Santa Maria in Vivario, Frascati

The parish church of Santa Maria in Vivario is a Catholic place of worship in Frascati, in the province of Rome, in the Suburbicarian See of Frascati. It was the cathedral of the diocese for 150 years.

The church arose around the 12th century on the remains of a Roman villa structure attributed to Lucullus. In 1296 the first restoration work was carried out, and in 1305 the famous Romanesque bell tower was erected at the rear of the church. On May 11, 1495, the church was reconsecrated after restoration work financed by the Estouteville family, then feudal lords of Frascati. On January 11, 1538 Pope Paul V personally consecrated the church as the cathedral of the diocese of Frascati, and the title did not pass to the present St. Peter's Cathedral until 1680.

Coinciding with the plague of 1656, two images of St. Sebastian and St. Rochus were found at the church, and on January 28, 1656, they were proclaimed protectors of Frascati. It was then that the church was renamed in honor of St. Roch, so much so that today the two names of St. Mary in Vivario and St. Roch coexist to indicate the same church. In 1740 the apse was closed, due to water infiltration from the roof; it was reopened only during the 1879 restorations. Destroyed by bombing on September 8, 1943, the church was rebuilt in 1958 and restored by 1962. Since 1992 the underground crypt has been accessible. In 1994 some sacrilegious thieves struck the place of worship.