Overview
In 1099 Pope Pasquale II had a chapel erected in honor of the Madonna to commemorate the victory of the crusaders who had liberated the Holy Sepulchre. Two hundred years later, Pope Gregory IX enlarged this Santa Maria del Popolo chapel and brought to it a painting of the Virgin, said to be by St Luke. But it was under Pope Sixtus IV that the church really took shape. Its interior presents numerous works of art, including frescoes by Pinturichhio in the Cappella Della Rovere, dramatic paintings by Caravaggio in the Cappella Cerasi, and the Cappella Chigi, designed by Raphael with sculptures by Bernini and Lorenzetti. The splendid stained-glass windows, by the French artist Guillaume de Marcillat, are unique in Rome for their period.
- Type:
Attractions & Landmarks, Religious
- Nearest Train: Flaminio
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