CONTENTS
Editorial Note Federico Ferrari
Foreword Card. Rolandas Makrickas
Introduction Andreas Raub
THE BASILICA
“Virgin Mary, to You I, Sixtus”. The Basilica of Sixtus III (432-440) Sible De Blaauw
Locus mirabilis. Nicholas IV (1288-1292) at Santa Maria Maggiore Andreas Raub
The Nativity Scene by Arnolfo di Cambio Sante Guido
Snow, Marble, Gold. The Transformation of the Basilica in the Fifteenth Century Arnold Nesselrath
The Sforza and Cesi Chapels Vitale Zanchettin
The Chapel of Sixtus V (1585-1590). From Family Mausoleum to Monumental Reliquary Patrizia Tosini
The Chapel of Paulus V (1605-1621). Throne Room of the Virgin and Gateway to Heaven Fabio Barry
Benedict XIV (1740-1758). “A most felicitous outcome” Elisabeth Kieven
The Basilica from the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries Sante Guido
THE POLO MUSEALE LIBERIANO
Introduction Andreas Raub
The Archaeological Area Olof Brandt
The Façade Mosaics Andreas Raub
The Chapter House Andreas Raub
The Museum Andreas Raub
Bibliography
AUTHORS
Andreas Raub Director of the Liberian Museum Complex of Santa Maria Maggiore from 2022.
Sible De Blaauw Art historian. From 1994 to 2001 he was Head of the Art History Section at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome.
Guido Sante Professor in 'Principles of Conservation and Restoration of Sacred Art' at the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Church at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Arnold Nesselrath Professor of Art History at the Humboldt Universität Berlin since 1996. From 2009 to 2017 he was Director of the Art History departments of the Vatican Museums.
Patrizia Tosini Professor of History of Modern Art at Roma Tre University.
Fabio Barry Associate Fellow Warburg Institute and University of London..
Vitale Zanchettin Professor of History of Architecture at IUAV University of Venice and Head of the Office of Architectural Superintendence of the Vatican Museums.
Elisabeth Kieven Art and Architecture Historian. Senior Fellow at the National Gallery in Washington.
Olof Brandt Professor of Early Christian Architecture at the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology.
Carlo Vannini He is one of Italy's leading art photographers. He teaches Photography for the Cultural Heritage at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna.
DESCRIPTION
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS CENTURIES-LONG HISTORY, THE INESTIMABLE BEAUTY ENSHRINED IN THE MARIAN TEMPLE PAR EXCELLENCE THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARIA MAJOR IS PRESENTED HERE IN NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GIGAPIXEL AND 1:1 SCALE PHOTOGRAPHY. IT IS THE FIRST MARIAN SANCTUARY IN THE WESTERN WORLD AND HAS BEEN HELD ACROSS CENTURIES AS THE MOTHER OF ALL SANCTUARIES.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major is the only patriarchal basilica of the four in Rome to have retained its paleo-Christian structures. The Basilica dates back to 425 and in this elegant and triumphal photographic masterpiece accomplished at the height of today’s technology, we can admire in detail the grandeur of all its artistic details: the mosaics of the nave; the ceremonial arch dating to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440); those of the apse made at the behest of Pope Nicholas V (1288-1292); the Cosmatesque floor; the coffered ceiling designed by Giuliano da San Gallo; the Nativity scene by Arnolfo di Cambio; the High Altar by Ferdinando Fuga; the Borghese, Cesi, Sforza, and Sistine Chapels; and the Crucifix and St. Michael chapels by Luigi Valadier.
The Basilica has been selected by Pope Francis as his final resting place.
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mary herself inspired the choice of the Esquiline Hill for the church’s construction. Appearing in a dream to both the Patrician John, the landowner of the Esquiline Hill, and Pope Liberius, she asked that a church be built in her honor on a site she would miraculously indicate.
The morning of August 5th in 358 AD, the Esquiline Hill was covered with a blanket of snow. The pope traced out the perimeter of the basilica in the snow, and John financed the construction of the new church.
Those who approach Saint Mary Major from the center of Rome on foot, as pilgrims and visitors have done so for the past sixteen hundred years, to walk the ancient streets that converge on the Marian Basilica. Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590), who commissioned the sumptuous Chapel of the Nativity, intervened in the city’s network of roads to maintain the Basilica at the center of a star-shaped street system that evokes the Star of Bethlehem. The mission of the Basilica is encapsulated symbolically in its urban position to be a shining star. Art, liturgy, music, and spirituality are understood as rays of that comet. With contributing texts and essays by a stellar cadre of art historians and experts and extraordinary photography of all elements of the Basilica never before captured at this level of detail prior to this publication, this is the must-have volume on one of the most important spiritual centers of Christianity in the world.
Nota editoriale
Editorial Note
Per la prima volta un grande volume celebra i tesori e il ricchissimo patrimonio artistico della Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore a Roma supportato da una nuova e imponente campagna fotografica.
