Parrocchia Santa Maria in Vallicella. It is the main church of the oratorians, the religious congregation of lay priests, founded by St. Philip Neri in 1561.
The church was built on the foundations of an earlier temple erected by Saint. Gregory the Great. In 1575, Pope Gregory XIII recognized the Neri group as a religious congregation and gave them a church and a small monastery. St. Filip Neri decided to rebuild the building. Initially, the architect was Matteo di Città di Castello, but he was later replaced by Martino Longhi Senior.
The interior of the temple is decorated with masterpieces of major Roman artists who created during the years of the cathedral's creation. The church is known primarily for its altars made by Barocci, the ceiling of Pietro da Cortona and the copper altar of Rubens. The walls of the nave and transept, as well as the ceiling of the presbytery, depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments by Lazzar Baldi, Giuseppe Ghezzi, Daniel Seiter, Giuseppe Passeri and Domenico Parodi.
Attractions inside
