Rome Santa Maria in Trastevere apartments for rent, bed and breakfast, vacation rentals in Rome : district Santa Maria in Trastevere

In the district of Trastevere which lies on the right bank of the river Tiber near the Tiber Island, is located the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere on the homonymous square.
This basilica is the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is one of the oldest basilicas in Rome.
Pope Callistus is said to have founded it in 220 at the place where in 38 BC occurred a miraculous eruption of oil which reached the Tiber and was then interpreted as an announcement of the birth of Jesus.
The location of this source of oil is indicated on the steps of the presbytery.
In 1133 Innocent II rebuilt the current structure with materials from the Baths of Caracalla, but there were other modifications until 1702, when the portico was built and the facade was changed by Carlo Fontana.
The mosaics of the thirteenth century and the Romanesque bell tower have remained intact.
The basilica was used for several anniversaries of the Holy Year to commemorate the Jubilee in place of the Basilica San Paolo Fuori le Mura, which sometimes remained closed due to epidemics in the Roman countryside