Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DON'T MISS…
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The loggia
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Cosmatesque floor
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Jacopo Torriti apse mosaics
PRACTICALITIES
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MAP
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Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore
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basilica free, museum €3, loggia €2
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7am-7pm, museum & loggia 9.30am-6.30pm
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Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore
Outside, the 18.78m-high column came from the basilica of Massenzio in the Roman
Forum. The church exterior is decorated by 13th-century mosaics, protected by a baroque
porch. The 75m belfry, the highest in Rome, is 14th-century Romanesque.
The great interior retains its 5th-century structure, as well as the original mosaics in the
triumphal arch and nave. The central image in the apse, signed by Jacopo Torriti, dates
from the 13th century.
Twelth-century Cosmati paving covers the nave floor. The baldachin over the high altar
practically squirms with gilt cherubs; the altar itself is a porphyry sarcophagus, said to
contain the relics of St Matthew and other martyrs. Gian Lorenzo Bernini and his father
Pietro are buried to the right of the altar.
Don't miss the upper loggia, the extraordinary creation of Ferdinando Fuga, where
you'll get a closer look at the 13th-century mosaics, created by Filippo Rusuti. You'll also
see Bernini's baroque helical staircase.
