35 Photos of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Largest Catholic Marian Church in Rome

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy. Among the Patriarchal Basilicas of Rome, St. Mary Major is the only one to have kept its original structure, though it has been enhanced over the course of years. Special details within the church render it unique including the fifth century mosaics of the central nave, the triumphal arch dating back to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440) and the apsidal mosaic executed by the Franciscan friar Jacopo Torriti at the order of Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292).