De Nivibus aestivis B. Virginis.
1701
Martha MarchinaDescription
This poem references the Miracle of the Snow at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. According to church tradition, on August 4, 352 C.E., a patrician named John and Pope Liberius each dreamt that the Virgin Mary commanded them to build a church where snow was found. They found the top of the Esquiline hill miraculously covered in snow the next morning. This church would eventually become Santa Maria Maggiore, also known as Basilica S. Mariae ad Nives. The miracle was commemorated annually on August 5th.
Original Text
Marchina, Martha. Marthae Marchinae virginis Neapolitanae Musa posthuma. 1701, p. 69.Transcription
Distichon
His amor in nivibus sociavit frigora flammis, Quo facta est olim Virgo iubente parens.