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96-511: Santa Sabina is the oldest extant ecclesiastical basilica in Rome that preserves its original colonnaded rectangular plan with apse and architectural style. Its decorations have been restored to their original restrained design. Other basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore , have been ornately decorated in later centuries. Because of its simplicity, the Santa Sabina represents the adaptation of

192-645: A Dalmatian priest, between 422 and 432 near a temple of Juno on the Aventine Hill in Rome . Pope Celestine I established the cardinal title of Santa Sabina with its seat here in 423 AD. In the 9th century, it was enclosed in a fortification area as a result of war. in 1216 Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers , now commonly known as the Dominicans, which was "the first order instituted by

288-468: A Romanesque or Gothic church , the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and which are pierced with windows. Clerestories have been used in transportation vehicles to provide additional lighting, ventilation, or headroom. The technology of the clerestory appears to originate in Egyptian temples , where the lighting of the hall of columns was obtained over the stone roofs of

384-409: A clerestory ( / ˈ k l ɪər s t ɔːr i / KLEER -stor-ee ; lit.   ' clear storey ' , also clearstory , clearstorey , or overstorey ; from Old French cler estor ) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a clerestory formed an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of

480-424: A central accounting system was involved in the papal chancery; and a budget was apparently prepared, one part of the income going to the papal administration, another to the needs of the clergy, a third to the maintenance of church buildings, a fourth to charity. These fines enabled the papacy to carry out through the 5th century an ambitious building program, including Santa Maria Maggiore." Miri Rubin believes that

576-465: A central nave divided from the side aisle by two rows of columns,on which rests an arcade. Above the arcade is a row of large clerestory windows. The twenty four columns of Proconnesian marble with perfectly matched Corinthian capitals and bases, were reused from the Temple of Juno. A framed hole in the floor exposes a Roman era temple column that pre-dates Santa Sabina. This appears to be the remnant of

672-511: A group of angels as his court. As one historian describes it: "On the apse arch Christ is enthroned, a young emperor attended by four chamberlains , angels of course", this is a perfect example of mosaic art in the 5th century. Another panel found on the triumphal arch is of the Virgin, she is crowned and dressed in a colorful veil, her wardrobe subtly brings to mind that of a Roman empress and in this panel she has her divine son walking with her and

768-571: A space, without compromising privacy. Factory buildings often are built with clerestory windows; modern housing designs sometimes include them as well. Modern clerestory windows may have another especially important role, besides daylighting and ventilation : they can be part of passive solar strategies, in very energy-efficient buildings ( passive houses and zero-energy buildings ). To that end, clerestories are used in conjunction with stone, brick, concrete, and other high-mass walls and floors, properly positioned to store solar heat gains during

864-731: A stream at its base. The iconography of the mosaic was very similar to another 5th-century mosaic, destroyed in the 17th century, in Sant'Andrea in Catabarbara . The interior cells of the Dominican convent are little changed since the earliest days of the Order of Preachers. The cell of St. Dominic is still identified, though it has since been enlarged and converted to a chapel . Also, the original dining room still remains, in which St. Thomas Aquinas would dine when he lived in Rome. The doors on

960-547: A suite of angels and Joseph ready to greet her; "The Virgin...shows to perfection the impressionistic character of mosaics." Another panel is known as the Adoration of the Magi and this mosaic depicts Infant Christ and The Virgin and the arrival of the three wise men, "mosaics illustrating Christ's first coming and his youth covered the triumphal arch." The other panel depicts the Virgin accompanied by five martyrs. The nave of

1056-463: A wall pierced by clerestory windows. During the Romanesque period, many churches of the basilica form were constructed all over Europe. Many of these churches have wooden roofs with clerestories below them. Some Romanesque churches have barrel-vaulted ceilings with no clerestory. The development of the groin vault and ribbed vault made possible the insertion of clerestory windows. Initially

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1152-698: Is ex officio protocanon of the basilica's chapter . Pope Francis visits the Basilica often, mainly to visit the Salus Populi Romani. He visits before and after trips outside the Vatican, calling the icon his "great devotion". He has also constructed a tomb next to the icon to be his final resting place upon his death. Francis plans to be the first pope to be interred outside the Vatican since Pope Leo XIII in 1903. List of archpriests since 1127. Clerestory In architecture ,

