CHURCH OF S. MARIA.
The façade is covered with mosaics representing the Virgin and Child enthroned, surrounded by ten virgins, and on either side the figure of a bishop (Innocent II. and Eugenius III.); above this are palms, the twelve sheep, and the mystic cities, and our Lord enthroned between angels. The interior contains twenty-two columns. The Assumption, on the ceiling, is by Domenichino. Beneath the high altar are the remains of five early popes. In the upper part of the tribune are mosaics of the Saviour and a female figure (representing the Church, the bride of Christ, and not the Virgin, as is generally said) seated on thrones; beneath are lambs, and representations from the life of the Virgin.
Leaving the church, and going down the Via della Scala, hence turning to the right into the Via di Ponte Sisto, the house on the left, a baker's shop, with Gothic upper windows, was the House of Raphael's Fornarina. Raphael's House was at No. 124 Via dei Coronari, near the S. Angelo Bridge. A short distance, and we reach