Santa Maria Antiqua

Santa Maria Antiqua al Foro Romano
Santa Maria Antiqua al Foro Romano
Ancient Church of Saint Mary in the Roman Forum
	Oratory of the Forty Martyrs, by the entrance to Santa Maria Antiqua in the Forum Romanum
	Click on the map for a fullscreen view
	41°53′27.6″N 12°29′8.1″E / 41.891000°N 12.485583°E
Location	Rome
Country	Italy
Denomination	Catholic Church; Established in 5th century by the undivided Church (pre-East–West Schism of 1054);
History
Status	Inactive
Consecrated	5th century
Architecture
Style	Byzantine architecture
Groundbreaking	5th century
Specifications
Length	30 metres (98 ft)
Width	20 metres (66 ft)

Santa Maria Antiqua (English: Ancient Church of Saint Mary) is a Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for a long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces.

Located at the foot of the Palatine Hill, Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest Christian monument in the Roman Forum. The church contains the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina, the Virgin Mary as a Queen, from the 6th century.^[1]^[2]^[3]

^ Erik Thunø, 2003 Image and relic: mediating the sacred in early medieval Rome ISBN 88-8265-217-3 page 34
^ Bissera V. Pentcheva, 2006 Icons and power: the Mother of God in Byzantium ISBN 0-271-02551-4 page 21
^ Anne J. Duggan, 2008 Queens and queenship in medieval Europe ISBN 0-85115-881-1 page 175

[1] Erik Thunø, 2003 Image and relic: mediating the sacred in early medieval Rome ISBN 88-8265-217-3 page 34

[2] Bissera V. Pentcheva, 2006 Icons and power: the Mother of God in Byzantium ISBN 0-271-02551-4 page 21

[3] Anne J. Duggan, 2008 Queens and queenship in medieval Europe ISBN 0-85115-881-1 page 175

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