The original unfinished façade has lost the mosaics and subsequent frescoes that originally decorated it, save a mosaic in the tympanum of the main door, one of three doors that are later additions.
The Gothic window is the main detail that tourists can see from the bottom of the stairs, but it is the sole truly Gothic detail of the church.

The church is built as a nave and two aisles that are divided by Roman columns, all different, taken from diverse antique monuments.
Among its numerous treasures are Pinturicchio's 15th-century frescoes depicting the life of Saint Bernardino of Siena in the Bufalini Chapel, the first chapel on the right.
Other features are the wooden ceiling, the inlaid cosmatesque floor, a Transfiguration  painted on wood by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, and works by other  artists like Pietro Cavallini (of his frescoes only one survives), Benozzo Gozzoli and Giulio Romano.

It houses also Madonna Aracoeli (Our Lady of the Golden Hands), (Byzantian icon, the 10-11th-century) in the Altar.
This Marian image was Pontifically crowned  on 29 March 1636 by Pope Urban VIII.
Pope Pius XII consecrated the people of Rome to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Heart in front of this image in 1948, May 30.
In the transept there is a sepulchral monument by Arnolfo di Cambio.

The church was also famous in Rome for the wooden statue of the Santo Bambino of Aracoeli, carved in the 15th century of olive wood coming from the Gethsemane garden and covered with valuable ex-votos.
Many people of Rome believed in the power of this statue.
It had been taken by the French in 1797, was later recovered, yet stolen again in February 1994.
A copy was made from Gethsemane wood, which is now displayed in its own chapel by the sacristy.
At midnight Mass on Christmas Eve the image is brought out to a throne before the high altar and unveiled at the Gloria.
Until Epiphany the jewel-encrusted image resides in the Nativity crib in the left nave.

The relics of Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great are housed at Santa Maria in Aracoeli, as is  the tablet with the monogram of Jesus that Saint Bernardino of Siena used to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus is kept in Aracoeli.
The original unfinished façade has lost the mosaics and subsequent frescoes that originally decorated it, save a mosaic in the tympanum of the main door, one of three doors that are later additions. The Gothic window is the main detail that tourists can see from the bottom of the stairs, but it is the sole truly Gothic detail of the church.
The church is built as a nave and two aisles that are divided by Roman columns, all different, taken from diverse antique monuments. Among its numerous treasures are Pinturicchio's 15th-century frescoes depicting the life of Saint Bernardino of Siena in the Bufalini Chapel, the first chapel on the right. Other features are the wooden ceiling, the inlaid cosmatesque floor, a Transfiguration  painted on wood by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, and works by other  artists like Pietro Cavallini (of his frescoes only one survives), Benozzo Gozzoli and Giulio Romano.
It houses also Madonna Aracoeli (Our Lady of the Golden Hands), (Byzantian icon, the 10-11th-century) in the Altar. This Marian image was Pontifically crowned  on 29 March 1636 by Pope Urban VIII. Pope Pius XII consecrated the people of Rome to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Heart in front of this image in 1948, May 30. In the transept there is a sepulchral monument by Arnolfo di Cambio. 
The church was also famous in Rome for the wooden statue of the Santo Bambino of Aracoeli, carved in the 15th century of olive wood coming from the Gethsemane garden and covered with valuable ex-votos. Many people of Rome believed in the power of this statue. It had been taken by the French in 1797, was later recovered, yet stolen again in February 1994. A copy was made from Gethsemane wood, which is now displayed in its own chapel by the sacristy. At midnight Mass on Christmas Eve the image is brought out to a throne before the high altar and unveiled at the Gloria. Until Epiphany the jewel-encrusted image resides in the Nativity crib in the left nave.
The relics of Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great are housed at Santa Maria in Aracoeli, as is  the tablet with the monogram of Jesus that Saint Bernardino of Siena used to promote devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus is kept in Aracoeli.
Santa Maria in Ara Coeli