1248-641: Is a model of the chapel itself. Beneath this altar is the Oratory or Chapel of the Nativity, on whose altar, at that time situated in the Crypt of the Nativity below the main altar of the church itself, Ignatius of Loyola celebrated his first Mass as a priest on 25 December 1538. Just outside the Sistine Chapel is the tomb of Gianlorenzo Bernini and his family. The Mannerist interior decoration of

1344-400: Is built in the manner of an Ancient Roman secular basilica, or covered forum. The characteristics are a long central nave with a lower aisle on each side. Above the aisles, the walls of the nave are pierced by a row of large clerestory windows. The brick walls are mostly unrendered, and the windows are made of selenite , not glass , making the building look much as it did when it was built in

1440-518: Is clear that the planners of the decoration belong to a period of concentrated debates on nature and status of the Virgin and incarnate Christ." The magnificent mosaics of the nave and triumphal arch, seen as "milestones in the depiction" of the Virgin, depict scenes of her life and that of Christ, but also scenes from the Old Testament : Moses striking the Red Sea , and Egyptians drowning in

1536-649: Is one of the four major papal basilicas as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the largest Marian church in Rome, Italy. The basilica enshrines the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani , depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary as the health and protectress of the Roman people, which was granted a Canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 August 1838 accompanied by his Papal bull Cælestis Regina . Pursuant to

1632-638: Is the highest in Rome, at 246 feet, (about 75 m.). The basilica's 16th-century coffered ceiling, to a design by Giuliano da Sangallo , is said to be gilded with gold, initially brought by Christopher Columbus , presented by Ferdinand and Isabella to the Spanish pope, Alexander VI . The apse mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin , is from 1295, signed by the Franciscan friar, Jacopo Torriti . The Basilica also contains frescoes by Giovanni Baglione , in

1728-1222: The Categories and On Interpretation of Aristotle, and the Summule logicales of Peter of Spain. Milone da Velletri was the lector at the Santa Sabina studium in 1293. In 1310 the Florentine Giovanni dei Tornaquinci was the lector at Santa Sabina. In 1331 at the Santa Sabina studium Nerius de Tertia was the lector, and Giovanni Zocco da Spoleto was a student of logic. [REDACTED] Media related to Santa Sabina (Rome) - Gallery at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Media related to Santa Sabina (Rome) - Category at Wikimedia Commons Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( Italian : Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore , Italian pronunciation: [ˈsanta maˈriːa madˈdʒoːre] ; Latin : Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris ; Latin : Basilica Sanctae Mariae ad Nives ), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore (also referred to as Santa Maria delle Nevi from its Latin origin Sancta Maria ad Nives ),

1824-505: The Bible . Most famous among these is one of the earliest certain depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the two thieves. Other panels have also been the subjects of extensive analysis because of their importance to the study of Christian iconography . Above the doorway, the interior preserves an original dedication in Latin hexameters . The interior has basilical form, with

1920-663: The Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, the Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State . However, the Holy See fully owns the Basilica, and Italy is legally obligated to recognize its full ownership thereof and to concede to it "the immunity granted by International Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign States." In other words,

2016-660: The Macellum of Livia ". It is shown in the early 15th-century painting of the Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale . The feast was originally called Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae (Dedication of Saint Mary's), and was celebrated only in Rome until it was inserted into the General Roman Calendar , with ad Nives added to its name, in 1568. A congregation appointed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741 proposed that

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2112-594: The Mass and during the Second Vespers on the feast day. The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica or Santa Maria Liberiana , after Pope Liberius (352–366). This name may have originated from the same legend, which recounts that, like John and his wife, Pope Liberius was told in a dream of the forthcoming summer snowfall, went in procession to where it occurred and there marked out

2208-560: The Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore . To the right of the Basilica's façade is a memorial constituting a column in the form of an up-ended cannon barrel topped with a cross: it was erected by Pope Clement VIII to celebrate the end of the French Wars of Religion . In the piazza in front of the facade rises a column with a Corinthian capital, topped with a statue of the Virgin and the child Jesus. This Marian column

2304-577: The Savelli family and that the church and associated buildings formed part of the holdings of the Savelli, thereby explaining why Honorius III donated Santa Sabina to the Dominicans. In fact, Honorius III was not a Savelli. These scholars may have confused later Pope Honorius IV , who was a Savelli, and Honorius III. In any case, the church was given over to the Dominicans and it has since then served as their headquarters in Rome. In 1265 in accordance with

