SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE CHURCH	::: << Prev ::: Thumbs ::: Next >> :::
	025 of 152. We stopped at Santa Maria Maggiore Church which had fragments of Jesus' crib, beautiful mosaics, ceiling gilded with gold (maybe brought back from America by Columbus), and Bernini's tomb. This church was built in 432 AD after Mary appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream. She told him to build her a church where the snow falls. The next morning, a small patch of snow was here on Esquiline Hill and the church was begun. This church is a Vatican church which means you are not in Italy but in the Vatican when you enter it.