One of the loveliest “Super Sites” on the Palatine Hill or in the Roman Forum is the church of Santa Maria Antiqua. It’s a relatively new site and used to be very difficult (if not impossible) to get into. In fact, we tried several times to get inside over the years, but it was rarely open and subject to long periods of closure for restoration work.

Now, it’s open to the public as part of the Super Sites. The little church is the oldest Christian monument in the Roman Forum, and it holds the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina (Mary, the Queen of Heaven) from the 6th Century C.E. Filled with medieval frescoes, it is enchanting.

One entire wall, in the chapel of Theodotus, also shown at the top of this post, is a depiction of Christ flanked by numerous Latin and Greek Saints. In front of the wall stands an early Christian sarcophagus.

In a niche of the same chapel is also a beautiful rendering of the Crucifixion.

One of the most important images in the church is of the Virgin Mary. Here she is in the center of the “Fresco of the Three Mothers.” On the left is Saint Anne holding her daughter, the Virgin Mary; the Virgin holds the infant Jesus in the middle; and on the right is Saint Elizabeth holding the infant Saint John the Baptist.

If you have visited medieval churches in Greece, this one may feel familiar. Santa Maria Antiqua has so many layers of religious frescoes, that you can clearly see the development of the painting style over time.