The Basilica of St Mary in the Capitol stands on ground that has been considered sacred for over two thousand years. The site was originally a Roman temple district, probably dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, built on a hill at the south-eastern edge of the city.

Emperor Trajan stopped here in 98 AD to give thanks to the gods on learning he had just become ruler of the Roman Empire. After Roman rule collapsed in the 5th century, a Frankish ruler's widow named Plektrudis built a church from the temple's ruins around 700 AD. A women's monastery grew from it, and the church that stands today dates largely from the 12th century. The name kept the Roman connection: the hill it stands on was called the Capitoline, after its counterpart in Rome.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace this layered history, connecting the Roman temple district to the Frankish church that replaced it and the medieval monastery that followed.