2400-492: The Theotokos (Mother of God) when after becoming Pope during a plague in 590 that had taken the life of his predecessor, he ordered for seven processions to march through the city of Rome chanting Psalms and Kyrie Eleison, in order to appease the wrath of God. The processions began in different parts of the city, but rather than finally converging on St Peter's, who was always the traditional protector of Rome, he instead ordered

2496-422: The crucifixion of Christ . The panels are carved in two distinct styles, one including more detail and adherence to the style of classical art , and one adopting a simpler style, indicating that several artists may have worked on the doors. The abstract vegetal designs on the panels' frames are consistent with a Mesopotamian style, suggesting the origin of at least one of the artists was from this region. Due to

2592-500: The "Salus Populi Romani" and led liturgical celebrations. As a papal basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore is often used by the pope. He presides over the rites for the annual Feast of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August there. Except for a few priests and the basilica's archpriest, the canopied high altar is reserved for use by the pope alone. Pope Francis visited the basilica on the day after his election. The pope gives charge of

2688-416: The "Sicinini Basilica". This building was then replaced under Pope Sixtus III (432–440) by the present structure dedicated to Mary. However, some sources say that the adaptation as a church of a pre-existing building on the site of the present basilica was done in the 420s under Pope Celestine I , the immediate predecessor of Sixtus III. Long before the earliest traces of the story of the miraculous snow,

2784-569: The "patriarchal basilicas" of Rome,{{efn|When Pope Benedict XVI abandoned the title " Patriarch of the West ", the title of St. Mary Major changed from patriarchal to papal basilica, as found on its website, and each was associated with one of the five ancient patriarchates . St. Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch . The five papal basilicas along with the Basilica of

2880-495: The 1740s commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to build the present façade and to modify the interior. The interior of the Santa Maria Maggiore underwent a broad renovation encompassing all of its altars between the years 1575 and 1630. In 1966, archeologists excavating under the basilica found the remains of a Roman building including an imperial calendar with fasti and agricultural annotations and illustrations . On

2976-452: The 5th century, therefore the carvings could date from the reigns of Celestine I (421–431) or Sixtus III (431–440). In 1216 the Order of Preachers , now commonly known as the Dominicans, was approved by Pope Honorius as "the first order instituted by the Church with an academic mission". Honorius III invited Saint Dominic , the founder of the Order of Preachers , to take up residence at

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3072-555: The 5th century. The building has a colonnaded porch opening propped onto a cloister, and at the other end, a semi-circular apse . The campanile (bell tower) was originally built in the 10th century; but was rebuilt in the 17th century in the Baroque style. The wooden door of the basilica is generally agreed to be the original door from 430 – 432, although it was apparently not constructed for this doorway. Eighteen of its wooden panels survive — all but one depicting scenes from

3168-576: The 5th century. This being said, the crowning of Mary on the Apse was made much later by Torriti by commission of Pope Nicholas IV. (13th century). These mosaics gave historians insight into artistic, religious, and social movements during this time. As Margaret Miles explains the mosaics in Santa Maria Maggiore have two goals: one to glorify the Virgin Mary as Theotokos (God-Bearer); and the other to present "a systematic and comprehensive articulation of

3264-594: The Blessed Sacrament is named after Pope Sixtus V , and is not to be confused with the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican , named after Pope Sixtus IV . The architect Domenico Fontana designed the chapel, which contains the tombs of Sixtus V himself and of his early patron Pope Pius V . The main altar in the chapel has four gilded bronze angels by Sebastiano Torregiani, holding up the ciborium , which

3360-481: The Cappella Borghese. The 12th-century façade has been masked by a reconstruction, with a screening loggia , that was added by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743, to designs by Ferdinando Fuga that did not damage the mosaics of the façade. The wing of the canonica ( sacristy ) to its left and a matching wing to the right (designed by Flaminio Ponzio ) give the basilica's front the aspect of a palace facing

3456-425: The Church with an academic mission". Honorius III invited Saint Dominic , the founder of the Order of Preachers , to take up residence at the church of Santa Sabina in 1220. The official foundation of the Dominican convent at Santa Sabina with its studium conventuale , the first Dominican studium in Rome, occurred with the legal transfer of property from Honorius III to the Order of Preachers on 5 June 1222 though

