Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Imagine my surprise to see a church was built here the top of the Altare della Patria. To understand what is going on, one would need to go back in time. This place is called the Capitoline Hill. The church it seems was built much earlier than that Altare della Patria, in the 12th century to be exact. There wasn’t much history on the origins of the church but it seems that it itself was built on top of another church. The church houses quite a few Christian relics and it is a place which people come to visit. I was surprised to know how old this church actually was. Although the facade of the church would have implied that it was quite old, I didn’t know it was that old.

When I entered the basilica, I was amazed with the interiors of the church. I was no hint from the outside that it looked amazing in the inside. I guess you really can’t judge this place by its facade. Although this was supposed to be a working church, there weren’t a lot of pews in the main area of the basilica. This was probably a good thing as you don’t have the pews in the way. Maybe services are only held on weekends. Inside the church, you can admire the wooden ceiling which is an amazing work of art. There are also paintings on the sides of the basilica but they may be a bit too high to see. Few relics of Saint Helena are house here in the basilica but I didn’t see them. Other Christian figures were buried here as well but I didn’t find out until much later. It was only after visiting this church that I was glad that we visited the Altare della Patria.

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