Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore

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Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore	Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore	Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore	Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore	Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

We'd arrived at our hotel after midnight on Thursday but were still up quite early on Friday to make the most of the time we had there.  Once we realised how bad the hotel breakfast was we decided to go into the City and find a cafe.  We took various forms of public transport to arrive at the Piazza della Republica and after a nice cup of coffee we started to walk to the Colosseum. 

On the way we came across the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore we hadn't been intending to visit but decided to look in when we saw how impressive it was from the outside.   The building dates from around 432 - 440 although it has been much altered since it's one of the largest Basilicas in Rome and is regularly used by the Pope.  It was busy but not as busy as some of the other tourist destinations and the artwork and decor inside were amazing.