3552-530: The Dominicans; and converted the church into a lazaretto (quarantine station for maritime travelers). Italian architect and art historian Antonio Muñoz (1884-1960) restored the original simplistic medieval appearance of the church in 1914-1919. French architect P. Berthier completed its restoration in 1936-1938. Among those who have lived in its adjacent convent were Saint Dominic (1220-1221), St Thomas Aquinas (1265-1268), Blessed Ceslaus , Saint Hyacinth , and Pope Pius V . The Minor Basilica of Santa Sabina

3648-614: The Great. The church retains the core of its original structure, despite several additional construction projects and damage by the earthquake of 1348 . Church building in Rome in this period, as exemplified in Santa Maria Maggiore, was inspired by the idea of Rome being not just the center of the world of the Roman Empire , as it was seen in the classical period, but the center of the Christian world. Santa Maria Maggiore, one of

3744-574: The Holy Crib of the nativity of Jesus Christ. Here is the burial place of Jerome , the 4th-century Doctor of the Church who translated the Bible into the Latin language (the Vulgate ). Fragments of the sculpture of the Nativity believed to be by 13th-century Arnolfo di Cambio were transferred to beneath the altar of the large Sistine Chapel off the right transept of the church. This chapel of

3840-643: The Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori le mura were the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome , which were visited by pilgrims during their pilgrimage to Rome following a 20-kilometer (12 mi) itinerary established by Philip Neri on 25 February 1552. It is now agreed that the present church was built on the Cispian spur of Rome's Esquiline Hill under Pope Celestine I (422–432) not under Pope Sixtus III (432–440), who consecrated

3936-635: The Lateran , St. Peter , and St. Paul outside the Walls . The title of major basilica was once used more widely, being attached, for instance, to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi ). Along with the other major basilicas, St. Mary Major is also styled a " papal basilica ". Before 2006, the four papal major basilicas, together with the Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls were referred to as

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4032-531: The Red Sea. Richard Krautheimer attributes the magnificence of the work also to the abundant revenue accruing to the papacy at the time from land holdings acquired by the Catholic Church during the 4th and 5th centuries on the Italian peninsula: "Some of these holdings were locally controlled; the majority as early as the end of the 5th century were administered directly from Rome with great efficiency:

4128-444: The Sistine Chapel was completed (1587–1589) by a large team of artists, directed by Cesare Nebbia and Giovanni Guerra . While the art biographer, Giovanni Baglione allocates specific works to individual artists, recent scholarship finds that the hand of Nebbia drew preliminary sketches for many, if not all, of the frescoes. Baglione also concedes the roles of Nebbia and Guerra could be summarized as "Nebbia drew, and Guerra supervised

4224-401: The Temple of Juno erected on the hilltop site during Roman times, which was likely razed to allow construction of the basilica. There is an apse at the eastern end. The original fifth-century apse mosaic was replaced in 1559 by a fresco by Taddeo Zuccari . The composition probably remained unchanged: Christ is flanked by a good thief and a bad thief , seated on a hill while lambs drink from

4320-831: The US and assembled at Derby, where Pullman set up an assembly plant in conjunction with the Midland Railway , a predecessor of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The first coach, a sleeping car named "Midland", was assembled and ready for trial-running in January 1874. The last clerestory-roofed trains on the London Underground were the 'Q' stock , which were withdrawn from operation in 1971. Clerestories were also used in early British double-decker buses , giving better ventilation and headroom in

4416-492: The Virgin Mary. There was a difference in the styles used in the triumphal arch mosaics compared to those of the nave; the style of the triumphal arch was much more linear and flat as one scholar describes it, not nearly as much action, emotion and movement in them as there were in the Old Testament mosaics of the nave. One of the first scenes that were visible on the triumphal arch was a panel of Christ's enthronement with

4512-645: The adjoining aisles, through gaps left in the vertical slabs of stone. Clerestories appeared in Egypt at least as early as the Amarna Period . Minoan palaces in Crete such as Knossos employed lightwells in addition to clerestories. According to the Hebrew Bible , Solomon's Temple featured clerestory windows made possible by the use of a tall, angled roof and a central ridgepole . The clerestory

