Piazza di Santa Maria Trastevere - Piazzas of Italy by Ultimate Italy

Piazza Di Santa Maria in Trastevere

This piazza is in front of the church of Saint Mary in Trastevere. This is also one of the centers of Trastevere’s nightlife.

The church of Saint Mary in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome. It is perhaps the first church where mass was openly celebrated. It was rebuilt in the twelfth century. Legend says that a spring of oil had miraculously welled forth during the birth of Jesus Christ. Hence this spot was chosen to build a church in honour of the Virgin Mary. The earliest church was built on the orders of Pope Callixtus I. He died in 222 and his remains are buried under the altar.

Pope Innocent II preserving the original plan of the basilica rebuilt the present nave of this church. There are 22 granite columns which that separate the nave from the aisles. They came from the ruins of an ancient Roman building. There are several late thirteen-century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini including Life of the Virgin (1291) and Coronation of the Virgin. Domenichino’s octagonal Assumption of the Virgin (1617) adorns the ceiling.

In 1702 Carlo Fontana restored the façade of the church. He replaced the ancient porch with the sliding roof with the present classical façade.

There is a relic of Saint Appolina – her head as well as a part of the holy sponge. Lorenzo Cardinal Campigio is also buried here.

There is an octagonal fountain in the piazza right from 1472. It is an ancient one of Roman origin. Carlo Fontana restored this fountain in the seventeenth century.

The Trastevere district is one of the ancient areas and was added as a district of Rome by Emperor Augustus. Although there is a vibrant nightlife at the piazza the church of Saint Mary is still the major attraction in this ancient square in Rome.