Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is a major papal basilica on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, founded in the early 5th century. It is one of the city’s principal churches and a significant site of Marian devotion.

The interior preserves large mosaic cycles from the 5th century that decorate the nave and triumphal arch, and it contains the venerated icon Salus Populi Romani. The basilica also displays later Renaissance and Baroque additions and papal liturgical fittings that reflect centuries of modification.

Construction was commissioned in the papacy of Sixtus III in the 5th century; the church has been enlarged and renovated repeatedly across the medieval and modern periods, producing a layered architectural ensemble. It has served continuously as a major place of worship and a papal basilica since its founding.

Located on the Esquiline Hill in central Rome, the basilica sits east of the Roman Forum and a few kilometres from the Vatican. It is easily reached from central Rome and from Rome’s main rail and bus hubs.

• Founding era: The basilica dates to the early 5th century and was built under Pope Sixtus III; it is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas.
• Key artworks: Houses an early medieval Marian icon known as the Salus Populi Romani and contains extensive 5th-century mosaics in the nave and triumphal arch.