all say: that’ll be the Lost Woman!”

Giggi Zanazzo, La sperduta, in: Id., Tradizioni popolari romane, vol. II (Usi, costumi e pregiudizi del popolo di Roma), Torino 1908

The consecration of the altar of the confession of Santa Maria Maggiore realized for the Jubilee of 1750

Benedetto XIV, Sanctissimi domini nostri Benedicti papae XIV, allocutio habita pridie kalendas octobris anno jubilaei MDCCL in festo S. Hieronymi confessoris & Ecclesiae doctoris ante consacrationem altaris pontificii Sanctae Mariae Majoris, Roma 1750