Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome

In 1548, Filippo Neri, called by the people “Pippo Buono,” founded the Confraternity of Pilgrims and Convalescents with the purpose of assisting needy pilgrims traveling to Rome. In recognition of his work, Gregory XIII gave him the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, already documented since the 12th century (named so because of a depression in the land).

The reconstruction of the church (hence Chiesa Nuova) began in 1575 by Pietro Bartolini from Città di Castello and continued in 1583 with Martino Longhi the Elder. The church was consecrated in 1599 while the facade was completed in the early 1600s following the model of the Church of the Gesù.

The facade, completed in 1605, features two orders marked by Corinthian pilasters. In the lower part, there is the central portal flanked by columns with two smaller portals on each side. In the upper order, in the center, is a balustraded window between columns supporting a curved pediment.

On the sides, two niches with statues of Saint Jerome and Saint Gregory the Great. The interior, with three naves and vaulted ceiling, has a large central hall flanked by intercommunicating chapels. In the main nave, on the ceiling, in the dome, and in the apse, there are frescos by Pietro da Cortona.

The altar is decorated with Rubens’ masterpiece “Angels in Adoration of the Madonna” (1608), a painting that covers an ancient image of the Virgin with Child; also by Rubens are the two side canvases depicting the “SS. Gregory the Great, Mauro, and Papia” and the “SS. Domitilla, Nereo, and Achilleo” (1608).

To the left of the presbytery is the chapel dedicated to Saint Philip Neri, adorned with precious marbles, hard stones, and mother-of-pearl. In the sacristy, built in 1629, are also works by Pietro da Cortona, Alessandro Algardi, Guido Reni, and Guercino.