Day 6, December 31st we will see two Basilicas. St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran. Just so you know, if you look at many of the maps or try to locate these in an index they also go by Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore or Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. First, St. Mary Major. Pages 172-173

http://www.vatican.va/various/sm_maggiore/index_en.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore

http://www.snows.org/DefaultEnglish.aspx

Of the 4 Patriarcal Basilicas, it is the only one that has kepted its original structure. This basilica is where the relic of the Holy Crib is kept. There is also a Sistine Chapel. I thought there was only one. There is a lot about the history and many pictures, although the web-site doesn’t do a good job of saying what the pictures are, on the website. Our Lady of the Snows comes out of the story that brought about the building of this Basilica. I put a link to Our Lady of Snows which is in Belville, IL.

Well, now a web-site says that St. John’s is the oldest of the Patriarcal Basilicas. And the floor of the Basilica is considered an optical illusion. There is a link with a picture of that. This is also where the Holy Stairs are located.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St._John_Lateran

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09014b.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:OpticalIllusionStJohnLateran.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scala_Sancta

The itenerary says that we are walking from on Basilica to the other. It is a straight shot down the Via Merulana. It is a 1.1 km walk.Along the walk is the Arch of Gallienus, page 174, the Auditorium of Maecenas, page 175. After both of these it is time for the New Year’s Celebration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_gallienus