Naples - Santa Maria Maggiore o Pietrasanta by Mark Sukhija

By: Mark Sukhija

The Christian Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was built in 533 by the then Bishop of Naples San Pomponio on the ruins of a Roman building.

The name of "Pietrasanta" began to be used in the 17th Century as a stone inside was believed to grant indulgences to whoever kissed it.

During the 17th Century, Cosimo Fanzago started the reconstruction of the church with a large dome to which the tile and the majicola floor was added later in the 18th Century.

The Campanile, meters away, dates from the 10th and 11th Centuries and is the oldest in the city.

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About Mark Sukhija

Mark Sukhija is a travel and wine blogger, photographer, tourism researcher, hat-touting, white-shirt-wearing, New Zealand fantatic and eclipse chaser. Aside from at least annual visits to New Zealand, Mark has seen eclipses in South Australia (2002), Libya (2006), China (2009) and Queensland (2012). After twelve years in Switzerland, Mark moved back to London in 2012. You can follow Mark on Twitter or Facebook