The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

Hotel Caracciolo is about 10 minutes walk from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which allows all our guests to pay a visit to one of the symbols of Italian Christianity.

According to tradition, the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was built during the night between 4 and 5 August 352 A.D., after the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream.

The legend relates that the Virgin Mary invited the Pope to build a church in the place where he would find snow the following day. The next day, snow miraculously fell on this very site, in the middle of summer, and this is why the Basilica is often known as “Santa Maria della Neve” (St. Mary of the Snow).

Numerous work and renovations have been carried out on the Basilica during its history and hence today its displays various architectural styles.

The city planning implemented by Pope Sixtus V saw the building as the focal point of a series of straight streets linking the major basilicas in the city.

The Romanesque bell tower dates from 1375 A.D. and is the tallest in Rome, at approx. 75 metres in height. The facade, designed by F. Fuga in 1743, is flanked by two civil buildings.

The majestic Basilica is arranged in three naves, divided by Ionic columns and capitals spanning a length of over 85 metres. Its interior furnishings include a coffered ceiling by Giuliano da Sangallo and a series of mosaics.