Santa Maria Maggiore
The largest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary, one of the four major papal basilicas and the Seven Pilgrim Churches. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snow, after a legend of snow falling here in August, and its nave keeps mosaics from the 5th century.
- Where
- Rome, Lazio, Italy
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 41.8975, 12.4986
Get the Santa Maria Maggiore stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Santa Maria Maggiore. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Lazio volume with your photos and a note.
Near Santa Maria Maggiore
Museo Nazionale Romano 0.7 km
Rome's national museum of antiquity, spread over several buildings, with its main branches near Termini station in Palazzo Massimo and the Baths of Diocletian. Its collections cover the city from prehistory through the Roman period, from frescoed villa rooms to bronze and marble statues.
Colosseum 1.0 km
The largest amphitheatre the Romans ever built, begun under Vespasian in AD 72 and finished by his son Titus in AD 80. Its proper name, the Flavian Amphitheatre, comes from the family of emperors who paid for it, and its broken outer ring still stands over the eastern end of the Forum.
Trajan's Market 1.0 km
A large brick complex built as part of Trajan's Forum and set into the cut-away flank of the Quirinal Hill. Its curving halls, arcades and upper streets give a rare sense of what a working ancient Roman building felt like, and it now houses the Museum of the Imperial Forums.
Arch of Constantine 1.1 km
The largest Roman triumphal arch, 21 metres high, raised by the Senate and dedicated in AD 315 to mark Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge. It stands between the Colosseum and the Palatine on the old triumphal route, and much of its carving was taken from earlier imperial monuments.
Roman Forum 1.3 km
A long rectangle of columns, arches and temple footings that was once the centre of public life in ancient Rome. It began as a marketplace and grew into the place where Romans voted, traded, heard speeches and held triumphs, with the Palatine on one side and the Capitoline on the other.
Trevi Fountain 1.3 km
The largest Baroque fountain in the world, 26 metres high and nearly 50 wide, designed by Nicola Salvi and finished in 1762. Ocean rides a shell chariot out of the palace wall above the basin, and tradition says a coin tossed over your shoulder means you will return to Rome.
Altare della Patria 1.3 km
A vast white monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of united Italy, built between 1885 and 1935 to a design by Giuseppe Sacconi. It rises in tiers of columns and statues above Piazza Venezia, and Romans have long given it nicknames like the wedding cake and the typewriter.
Capitoline Museums 1.4 km
Rome's own civic museums, set in two palaces that face each other across Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill. Among the ancient pieces inside are the bronze she-wolf and the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lazio
Questions
Where is Santa Maria Maggiore?
Santa Maria Maggiore is in Rome, Lazio, Italy. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Museo Nazionale Romano (0.7 km), Colosseum (1.0 km), Trajan's Market (1.0 km).
How do I get the Santa Maria Maggiore stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Santa Maria Maggiore and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Lazio volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Santa Maria Maggiore before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Lazio volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.