[2025 Rome Attraction] Travel Guide for Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Updated Mar)

Legend has it that in AD 356, the Pope saw the Virgin Mary in a dream, and she ordered "a church to be built where it snows tonight". Although it was August, it snowed here, so the Basilica of Our Lady of Maggiore, also known as the Basilica of Our Lady, was built in the place where it snowed. The architectural style of Notre Dame Church has been rebuilt many times since its completion, and the current Notre Dame Church combines the architectural styles of various periods. The 36 columns in the interior were moved from the temples of ancient Rome. The horizontal beams supported by columns are typical of the early Christian church building techniques. The mosaics of the altar in the main hall depicting 36 scenes from the Old Testament are relics from the early Christian era in the 5th century. ; The 13th-century gold mosaic "Coronation of the Virgin" shines on the dome, and there is also a 13th-century mosaic behind the corridor on the 2nd floor; the bell tower built in 1377 is 75 meters high and is the crown of Rome; the right side of Sisto 5's The chapel is of the late Renaissance, and the chapel in Paorina on the left is in the early 17th century Baroque; as a result, the façade of the church was built in the 18th century and has a typical Baroque style.