4608-578: The architecture of the roofed Roman forum or basilica to the basilica churches of Christendom . It is especially well-known for its cypress wood doors carved in AD 430-432 with Biblical scenes, the most famous being the first known publicly displayed depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the two thieves. Santa Sabina is perched high above the Tiber to the north and the Circus Maximus to

4704-481: The area on which the church was to be built. Liberiana is still included in some versions of the basilica's name, and "Liberian Basilica" may be used as a contemporary as well as historical name. On the other hand, the name "Liberian Basilica" may be independent of the legend, since, according to Pius Parsch , Pope Liberius transformed a palace of the Sicinini family into a church, which was for that reason called

4800-430: The basilica had become popular in the 14th century in connection with a legend that c.  352 , during "the pontificate of Liberius , a Roman patrician John and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honor. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell during

4896-512: The basilica on 5 August 434 to the Virgin Mary. The dedicatory inscription on the triumphal arch, Latin : Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei (Sixtus the bishop to the people of God), is an indication of that Pope's role in the construction. As well as this church on the summit of the Esquiline Hill , Pope Sixtus III is said to have commissioned extensive building projects throughout the city, which were continued by his successor Pope Leo I ,

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4992-569: The basilica to an archpriest, usually a cardinal . Formerly, the archpriest was the titular Latin Patriarch of Antioch , a title abolished in 1964. Since 29 December 2016, the archpriest has been Stanisław Ryłko . In addition to the archpriest and his assistant priests, a chapter of canons is resident. Redemptorist , Dominican and Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate priests serve the church. The King of Spain , currently Felipe VI ,

5088-491: The basilica was covered in mosaics representing Old Testament events of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt across the Red Sea. "The nave mosaics (which represents stories of Old Testament history and accordingly offered Christians in Rome a new 'past') are illusionistic in a colorful and impressionist manner" as this scholar puts it the scene was filled with movement, emotion, and it was to inspire thinking of Rome's "new" past;

5184-476: The basis of the calendar, the ruins have been dated to c.  200 by Salzman and to the 4th century by Magi. On 15 December 2015, two homeless Arab men attempted to disarm soldiers outside the basilica while yelling the takbir " God is great". The 30 and 40 year old Palestinian and Tunisian called for others to help them as they threatened and assaulted the soldiers and police, but were arrested. The original architecture of Santa Maria Maggiore

5280-419: The beautiful mosaics found on the triumphal arch and nave. The Athenian marble columns supporting the nave are even older, and either come from the first basilica, or from another antique Roman building; thirty-six are marble and four granite, pared down, or shortened to make them identical by Ferdinando Fuga, who provided them with identical gilt-bronze capitals. The 14th-century campanile , or bell tower,

5376-416: The bottom of the door, depicts an homage to a man wearing a chlamys , and is thought to depict a historical event relating to a powerful ruler, though the exact story depicted is unknown. One of the smaller top panels depicts the crucifixion of Jesus and two other figures in front of a building that alludes to the architecture of a Roman mausoleum . This panel is the first known publicly displayed image of

5472-487: The brethren had taken up residence there already in 1220. The church was the seat of a papal conclave in 1287 , although the prelates left the church after an epidemic killed six of them. They later returned to the church, and elected Nicholas IV as pope on 22 February 1288. Its interior was renovated by Domenico Fontana in 1587 (after being commissioned by Pope Sixtus V in 1586) and Francesco Borromini in 1643. The Kingdom of Italy conquered Rome in 1870; expelled

5568-404: The building of the basilica was influenced also by seeing Mary as one who could represent the imperial ideals of classical Rome, bringing together the old Rome and the new Christian Rome: "In Rome, the city of martyrs , if no longer of emperors, Mary was a figure that could credibly carry imperial memories and representations." Gregory the Great may have been inspired by Byzantine devotions to

5664-589: The church now known as Saint Mary Major was called "Saint Mary of the Crib" ("Sancta Maria ad Praesepe"), a name it was given because of its relic of the crib or manger of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, four boards of sycamore wood believed to have been brought to the church, together with a fifth, in the time of Pope Theodore I (640–649). This name appears in the Tridentine editions of the Roman Missal as

5760-407: The church of Santa Sabina in 1220. The official foundation of the Dominican convent at Santa Sabina with its studium conventuale , the first Dominican studium in Rome, occurred with the legal transfer of property from Honorius III to the Order of Preachers on 5 June 1222, though the brethren had taken up residence there already in 1220. Some scholars have written that Honorius III was a member of

