The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four papal major basilicas of Rome, and the largest church there dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was built in the fifth century under Pope Sixtus III, shortly after the Council of Ephesus had affirmed that Mary is the Mother of God, and its early Christian mosaics in the nave and on the triumphal arch survive. According to a legend, the site was chosen when snow fell miraculously in August on the Esquiline Hill. Over the centuries the church was altered, with a Baroque facade added in the eighteenth century and the tallest bell tower in Rome. It is part of the property of the Holy See and has extraterritorial status.
Before and after
- from 5 September 394 CE to 6 September 394 CEBattle of the Frigidus
- 17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
- 399 CEThe monk Faxian sets out for India
- 5th centuryOrigins of Monastery of Stoudios
- 5th centuryConstruction of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
- 5th centuryConstruction of San Pietro in Vincoli
- July 403 CESynod of the Oak
- 31 December 406 CEThe Vandals, Alans and Suebi cross the Rhine
- from 408 CE to 670 CEHephthalites
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,274 BCEConstruction of Abu Simbel
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- 248 BCEConstruction of Terracotta Army
- from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.