Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere
Gilded medieval basilica on a Christian worship site dating back to the early third century.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome traces a spring of oil said to have seeped from the ground here in 38 BC, read by the neighborhood's Jewish community as a sign of grace to come. It follows the site from a retired soldiers' quarter to Pope Callixtus I's house-church around 220, and on to Pope Innocent II's twelfth-century rebuilding, whose portrait watches from the apse mosaic above. Find the column beside the altar marking where the oil was said to appear.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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