5856-406: The city. The icon is at least a thousand years old, and according to a tradition was painted from life by St Luke the Evangelist using the wooden table of the Holy Family in Nazareth . The " Salus Populi Romani " has been praised by several popes and acted as a key Mariological symbol. Prior to becoming the Pope Pius XII, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli celebrated his first Catholic Mass before

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5952-423: The complex of buildings has a status somewhat similar to a foreign embassy. The Basilica is sometimes referred to as Our Lady of the Snows , a name given to it in the Roman Missal from 1568 to 1969 in connection with the liturgical feast of the anniversary of its dedication on 5 August, a feast that was then denominated Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives (Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snows). This name for

6048-437: The cramped composition of the panels and the thin outer frame, it is likely that the door was originally bigger, then cut down to fit into the frame of Santa Sabina. This makes it unclear as to whether the door was initially intended to be used for this specific structure. It may have been designed for a different Roman building with larger doorway dimensions, but then been transferred to Santa Sabina for unknown reasons. However,

6144-407: The designs of many railway passenger cars and trams Commonwealth English ) / streetcars ( American English & Canadian English ) from about 1860 to the 1930s. They increased the daylight and ventilation available to passengers. In the US, the railroad clerestory roof was also known as the "lantern roof". The first Pullman coaches in the UK had clerestory roofs. They were imported from

6240-407: The door was most likely constructed near the same time as the erection of the Church of Santa Sabina in 432, as the powerful figure in the chlamys scene carving shares stylistic similarities with depictions of Theodosius II , the emperor at the time of the consecration of Santa Sabina. Dendrochronologic and radiocarbon dating confirmed that the wood used for the door panels is from the beginning of

6336-407: The east. It is next to the small public park of Giardino degli Aranci ("Garden of Oranges"), which has a scenic terrace overlooking Rome. It is a short distance from Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio and from the headquarters of the Knights of Malta . Its last cardinal priest was Jozef Tomko until his death on 8 August 2022. It is the stational church for Ash Wednesday . The church was built on

6432-429: The existing studium conventuale at Santa Sabina was transformed into the Order's first studium provinciale , an intermediate school between the studium conventuale and the studium generale . "Prior to this time the Roman Province had offered no specialized education of any sort, no arts, no philosophy; only simple convent schools, with their basic courses in theology for resident friars, were functioning in Tuscany and

6528-418: The exterior of Santa Sabina are made of cypress wood, and originally had a layout of twenty-eight panels. Out of these panels, ten of the original have been lost, and are left without ornamentation. Seventeen out of the original remaining eighteen panels depict a scene from the Old Testament or the New Testament , leaving one panel that does not directly correlate to a Biblical story. This panel, found near

6624-406: The first churches built to celebrate the Virgin Mary, was erected immediately after the Council of Ephesus of 431, which proclaimed Mary Mother of God. Pope Sixtus III built it to commemorate this decision. Certainly, the atmosphere that generated the council gave rise also to the mosaics that adorn the interior of the dedication: "whatever the precise connection was between council and church it

6720-463: The hotter parts of the day – allowing the walls and the floor to act as a heat bank during the cooler parts of the day. Clerestories – in passive solar strategies – should be properly located (typically in the sunny side of the building) and protected from the summer's sun by rooflines, overhangs , recessed thick walls, or other architectural elements, in order to prevent overheating during the cooling season. Clerestory roofs were incorporated into

6816-465: The image inside the Borghese Chapel on Easter Sunday , 2 April 1899. In December 1953, the icon was carried through Rome to initiate the first Marian year . On 1 November 1954, the icon was translated and officially crowned by Pope Pius XII at Basilica of Saint Peter as he gave a personal speech and introduced a new Marian feast Queenship of Mary . Future pontiffs Pope Paul VI , Pope John Paul II , Pope Benedict XVI , and Pope Francis all visited

6912-627: The injunction of the Chapter of the Roman province of the Order of Preachers at Anagni , Thomas Aquinas was assigned as regent master at the studium conventuale at Santa Sabina: “Fr. Thome de Aquino iniungimus in remissionem peccatorum quod teneat studium Rome, et volumus quod fratribus qui stant secum ad studendum provideatur in necessariis vestimentis a conventibus de quorum predicatione traxerunt originem. Si autem illi studentes inventi fuerint negligentes in studio, damus potestatem fr. Thome quod ad conventus suos possit eos remittere”. At this time

