Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

Rom · Italy · Church

Demons in the shape of crows gathered in the walnut tree on Nero's grave — so the pope felled it and built the church on the spot.

Emperor Nero took his own life in AD 68 and was laid in the Domitii mausoleum at the foot of the Pincio, where the church now stands. In the Middle Ages a great walnut tree grew here, and Romans were convinced evil spirits lodged in its branches: they showed themselves as black crows that harried pilgrims entering by the city gate, while Nero's restless shade was said to walk in the dark beneath the tree. In 1099 Pope Paschal II — according to legend after a vision of the Virgin — had the walnut felled, the bones dug up and thrown into the Tiber, and raised a chapel on the site. The crows still sit on the roofline. Visitors speak of a cold along the north wall that pays no attention to the season.

FAQ

Where is Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo located?

Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo is in Rom, Italy.

Image: Pufui PcPifpef / CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons