Santa Maria Antiqua, founded in the sixth century, is the most ancient and important Christian monument in the Roman Forum. This early Christian sanctuary was built into the remains of an earlier religious structure pagan, illustrating the continuity of religious practice and urban development of the Roman Forum from antiquity to the early centuries of the Christian era. The dynamic redevelopment of this part of Rome is reinforced by the fact that a Baroque church was demolished in the course of discovering the remains of Santa Maria Antiqua. The building contains a unique collection of wall paintings spanning the sixth to the late eighth century that is unequalled in Rome and elsewhere. These wall paintings provide valuable information for understanding the development of early medieval and Byzantine art. World Monuments Fund, working with the Soprintendenza di Roma, conducted documentation and diagnostic testing at the site, developed a conservation methodology, and implemented conservation of the wall paintings. Work is ongoing at Santa Maria Antiqua and will conclude in 2013.
Interior view, 2001
