Hans G
42600036
Santa Maria Maggiore after Mass for solemnity of St. John the Baptist; taken with a Canon EOS 1v.
Note the incense hanging in the air after the Mass. A choir from a suburban parish sang an excellent rendition of Mozart's Ave verum corpus at this Mass.
The basilical plan has been well preserved. The columns flanking the nave are of Athenian marble. They were in all probability part of the first basilica, and are possibly reused from an older Roman building. Above them are mosaics of Old Testament history, which probably makes them the oldest Christian mosaics in a church in Rome. They were thought to be from the first church, but later research has dated them to c. 432–440, in the pontificate of Sixtus III. It is hard to see them, since the light is very dim. There are now 36 panels left of the original 42. Six were lost when the Pauline and Sistine Chapels were built. Some of them were heavily restored with paint during the Middle Ages, and some were reconstructed in 1593 and later.
Originally, the basilica did not have a transept. The reason was that the main purpose of the transept was to provide space for pilgrims flocking to a saint's tomb. In the case of this basilica, the main focus was not on a grave such as the Apostles' tombs in San Pietro in Vaticano or San Paolo fuori le mura; Mary had been assumed body and soul into Heaven, and there was therefore no tomb (there is a monument in Ephesus known as the tomb of Mary, but the origin of this is unclear). The transept was added by Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292), and as a result a new apse also had to be added.
Part of the floor is in the Cosmatesque style, but the repairs have not been altogether successful.
The ceiling is by Sangallo, and is gilded. The gold used here is said to be the first gold brought from the New World, given by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
The high altar is a papal altar, reserved for the Holy Father. It can only be used by others by special permission. The altar and canopy, are by Fernando Fuga, who also designed the façade. The sculpture at the high altar is by P. Bracci, made c. 1750.
In the confessio, St Matthias the Apostle is buried. He was the thirteenth Apostle, elected after Judas Ischariot had left the disciples. Above the altar in the confessio is a reliquary which holds five pieces of wood. They are said to be from the Santa Culla, the Holy Manger that Christ was laid in at Bethlehem. Pope Theodore (642-649) is said to have brought them to Rome shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 638. The authenticity is uncertain, and it is thought that it might be the manger from one of the first Christmas cribs.
Behind the altar are three mosaics. The two on the arches were ordered by Pope Sixtus III in the 5th century. They were ordered after the Council of Ephesus, which had proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God, and this is emphasised in the mosaics. In the one showing the Adoration of the Magi, the Blessed Virgin is depicted as an Augusta, a Roman empress.
On the first arch behind the altar the subject is the childhood of Christ. He is followed by angels, showing his divinity. Many of the scenes are from early legends about the childhood of Christ, rather than from the Gospels. The inscription in the centre of the arch, XYSTUS EPISCOPUS PLEBI DEI means "Sixtus, bishop to the people of God". This refers to Sistus III (432-440), who rebuilt or restored the church. The arch was originally an apsidal arch, but it was transformed into a triumphal arch when Pope Nicholas added a transept and a new apse to the basilica.
42600036
Santa Maria Maggiore after Mass for solemnity of St. John the Baptist; taken with a Canon EOS 1v.
Note the incense hanging in the air after the Mass. A choir from a suburban parish sang an excellent rendition of Mozart's Ave verum corpus at this Mass.
The basilical plan has been well preserved. The columns flanking the nave are of Athenian marble. They were in all probability part of the first basilica, and are possibly reused from an older Roman building. Above them are mosaics of Old Testament history, which probably makes them the oldest Christian mosaics in a church in Rome. They were thought to be from the first church, but later research has dated them to c. 432–440, in the pontificate of Sixtus III. It is hard to see them, since the light is very dim. There are now 36 panels left of the original 42. Six were lost when the Pauline and Sistine Chapels were built. Some of them were heavily restored with paint during the Middle Ages, and some were reconstructed in 1593 and later.
Originally, the basilica did not have a transept. The reason was that the main purpose of the transept was to provide space for pilgrims flocking to a saint's tomb. In the case of this basilica, the main focus was not on a grave such as the Apostles' tombs in San Pietro in Vaticano or San Paolo fuori le mura; Mary had been assumed body and soul into Heaven, and there was therefore no tomb (there is a monument in Ephesus known as the tomb of Mary, but the origin of this is unclear). The transept was added by Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292), and as a result a new apse also had to be added.
Part of the floor is in the Cosmatesque style, but the repairs have not been altogether successful.
The ceiling is by Sangallo, and is gilded. The gold used here is said to be the first gold brought from the New World, given by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
The high altar is a papal altar, reserved for the Holy Father. It can only be used by others by special permission. The altar and canopy, are by Fernando Fuga, who also designed the façade. The sculpture at the high altar is by P. Bracci, made c. 1750.
In the confessio, St Matthias the Apostle is buried. He was the thirteenth Apostle, elected after Judas Ischariot had left the disciples. Above the altar in the confessio is a reliquary which holds five pieces of wood. They are said to be from the Santa Culla, the Holy Manger that Christ was laid in at Bethlehem. Pope Theodore (642-649) is said to have brought them to Rome shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 638. The authenticity is uncertain, and it is thought that it might be the manger from one of the first Christmas cribs.
Behind the altar are three mosaics. The two on the arches were ordered by Pope Sixtus III in the 5th century. They were ordered after the Council of Ephesus, which had proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God, and this is emphasised in the mosaics. In the one showing the Adoration of the Magi, the Blessed Virgin is depicted as an Augusta, a Roman empress.
On the first arch behind the altar the subject is the childhood of Christ. He is followed by angels, showing his divinity. Many of the scenes are from early legends about the childhood of Christ, rather than from the Gospels. The inscription in the centre of the arch, XYSTUS EPISCOPUS PLEBI DEI means "Sixtus, bishop to the people of God". This refers to Sistus III (432-440), who rebuilt or restored the church. The arch was originally an apsidal arch, but it was transformed into a triumphal arch when Pope Nicholas added a transept and a new apse to the basilica.