ARACOELI
In the oldest recension of the *Mirabilia urbis Romae* (c. mid-12th century), the name A. appears for the first time, designating the church dedicated to the Virgin on the Capitoline Hill.
Therein is reproduced the well-known legend of Augustus erecting an altar to the Son of God on the famous hill of Rome. The legend is already found in the *Chronicle* of John Malalas (6th century), who cites the source from which he drew it, namely the Byzantine chronographer Timothy, of the late 5th or early 6th century. Probably originating as one, the legend later had two versions: one more widespread in the East, the other in the West. The latter is more firmly grounded in the concept of Paulus Orosius (*Adversus paganos histor.*, VI, 22), who held that since Christ was born when the whole world was at peace, Augustus would not allow himself to be called lord, because the Lord of the world had been born among men. The former seems to reflect another no less important and more spontaneous concept among contemporary Christians: that with the birth or impending birth of Christ, the false oracles were silenced (*Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Saviour*).
The Eastern version is the older one, already found in Malalas, and in Rome during the 8th century it also had a Latin redaction (*cod. Vat. Pal. lat.* 277, f. 63), where S. Maria in A. is mentioned for the first time. The Western version appears for the first time in the *Mirabilia urbis Romae*; however, we find it in the artistic composition of an altar still preserved in the church, which may date back to the time of the antipope Anacletus II (1130–37). The legend sheds some light on the origins of the church and suggests that already in the time of the chronographer Timothy, i.e., at the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century, the Christian sanctuary of the Virgin might have succeeded the pagan temple of Juno on the Capitoline citadel. Of what dimensions it was, we cannot know, nor is it possible to determine its orientation. The name S. Maria in A. was preceded by that of S. Maria in or de Capitoli. Among the numerous theories that have sought to explain the origin of the name A., that of Ch. Huelsen, who derives it from the inscription on the altar of the Augustan legend, is the simplest and most probable, nor can it be dismissed as anachronistic if one accepts the chronology we have proposed for the said altar. Soon after the church, a monastery must have arisen for its custody.
The presence of the Benedictines in the said monastery is attested for the year 883 (*Cod. Sessor.* 217 [2116], f. 19), but the inscription of an *hegumenos* discovered during the earthworks for the monument to Victor Emmanuel II (*Notizie degli scavi*, 1892, pp. 407–408) has led some to think that a century earlier Greek monks dwelt there. From the Benedictine period there remain in the church the image of the Madonna on panel (11th century) and the altar of the Augustan legend.
In 1250, the Benedictines were succeeded by the Friars Minor, to whom we owe the general appearance of the present three-aisled basilica. It exhibits all the characteristics of Franciscan architecture, which adapts to local tastes and avoids any preconceived style. Thus, the fine arched biforas on the sides and the ocular windows on the façade and transept were inserted into the traditional forms of the Roman basilica, while the interior walls offered vast pictorial fields: suffice it to recall the frescoes of Pietro Cavallini, depicting the Augustan legend, which adorned the apse unfortunately demolished in 1564 to make way for the present choir. The bare façade, with its reddish-brick facing, only imperfectly corresponds to the interior of the basilica, since the terminal shell is higher than the roof’s ridge and the two lateral slopes rise far above the aisles. The central nave is covered by the splendid gilded coffered ceiling (1571), and the chapels of the side aisles, built and restored at different times, contain works of uncommon artistic value, e.g., the chapel of St. Bernardino of Siena frescoed by Pinturicchio. In a chapel adjoining the sacristy is preserved the precious statue of the Santo Bambino, so greatly venerated in Rome and throughout the world. Access to the church is by a staircase of 124 steps, built in 1348.