Santa Maria Maggiore

The papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was an easy walk from our hotel. The original basilica dates from the fifth century when Mary was declared Mother of God and not "merely" mother of Christ. The columns are even older.

Of course, there has been a lot of remodeling over the years. The ceiling is covered with gold brought from the new world in the 16th c.

The crypt beneath this shrine commemorates the nativity, with a life-size statue of Pope Sixtus V adoring pieces of the original manger in a silver reliquary. Again, I lament how Satan could take something good like respect for Jesus' mother and twist it into something that distracts people from God himself. No wonder Muslims often misunderstand the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Mother, which strikes them as blasphemous. I tend to agree.

We took an extra tour to the loggia (three arches above the doors in the first photo) which includes marvelous mosaics and four statues of angels. They were originally intended for above the altar, but it was decided that they were too heavy and might crush the thing.

View from the loggia down one of the radiating streets.

The 17th-c Lorenzo Bernini spiral stair is in the private apartments that we could only see (along with the loggia) in the tour. I guess quite a few high ranking priests live there, some in apartments off the papal hall we were shown. We weren't allowed to go up or down more than a few steps on the stair because it is their private quarters. Just after we viewed the stair, a priest came down and walked through the papal hall where we were in silence. When he was gone, the guide said, "I hate him. He doesn't want us to be here." I suspect that 'hate' was rather a strong word for her irritation, but I couldn't blame him for not appreciating tourists come to see his apartment building. However, if you live in a centuries-old papal palace, it kind of comes with the territory.

For supper we shared a pizza in the same colonade where we had lunch. The menu said sausage, broccoli, and mozzarella. I thought that sounded strange, but Steve was interested in something completely different from Burnett Dairy. It turned out to be spinach, not broccoli. I was just glad that "salsiche" didn't mean "hot dogs" like it would in Brazil.

Adam, I'm trying to figure out where I could install one of these light fixtures. Maybe you should get one for your stairwell.