The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo is located on the northern corner of Piazza del Popolo, adjacent to the ancient Porta Flaminia.

It is a church rich in history and masterpieces.

Tradition has it that in this peripheral and almost deserted area stood the tomb of the Domizi Family where the Emperor Nero was buried.

It was Pope Paschal II in 1099 who began the construction of a chapel where St Maria del Popolo now stands to celebrate the liberation of the Holy Sepulchre by the Crusaders.

The church, built in the XV century, is an authentic jewel, home to a concentration of masterpieces that are difficult to find elsewhere.

Evidence of the encounter between different eras, transforming the building into a microcosm of beauty and artistic innovation, with interventions that reflect the taste and power of the clients.

Touring St Maria Del Popolo

The interior, in the shape of a Latin cross, is divided into three naves, each of which opens onto four chapels.

Among which are worthy of note the Chigi Chapel, designed by Raphael for Agostino Chigi between 1513 and 1514 and restored by Bernini between 1652 and 1656.

The Cerasi Chapel, with The Crucifixion of St Peter and The Conversion of St Paul by Caravaggio, commissioned from the artist by Cardinal Cerasi.

Then treasurer of Pope Clement VIII and The Assumption of the Virgin by Annibale Carracci.

Other jewels in the crown of the church are the high altar, built at the behest of Cardinal Antonio Maria Sauli in 1627.

Also responsible for the decoration of the triumphal arch with the depiction of the legend of the foundation.

The apse-shaped choir, restructured by Bramante in the XVI century, which houses the funerary monuments of Cardinals Ascanio Sforza and Girolamo Basso Della Rovere.

The work of Andrea Sansovino, and the frescoes of the vault and the stained glass windows, depicting Episodes from the life of Mary and Jesus, are by Guillaume de Marcillat.

Booking & Travel

St Maria Del Popolo wheelchair accessible tours.

Unmissable visit at it with our Rome Accessible Tours.

Specifically tailored to wheelchair users, reduced mobility persons with an adapted transport.