Full | BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASTEVERE | ROME

Type: Interesting

Description:
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The basilica of S. Maria in Trastevere, located on the homonymous square, was probably the first official place of Christian worship built in Rome and certainly the first dedicated to the worship of the Virgin. According to legend, the church was erected by S. Julius I in 340 on the oratory founded by Pope Callistus I in the 3rd century, when Christianity had not yet spread, so much so that the church was called 'titulus Calixti' until the 6th century, when it was dedicated to Mary. An ancient and mystical fact distinguishes it from other churches: S. Maria rises on the site where, in 38 B.C., a spring of mineral oil gushed from the ground, the divine 'fons olei', as Christians saw it as a premonitory sign of the coming of Christ, the Anointed of the Lord.

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Video length: 03:37