Polo Museale Liberiano

Located in Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, the Polo Museale Liberiano displays sacred art, historical artifacts, and archaeological finds, offering insights into the basilica’s rich heritage.

Planning your visit

Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the four papal major basilicas and the largest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin, founded in the fifth century, and its fifth-century mosaics along the nave are among the earliest surviving Christian narrative cycles anywhere — Old Testament scenes executed while the Western Empire was still nominally standing.

The Polo Museale Liberiano is the basilica's museum complex, holding sacred art, liturgical objects, vestments and reliquaries, alongside archaeological material from beneath the church, where excavation has revealed Roman structures predating it. The Bernini crypt and the confessio holding relics of the Nativity are part of the ensemble.

The Loggia delle Benedizioni above the entrance, with its thirteenth-century mosaics by Filippo Rusuti, is normally accessible only on guided visits and is a highlight.

Pope Francis is buried in the basilica, which has increased visitor numbers considerably.

It sits on the Esquiline near Termini. Allow ninety minutes. Bookable options include guided tours of the basilica and museum. Current availability is shown below.