Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore: Guided Tour

Visit a piece of Vatican territory without actually going inside Vatican City. See a church where classical antiquity, Christianity, and modernity intersect. It is one of Rome’s four major basilicas and a significant Catholic Church. View its detailed facade and tall bell tower and enter the church to see the central nave, with a ceiling decorated with the first gold brought back to Europe from the New World. The expert guide will take you around the church showing you the nave’s front side with its triumphal arch covered in mosaics that show scenes from Jesus’ childhood. Beneath the arch, find the high altar above a relic said to contain wood pieces from the manger where Christ was laid in Bethlehem.