Santa Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal, Rome: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from Santa Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal in Rome: 4 stops, about 1.7 km, about 20 minutes of walking plus about 28 minutes of listening. Start at Santa Maria Maggiore, with its coffered ceiling by Giuliano da Sangallo, and walk a few steps to Santa Prassede, where the ninth-century Chapel of Saint Zeno is covered in mosaic. Continue through Monti to Santa Pudenziana, whose late fourth-century apse mosaic shows Christ among his apostles, and finish up on the Quirinal at Sant’Andrea al Quirinale, a small oval church built for the Jesuit novitiate.
- Stops:
- 4
- Distance:
- about 1.7 km
- Walking:
- about 20 min
- Listening:
- about 28 min
Santa Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal, Rome: how long does the walk take?
About 48 minutes in all: about 20 minutes on foot over about 1.7 km, plus about 28 minutes of audio at the 4 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Santa Maria Maggiore to the Quirinal, Rome: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Prassede, Santa Pudenziana, and Sant’Andrea al Quirinale. The longest stretch between two stops is about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Under the main altar lies the Holy Crib, five pieces of sycamore wood brought to Rome in the seventh century.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Santa Prassede · about 0.2 km, about 3 min on foot
Stop 2
The Chapel of Saint Zeno is one of the few ninth-century Roman chapels whose walls and vault are entirely covered in mosaic.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Santa Pudenziana · about 0.5 km, about 7 min on foot
Stop 3
Its apse holds one of the great surviving works of early Christian art: Christ enthroned among his apostles.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Sant’Andrea al Quirinale · about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot
Stop 4
An oval church built for the Jesuit novitiate, with a hidden light falling on the altar.
about 7 min of audio
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Santa Maria Maggiore. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
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Plan more days in Rome
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Rome. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 20, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.