Santa Maria in Trastevere - Rome visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Santa Maria in Trastevere' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Roma.

Santa Maria in Trastevere is a little of the normal tourist circuit of Rome on the West of the Tiber. Because of this the area is quite quiet. The Piazza di Santa Maria in front of the church is lined with cafes and has a fountain in the middle.

Santa Maria in Trastevere has a number of unique claims among the churches of Rome.

• Santa Maria in Trastevere was also the first church in Rome to be dedicated to Mary.
• It is the only church in Rome to retain its medieval appearance.
• It is a contender for one of the earliest church sites in Rome, built in 222 A.D. by order of Pope San Callisto.

This tituar church may well have been the home of a wealthy patron. It was common for Christian congregations in Roman times to meet in the homes of members, and these homes sometimes became official church buildings in later times. The present church was built upon the foundations dating back to 337 by Pope Innocent II in the 12th Century. The design of the earlier basilica was preserved and the new church once again rededicated to Mary.

Inside the 22 granite columns that line the nave were plundered from earlier Roman ruins. The apse mosaics date from the 12th Century and are among the best in Rome. Most of the mosaics found inside the church depict aspects of the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The rest of the church is fairly plain by Roman standards. Off to the left of the altar is the Cappella Altemps (Chapel of Altemps) which contains both a life-size statue of Mary and some frescoes from 1588 depicting the council of Trent.

Address
The Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere
Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere
Roma,
Italia