Santa Maria Maggiore Rooftop and Scavi: Sunrise Experience

Our tour begins in the basilica’s spectacular interior, where an endlessly absorbing mix of styles captures the story of Rome in miniature. On our tour of Santa Maria Maggiore we’ll take a detailed look at the church’s many artistic treasures, including a cycle of ancient mosaics portraying scenes from the Old Testament and the life of Mary that are amongst the oldest Christian images in the city. No less impressive are the medieval mosaics that grace the church’s apse, sparkling gems that speak to the spiritual and creative flourishing of Rome in the 13th century.  Gaze on the stunning gilded ceiling, adorned with gold that, according to legend, was transported back from the Americas by Christopher Columbus and gifted to the Borgia Pope Alexander VI.

The architectural highlight of Santa Maria Maggiore might just be the Loggia of Blessings, a spectacular colonnaded balcony from which the Pope himself gave benedictions to the faithful massed in the square below. Luckily for us you don’t need to be the pontiff to climb up here these days, and we’ll get to admire sensational sunrise views across the city from the loggia’s arches. And that’s not all: a series of glittering medieval mosaics decorate the loggia, depicting the life of the Virgin as well as the legendary foundation of the church way back in the 4th century. As we gaze on these mysterious mosaics, the work of master craftsman Filippo Rusuti, you’ll learn all about the extraordinarily intricate techniques required to bring them to fruition.

From St. Peter’s Basilica to Piazza Navona, few figures have done more to shape the beauty of Rome than Gianlorenzo Bernini. But did you know that Santa Maria Maggiore is home to a hidden architectural gem by the master that few visitors to the Eternal City get to see?

On this itinerary we’ll have the chance to climb the superb spiral staircase that Bernini created here to link the New Sacristy to the imposing Hall of Popes, which we’ll also get to explore on this tour. The hall is named for its series of papal portraits topped with a magnificent wooden ceiling centred around the Borghese coat of arms.

Shaped like a spiraling seashell, Bernini’s stairwell is a masterpiece of design and powerful evocation of humankind’s journey toward salvation. Fittingly, Bernini himself is buried in Santa Maria Maggiore – we will be sure to pay our respects to the great man on this tour!

The story of Santa Maria Maggiore extends even further back in time than its Christian period. Hidden beneath the church are extensive ancient remains, only brought to light once again in the 1960s after more than 1,000 years of oblivion. We’ll have the special opportunity to descend into this secret slice of antiquity on our tour, where a warren of rooms and corridors decorated with well-preserved frescoes offer up unique insights into life in ancient Rome. Along the way we’ll visit the remains of a thermal bath complex, and get a detailed look at one of the most interesting – and least known – ancient artworks in Rome. Known as a menologium rusticum, this fascinating frescoed calendar charts the course of the year through depicitons of the festivals and rituals that marked the agricultural seasons – a farmer’s almanac for the ancient world.