7008-419: The meridionale during the first several decades of the order's life. But the new studium at Santa Sabina was to be a school for the province," a studium provinciale . Tolomeo da Lucca , an associate and early biographer of Aquinas, tells us that at the Santa Sabina studium Aquinas taught the full range of philosophical subjects, both moral and natural. With the departure of Aquinas for Paris in 1268 and

7104-473: The mosaic: "The Egyptians, clad in blue armor with gold bands and scarlet cloaks wildly flying, drown in the greenish-blue waters; the horses, white or light brown shaded with darker browns, highlighted in white, the accoutrements a bright red." Under the high altar of the basilica is the Crypt of the Nativity or Bethlehem Crypt , with a crystal reliquary designed by Giuseppe Valadier said to contain wood from

7200-414: The nave of a large aisled and clerestoried church was of two levels: arcade and clerestory. During the Romanesque period, a third level was inserted between them, a gallery called the " triforium ". The triforium generally opens into space beneath the sloping roof of the aisle. This became a standard feature of later Romanesque and Gothic large abbey and cathedral churches. Sometimes another gallery set into

7296-548: The night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honor of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow. The legend is first reported only after the year 1000. It may be implied in what the Liber Pontificalis of the early 13th century says of Pope Liberius: "He built the basilica of his own name near

7392-413: The passage of time the pedagogical activities of the studium provinciale at Santa Sabina were divided between two campuses. A new convent of the Order at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva had a modest beginning in 1255 as a community for women converts, but grew rapidly in size and importance after being given to the Dominicans in 1275. In 1288 the theology component of the provincial curriculum

7488-461: The past of the Old Testament. As one scholar describes it: "Moses strikes the waters of the Red Sea in a heroic gesture, his toga in light and dark grays and blues, but lined in black, the folds white lines, the tunic underneath light blue; the man next to him wears a deep blue toga over a gray and white tunic." Another panel shows the demise of the Egyptians in the Red Sea . An observer describes

7584-411: The place for the pope's Mass (the station Mass) on Christmas Night, while the name "Mary Major" appears for the church of the station Mass on Christmas Day. A Catholic church can only be honored with the title of basilica by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom. St. Mary Major is one of the only four that hold the title of " major basilica ". The other three are the basilicas of St. John in

7680-406: The pope decreed three years of indulgences to those who uttered a prayer to the Virgin while saluting the column. The mosaics found in Santa Maria Maggiore are one of the oldest representations of the Virgin Mary in Christian late antiquity . As one scholar puts it, "This is well demonstrated by the decoration of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome,... where the iconographic depiction of the Virgin Mary

7776-772: The processions to converge on Mary Major instead. When the popes returned to Rome after the period of the Avignon papacy , the buildings of the basilica became a temporary Palace of the Popes due to the deteriorated state of the Lateran Palace . The papal residence was later moved to the Palace of the Vatican in what is now Vatican City . The basilica was restored, redecorated and extended by various popes, including Eugene III (1145–1153), Nicholas IV (1288–1292), Clement X (1670–1676), and Benedict XIV (1740–1758), who in

7872-455: The reading of the legend be struck from the Office and that the feast be given its original name. No action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the feast was called In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae (Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary). The legend is still commemorated by dropping white rose petals from the dome during the celebration of

7968-583: The relationship of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian scriptures as one in which the Hebrew Bible foreshadows Christianity." This is explained by the dual images of Old Testament and New Testament events depicted in the mosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave. The mosaics also show the range of artistic expertise and refute the theory that mosaic technique during the time was based on copying from model books. The mosaics found in Santa Maria Maggiore are combinations of different styles of mosaic art during

8064-474: The site of early Imperial houses, one of which is said to be of Sabina , a Roman matron originally from Avezzano in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Sabina was beheaded in AD 126 under Emperor Hadrian , because she had been converted to Christianity by her servant Serapia , who also had been beheaded in AD 119. Sabina and Serapia were later declared Catholic saints. Santa Sabina was built by Peter of Illyria ,

