The Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere was founded as early as the 3rd century by St Callixtus and completed under Pope Julius I. Over the centuries, despite numerous restorations, it has remained largely unchanged in its original appearance. It was only in the 18th century that Pope Clement VII commissioned the architect Carlo Fontana to build a portico. The façade of the church is crowned with a high tympanum and ornate portals. Next to the basilica rises a beautiful Romanesque bell tower with an ancient bell under its roof.
The basilica remains to this day a place of worship for the Virgin Mary. Images of the Virgin Mary dominate the interior decoration of the church, including magnificent mosaics dating from the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. The oldest depiction of the Virgin Mary is the seventh-century icon of the Madonna di Clemenza in the Altemps Chapel.