Queste pagine, per ricchezza di esposizione iconografica e di dettaglio, si propongono come suggestivo strumento per condividere e celebrare i capolavori e le decorazioni della Basilica, ma sono anche utili alla loro tutela. L’imponente apparato fotografico permette a tutti di perdersi dolcemente tra gli interventi artistici che da secoli rendono unica la Basilica, fornendo agli studiosi e ai conservatori elementi di osservazione da cui possono scaturire riflessioni, spunti d’indagine e di approfondimento.
La trasversalità di questo volume, in termini di eterogeneità dei potenziali lettori, rappresenta uno dei suoi punti di maggiore forza; la perizia degli autori, che raccontano e descrivono ogni parte della Basilica e della sua storia, ci guida abilmente tra queste pagine grazie a un linguaggio comprensibile a lettori di ogni preparazione senza tradire le necessità di precisione e rigore sul piano storico-scientifico. Essi ci guidano tra le immagini travolgenti, che ci avvolgono e ci lasciano senza fiato.
La completezza espositiva del volume, per qualità delle riproduzioni fotografiche, rappresenta un unicum nel panorama editoriale internazionale. Insieme alle emozioni che queste pagine garantiscono, si unisce la condivisione della consapevolezza dell’importanza del Santuario, riferimento prezioso per chi vive nella fede ma anche per chi si è perduto e tra questi capolavori, che l’uomo ha edificato ispirato dalla Madre di Dio, può trovare luce, speranza e salvezza.
Federico Ferrari Direttore editoriale Scripta Maneant
For the first time, a large volume celebrates the treasures and the rich artistic heritage of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome supported by a new and impressive photographic campaign.
These pages, with their richness of iconographic exposition and detail, are an evocative tool to share and celebrate the Basilica’s masterpieces and decorations, but are also useful for their preservation. The huge photographic apparatus allows everyone to gently lose themselves among the artistic interventions that have made the Basilica unique for centuries, providing scholars and conservators with elements of observation from which reflections, points of investigation and in-depth study can arise.
The transversal nature of this volume, in terms of the heterogeneity of its potential readers, is one of its greatest strengths. The authors’ expertise, who recount and describe every part of the Basilica and its history, skilfully guides us through these pages thanks to a language that is comprehensible to readers of all backgrounds without betraying the need for precision and rigour on a historical-scientific level. They guide us through the overwhelming images, which envelop us and leave us breathless. In terms of the quality of the photographic reproductions, the comprehensiveness of the volume is unique on the international publishing scene. Together with the emotions that these pages guarantee, there is the shared awareness of the importance of the Sanctuary, a precious reference for those who live in faith but also for those who are lost and among these masterpieces, which man has built inspired by the Mother of God, can find light, hope and salvation.
Federico Ferrari Editorial director Scripta Maneant
p. 6
8-9
Vista su Santa Maria Maggiore con la cosiddetta Colonna della Pace
pp.
Veduta a volo d’uccello di Santa Maria Maggiore
p. 6
View of Santa Maria Maggiore with the so-called Column of Peace
pp. 8-9
Bird’s eye view of Santa Maria Maggiore
Introduzione
Andreas Raub
Introduction
Andreas Raub
Non sappiamo chi, probabilmente attorno al 425, contribuì a creare la prima opera artistica della Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. Forse faceva parte della squadra di muratori romani, il cui compito consisteva nel posare i muri di fondazione del nascente edificio, alternando due file di mattoni in argilla con una di tufo. A causa del forte dislivello del terreno che caratterizzava il sito scelto, gli operai dovevano prestare molta attenzione affinché l’imponente tratto di 80 metri circa, dalla facciata all’abside, si estendesse in maniera perfettamente rettilinea. Già ai tempi della repubblica romana, addirittura prima della nascita di Cristo, nei tempi sub lege, era stato costruito – così lo avrà verosimilmente spiegato l’ingegnere del cantiere – un massiccio muro di terrazzamento per conguagliare i dislivelli del colle più alto di Roma, il Cispio, sull’Esquilino. Le mura, tuttora visibili sotto la Basilica, davano sostegno alle sfarzose residenze nobiliari, che qui si estendevano dal tempo dei principi degli apostoli Pietro e Paolo.
È probabile che i lavoratori fossero cristiani e che si radunassero prima o dopo il lavoro per una preghiera. Parlavano a proposito della titolare della nuova chiesa, la Vergine Maria, intorno alla quale i presbiteri discutevano intensamente e per la quale sarebbe stato creato il primo santuario nell’Urbs. Forse si scambiavano opinioni di politica. Si stupivano del fatto che il committente dell’eccezionale impresa non fosse più l’imperatore, bensì l’autorità spirituale della città, il vescovo di Roma.
