Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore Church was built by the order of Pope Liberius in the middle of the fourth century. According to legend, the virgin, with instructions to build the church, appeared before the pope, and the shape of the ground was created on a miraculous snowfall.
Over the years, this has been known by various names in the Basilica. Namely, St. Mary of the Snow (because of the snow that caused the church shape), Santa Maria Liberiana (for Pope Liberius), and St. Mary of Native (because it received it) as the name of the relics of the Holy Birth. It was eventually renamed Santa Maria Maggiore. It is the largest of the 26 churches in Rome, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The basilica displays a variety of architectural styles from early Christian to Baroque. In the eighteenth century, the whole building was renovated. Therefore, most of the face and interior belong to that period. Nevertheless, the church retains the bell tower, ionic columns of some mosaics and marble floors, and other ancient Roman buildings from the Middle Ages, as well as ornate mosaics of the fifth century.
The ceiling decorations have been preserved since the Renaissance, and the spherical church belongs to the Baroque period.
The most notable feature of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is that it depicts various parts of different periods of history. As it is made of relics, the church summarizes the most important stages of Christian art in Rome.
