Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica (Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome is one of the four major basilicas. It is the property of the Vatican. It is the largest monument and the oldest Roman church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
On the night of August 4, 358 A.D., the Virgin appeared in a dream to Pope St. Liberius and to a wealthy Roman named John. She asked to erect a shrine to a certain place.
The construction started in the reign of Sixtus III to celebrate the end of the Council of Ephesus in 431. The building has undergone several changes over the centuries; the facade dates from the eighteenth century and is the work of Ferdinando Fuga. The two domes were built during the Baroque period, as well as the western and eastern facades.