Rome under the snow on 5th August

At the base of the birth of the fourth Basilica in Rome and the largest  dedicated to Madonna, there is a legend dating back to 352 AD,  when between 4 and 5 August of that year, Madonna  appeared simultaneously to Pope Liberius and the Roman nobleman John Patrick , asking them to erect a temple on the site where the following morning would find fresh snow. Both believed it had been a hallucination because in Rome does not snow in winter, imagine snowing in summer…

Instead, exactly that  night,  there was a heavy snowfall in central of Rome. To celebrate the miracle was built in that area the largest basilica and magnificent among those dedicated to the Virgin Mary, now the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

In a few days, every year, on  5th August , to commemorate the miracle of the snow is usually organized a spectacle of sounds and lights, and in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin, a snowfall of white flower petals reminiscent of the miracle by which the Basilica was built.

If you are in Rome in this period as a tourist or for work, you can not miss this extraordinary event!

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