Global InformationSanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda information
| Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda | |
|---|---|
Santuario di Maria Santissima della Rotonda di Albano Laziale | |
 The facade of the sanctuary (November 2020). | |
  Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda | |
| 41°43′48″N 12°39′34″E / 41.73012°N 12.65934°E | |
| Location | Albano Laziale, Lazio, Italy |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | Mary |
| Consecrated | December 7 1060 September 8 1316 August 5 1938 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Paleochristian Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | II century |
| Completed | II century |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano |
The sanctuary of Maria Santissima della Rotonda ('a Ritonna in Albano dialect), formerly known as Santa Maria Maggiore,[1] is an important Marian sanctuary in Lazio, located in the city of Albano Laziale, in the province of Rome, in the Roman Castles area.
The sanctuary occupies an ancient round building of Roman construction dating back to the 1st century, traceable to Domitian's villa at Castel Gandolfo,[2] which was formerly a nymphaeum[3] or, according to other hypotheses, a temple. The building was converted to Christian use at the time of Constantine the Great[1] or in the period between the 9th and 11th centuries.[4]
Probably run in the first centuries of its existence by religious of the Byzantine rite,[5] it was managed by Augustinian nuns from the 14th century until 1444 and was later assigned to the Girolaminian religious of the basilica of Saints Boniface and Alexius on the Aventine Hill in Rome, who held it until 1663, when the sanctuary was purchased by the suburbicarian diocese of Albano for the purpose of installing the bishop's seminary there. Between 1708 and 1799, the direction of the seminary and the sanctuary passed to the Piarist Fathers. Since then, the sanctuary has been diocesan property and is attached to the parish of the cathedral basilica of San Pancrazio. Today it is listed among the protected architectural monuments of Lazio.[6]
- ^ a b Lugli, p. 237
- ^ Coarelli, p. 88
- ^ Lugli, p. 249
- ^ Alberto Galletti in Il tempio di Santa Maria della Rotonda, p. 34
- ^ Alberto Galletti in Il tempio di Santa Maria della Rotonda, pp. 43-44
- ^ Polo di Roma - Schedatura di 1º livello Archived 2009-05-05 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed on 25-02-2009