Historical re-enactment of the miracle of the snow at Santa Maria Maggiore

The Capital celebrates one of the most representative and evocative religious events of the Roman tradition: the re-enactment of the Miracle of Our Lady of the Snow in the Esquiline Hill returns in its 39th edition.

According to legend, in the year 358 AD, Giovanni, a Roman patrician, and his wife, having no children, decided to donate their possessions to construct a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin. In the night between 4 and 5 August, Mary appeared in a dream to Giovanni and Pope Liberius, indicating to them the place where the church had to be built. Upon his arrival on Esquiline Hill, the pontiff found it covered with snow, despite the fact that it was the height of summer. He marked the perimeter of the new church, raised at the expense of the couple. It was named Basilica of Santa Maria della Neve, also called Basilica Liberiana or popularly ad Nives.

As every year, the celebrations involve the interior and exterior of the majestic basilica. Inside, the miracle is remembered with the solemn mass at 10 am and vespers at 5 pm, both accompanied by a suggestive rain of white rose petals.

Since 1983, the square in front of the basilica hosts a surprising show conceived and edited by architect Cesare Esposito. This year, you can admire lights, images and music, holograms of great effect, sound architecture with changing colours, and the statues of the saints and the Virgin animation.

Like last year, the event is dedicated to Pope Francis. It is enriched by the presence of the Fanfare of the Carabinieri and the performance of a soprano and a tenor singing to classical music. The program also includes a treatise reading, addressed to the city of Rome, written by Esposito, and the presence of the banners of the 22 Capitoline Rioni.

The event begins at 9 pm and, in an astonishing and exciting crescendo, culminates at midnight, when white snowflakes descend on the Basilica, turning the square into a magical candid expanse.