Poco prima di interrare le mura di fondazione, lo sconosciuto operario prese una piccola terracotta tascabile, raffigurante un suonatore di aulos, il flauto doppio antico, e la timbrò all’interno della malta ancora fresca. Non sappiamo se sia stata una semplice burla oppure se il gesto nascondesse un significato più profondo. Con l’apposizione di un suonatore voleva forse alludere a Cibele, la deità romana spesso associata ai satiri e che proprio sull’Esquilino aveva il suo sacro bosco? Il culto di Cibele, come quello di tutte le divinità pagane, con il diffondersi del cristianesimo era finalmente destinato ad essere sotterrato. L’anonimo esecutore di questo gesto segreto sapeva che il suo messaggio era destinato ad essere ricoperto da strati di terra, tufo e macerie – ma non ne aveva previsto la riscoperta oltre millecinquecento anni più tardi. Poneva le basi per un progetto destinato a superare ogni durata immaginabile. Stava nascendo il primo santuario dedicato alla Vergine nell’Occidente, fulcro eccelso di arte e fede lungo i secoli, santuario prediletto di molti papi, e meta devozionale di generazioni di pellegrini: una monumentale espressione
p. 14
Suonatore di aulos
ante 415-425 circa, terracotta, cm ø 7,5
Area archeologica, fondamenta esterne del colonnato destro
We do not know who, probably around the year 425, created the first work of art for the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Perhaps he belonged to the team of Roman stonemasons whose task it was to lay the building’s foundations, alternating two rows of clay bricks with one of tufa. Because of the steep slope of the chosen site, the workmen had to take great care to ensure that the imposing stretch of walls, about 80 metres in length from the façade to the apse, were perfectly straight. As early as the Roman Republic, even before Christ was born and still in the era sub lege, a massive retaining wall had been built – as the architect of the building site would probably have explained – to compensate for the variations in height of Rome’s highest peak on the Esquiline, Monte Cispio. These walls, which are still visible under the Basilica, originally held up the opulent noble residences that extended here in the time of Peter and Paul, the “Princes of the Apostles.”
It is probable that the workmen were Christians and that they gathered before or after work to pray. They talked about the patron saint of the new church, the Virgin Mary, whom the presbyters discussed intensely and for whom the first sanctuary in the Urbs was to be built. Perhaps they exchanged political views as well. They were certainly astonished that the patron of this extraordinary project was no longer the Emperor, but rather the spiritual authority of the city, the Bishop of Rome.
Just before burying the foundation walls, an unknown worker took a fragment of terracotta relief depicting an aulos player (the ancient double flute) and pressed it into the fresh mortar. We do not know if this was just a prank or if the gesture held some deeper meaning for him. With the addition of flute player did he perhaps wish an allusion to Cybele, the Roman goddess often associated with satyrs, and whose sacred grove was actually on the Esquiline Hill? The cult of Cybele, like that of all pagan deities, was destined to be submerged under the onslaught of Christianity. The anonymous author of this secret gesture also knew that his message was destined to be covered by layers of earth, tufa, and rubble – and could not have foreseen that it would be rediscovered more than a millenium and a half later. He was laying the basis for a project that was destined to outlive any imaginable duration. What was now rising was the first sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the West, a sublime centre of art and faith for centuries, the favourite sanctuary of many popes, and the devotional destination of generations of pilgrims: a monumental expression of the new Faith
p. 14
Aulos player before ca. 415-425, terracotta, ø 7.5 cm Archaeological area, outer foundations of the right colonnade
p. 394
Paolo Sanquirico (c. 1565-1630)
Papa Paolo V 1619-1620, bronzo Canonica Benedettina (già nel Coro invernale)
pp. 395-397
Flaminio Ponzio (1560-1618)
Scala Elicoidale 1605-1608, marmo, travertino e ottone Palazzo della Canonica Paolina
p. 394
Paolo Sanquirico (ca. 1565-1630)
Pope Paul V 1619-1620, bronze Benedictine Canonry (formerly in the Winter Choir)
pp. 395-397
Flaminio Ponzio (1560-1618)
Spiral Staircase 1605-1608, marble, travertine and brass Palace of the Pauline Canonry
Tempio mariano per eccellenza e culla della civiltà artistica, unica tra le maggiori Basiliche paleocristiane a Roma ad aver mantenuto intatto il suo aspetto originario, la Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore è il luogo dove storia, arte e spiritualità si fondono in un connubio perfetto. Attraverso l’esposizione di ogni capolavoro e di tutti gli ambienti della Basilica, Polo Museale Liberiano compreso, tra marmi, mosaici, ori, stucchi, tecniche innumerevoli e opere sorprendenti, il grande patrimonio artistico è qui celebrato con immagini inedite che documentano le origini del santuario sino agli interventi voluti dai Pontefici più recenti. L’impianto fotografico è supportato da autorevoli contributi testuali e, insieme, rendono l’opera unica e definitiva. / A Marian temple par excellence and cradle of artistic civilisation, the only one of the major early Christian basilicas in Rome to have maintained its original appearance intact, the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the place where history, art and spirituality come together in a perfect union. Through the exhibition of every masterpiece and all the rooms of the Basilica, including the Polo Museale Liberiano, among marbles, mosaics, gold, stuccoes, countless techniques and surprising works, the great artistic heritage is here celebrated with unpublished images documenting the origins of the sanctuary up to the interventions wanted by the most recent Popes. The photographic apparatus is supported by authoritative textual contributions and, together, they make the volume unique and definitive.
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