8160-471: The size of the windows to get proportionally larger in relation to wall surface, emerging in works such as the Gothic architecture of Amiens Cathedral or Westminster Abbey , where their clerestories account for nearly a third of the height of the interior. Modern clerestories often are defined as vertical windows, located on high walls, extending up from the roofline, designed to allow light and breezes into

8256-637: The teams". Others include Ferdinando Sermei, Giacomo Stella , Paul Bril , and Ferraù Fenzoni . The column in the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore celebrates the famous icon of the Virgin Mary now enshrined in the Borghese Chapel of the basilica. It is known as " Salus Populi Romani ", or "Health of the Roman People" or "Salvation of the Roman People", due to a miracle in which the icon reportedly helped keep plague from

8352-456: The time of Augustus ." Even though Santa Maria Maggiore is immense in its area, it was built to plan. The design of the basilica was a typical one during this time in Rome: "a tall and wide nave; an aisle on either side; and a semicircular apse at the end of the nave." The key aspect that made Santa Maria Maggiore such a significant cornerstone in church building during the early 5th century were

8448-533: The time, according to art scholar Robin Cormack: "the range of artistic expertise and the actual complexities of production can hardly be reduced to a mentality of copying. A test case is given by the mosaics of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome". The triumphal arch at the head of the nave was at first referred to as the apse arch, but later became known as the triumphal arch. The triumphal arch is illustrated with magnificent mosaics depicting different scenes of Christ and

8544-753: The wall space above the triforium and below the clerestory. This feature is found in some late Romanesque and early Gothic buildings in France. The oldest glass clerestory windows still in place are from the late eleventh century, found in Augsburg Cathedral in Bavaria , Germany. In smaller churches, clerestory windows may be trefoils or quatrefoils . In some Italian churches they are ocular . In most large churches, they are an important feature, both for beauty and for utility. The ribbed vaulting and flying buttresses of Gothic architecture concentrated

8640-419: The weight and thrust of the roof, freeing wall-space for larger clerestory fenestration . Generally, in Gothic masterpieces, the clerestory is divided into bays by the vaulting shafts that continue the same tall columns that form the arcade separating the aisles from the nave. The tendency from the early Romanesque period to the late Gothic period was for the clerestory level to become progressively taller and

8736-548: Was chosen at least in part to celebrate the affirmation of Mary as Theotokos (bearer of God) by the third ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 CE." The mosaics of the triumphal arch and the nave in Santa Maria Maggiore gave a model for the future representations of the Virgin Mary. The influences of these mosaics are rooted in late antique impressionism that could be seen in frescoes , manuscript paintings and many pavement mosaics across villas in Africa, Syria and Sicily during

8832-435: Was classical and traditionally Roman , perhaps to convey the idea that Santa Maria Maggiore represented old imperial Rome as well as its Christian future. As one scholar puts it, "Santa Maria Maggiore so closely resembles a second-century imperial basilica that it has sometimes been thought to have been adapted from a basilica for use as a Christian church. Its plan was based on Hellenistic principles stated by Vitruvius at

8928-467: Was erected in 1614 to the designs of Carlo Maderno during the papacy of Paul V . Maderno's fountain at the base combines the armorial eagles and dragons of Paul V ( Borghese ). The column itself was the sole intact remainder from the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in the Roman Forum . The statue atop the column was made by Domenico Ferri. In a papal bull from the year of its installation,

9024-666: Was redesignated as one of three studia nove logice intended to offer courses of advanced logic covering the logica nova , the Aristotelian texts recovered in the West only in the second half of the 12th century, the Topics , Sophistical Refutations , and the Prior and Second Analytics of Aristotle. This was an advance over the logica antiqua , which treated the Isagoge of Porphyry , Divisions and Topics of Boethius ,

9120-398: Was relocated from the Santa Sabina studium provinciale to the studium conventuale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva which was redesignated as a studium particularis theologiae . Thus, the studium at Santa Sabina was the forerunner of the studium generale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva . Following the curriculum of studies laid out in the capitular acts of 1291 the Santa Sabina studium

9216-562: Was used in the Hellenistic architecture of classical antiquity . The Romans applied clerestories to basilicas of justice and to the basilica-like thermae and palaces. Early Christian churches and some Byzantine churches, particularly in Italy, are based closely on the Roman basilica, and maintained the form of a central nave flanked by lower aisles on each side. The nave and aisles are separated by columns or piers, above which rises

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