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According to an ancient tradition, on the night of August 4, 352, the Virgin Mary appeared on the Esquiline Hill in Rome to Pope Liberius (352-66) and a Roman nobleman by the name of John. Her message was that they were to build a church in the honour on the spot where in the morning they would find snow outlining the form the basilica was to take. The promised snow appeared, plans were drawn up, and the first major church in Rome in honour of Mary was erected. Its original title was S. Maria delle Neve (Our Lady of the Snow), also known as the Basilica Liberiana in honour of the pope, and later more commonly called Santa Maria Maggiore. Today this church ranks as one of the four major patriarchal basilicas of Rome.
Jacopo Zucchi's painting commemorates the miracle of the establishment of the basilica.
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