The Basilica of St Mary Major, one of the four major basilicas in Rome, stands on the top of the Esquiline Hill and is the only one to have preserved the primitive early Christian structure, albeit enriched by later additions. Profound transformations of the basilica, which until then had retained its substantially medieval appearance, were started between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century by Pope Sixtus V and Paul V, who erected the two large side chapels, known as Sistine and Pauline, and the palace to the right of the façade.
Between 1670 and 1676, Carlo Rainaldi redesigned the apse in its present form. Inside, there are many important works of art. On the walls of the nave, above the entablature, there are mosaic panels dating back to the 5th century. The ceiling dates back to the papacy of Alexander VI Borgia and, according to tradition, was gilded with the first shipment of gold from the Americas, a gift from Isabella of Spain.
The triumphal arch is decorated with mosaics depicting the Stories of the Infancy of Jesus from the period of Sixtus III, while in the apsidal basin, the beautiful mosaic was executed and signed by Iacopo Torriti at the end of the 13th century.
