We all know the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most beautiful churches in all of Rome, as well as the first Christian place of worship, officially, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. As a tour guide I simply adore the church, as a lover of art and culture Santa Maria Maggiore represents a perfect mix of ancient and modern. But try, for a moment, to pay attention to what I am about to write to you. Even one of the major basilicas of Rome has its legends and traditions, and this is one of the most curious...

If you pass around nine in the evening, near Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, you will hear the somewhat shrill but intense tolling of a basilica bell. How come? Why exactly this time and only, and only, this bell? All due to a tradition that reverberates over the centuries, and which has given a new name to this little bell: the bell of the Lost. In fact, it is said that centuries ago, in the middle of the sixteenth century, a young girl was walking through the streets of Rome. She was a pilgrim, and she was in Rome, like thousands of others like her, to visit the major basilicas of the city. It was evening, according to some versions even night, it was cold and a thick fog began to gather. Before long, the young woman lost her bearings. An unknown city, and without having any point of reference. Desperate, and aware that walking alone at that hour could also be fatal, given the presence of scoundrels and criminals, she prayed to Our Lady to be saved. Suddenly, the young woman heard the sound of a bell, a different sound from the others: it almost seems that it is struggling to toll due to how shrill it is. The fact is that, and it was nine in the evening, therefore a very unusual time, the bell continued to ring and ring, until, thanks to it, the young woman arrived in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, from whose bell tower this sound it originated. According to another version it was even two in the morning so, even more, imagine the strangeness, but at the same time the miracle for this pilgrim, in hearing the sound of a bell right at that hour. Once the facade was seen, the bell stopped beating and the young woman, having found this point of reference, found her way home. There is no denying it, a miracle and, above all, a way to understand how even a bell, in Rome, can have its own history. Among other things, let's not forget how the bell is part of a fourteenth-century bell tower 75 meters high. For this alone it deserves all our attention!

After all, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was founded, according to tradition, following a miracle. We shouldn't be surprised to hear stories like this one I've just told you, since the Eternal City has galore of similar traditions (try to click here to find out how much the Pantheon is a building often associated with legends of various kinds). The beauty of Rome also lies in this, in stories of a popular and religious nature which, however, make the city even richer.