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Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

Discover Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

Last updated on October 1, 2026

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Checked against Turismo Roma — Turismo Roma describes the Chigi Chapel as the second on the left, built to Raphael's design for the banker Agostino Chigi from 1513 and finished only between 1652 and 1656 with the intervention of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Turismo Roma describes the interior of Santa Maria del Popolo as three naves, Latin cross vaulted with cross vaults, and says the basilica houses numerous works of art and funerary monuments (October 2026).
Checked against Wikipedia — Soon after its transfer to the prestigious Lombard Congregation, Santa Maria del Popolo was reconstructed between 1472 and 1477 on the orders of Pope Sixtus IV, and it was an early and excellent example of Italian Renaissance architecture in Rome, The façade of Santa Maria del Popolo was built in early Renaissance style in the 1470s when the medieval church was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus IV, The dome of the centralised octagonal Chigi Chapel is decorated with Raphael's mosaics, the Creation of the World, and Bernini's additions include the sculptures of Habakkuk and the Angel and Daniel and the Lion, On 8 July 1600 Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi purchased the patronage right of the old Foscari Chapel, and the new Cerasi Chapel was designed by Carlo Maderno between 1600 and 1601 and decorated with two large Baroque canvases by Caravaggio, the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, The choir of Santa Maria del Popolo was built in High Renaissance style and decorated with the frescoes of Pinturicchio on the sail vault and the stained glass windows of Guillaume de Marcillat, The oldest stained glass window in Rome is in Santa Maria del Popolo, made by the French artist Guillaume de Marcillat, Santa Maria del Popolo was used as a mausoleum where Andrea Sansovino created two monumental tombs, for Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere, who died in 1507 and was the favourite cousin of the pope, and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, who died in 1505, In March 1658 Alexander VII inspected the work in the company of the architect, and this proved to be a significant rebuilding that altered the character of the quattrocento basilica: the façade was changed, larger windows were opened in the nave, statues, frescos and stucco decorations were added in the interior and a new main altar was erected (October 2026).

Discover Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

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Discover Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

Architecture

The Short History

How It Was Built and Evolved Over Time

Frequently Asked Questions

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