Santa Maria Maggiore is a privileged witness of the church’s long history. It was here at the time of the Nestorian Schism of 431 AD between the Byzantine church in the West and the Assyrian church in the East. In addition to its history, it is the repository of magnificent mosaics from the 5th, 12th and 13th centuries. These mosaics tell stories from the Old Testament, the history of the Jewish people, the life of Christ and the importance of the four evangelists. A true catechism for parishioners over the centuries unfolds before your eyes. We shall also find within the gold backgrounds and extreme formality of the Byzantine style, a nascent desire for realism and an attempt to bring to life characters that belonged traditionally to Roman art.