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Church of Santa Maria della Pace - Virtual Tour 360°

The church of Santa Maria della Pace was built during the pontificate of Pope Sixtus IV, around 1480 and is attributed to the creativity of Baccio Pontelli. It is formed by the union of two organisms: a rectangular hall in the front, followed by a domed octagon added by Bramante.

In 1656 Pietro da Cortona restored the church on commission of Pope Alexander VII, and it was on this occasion that he added the convex Baroque façade, preceded by a semicircular pronaos with Doric columns that encircle the small square in front with an admirable scenographic solution.

In the first part, the interior consists of a short nave with two spans with cross vaults, which preserves the fifteenth-century structure intact. In this area of ??the church you can admire the famous "sibyls", painted by Raphael in 1514 on commission from the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi.

Santa Maria della Pace, located in via dell'Arco della Pace, stands in place of the ancient "S.Andrea de Acquarenariis", a name that derives from the numerous water sellers in the area, who, drawing directly from the Tiber, had to purge the water from the "sand" that was mixed with it.

Legend has it that in 1480 an image of the Virgin placed under the portico (now located on the high altar), hit by a stone thrown by a drunk soldier, began to bleed.

Pope Sixtus IV, informed of the incident, went personally to the site and had the name of the church changed to "Santa Maria della Virtù", promising to remedy the dilapidated state of the building.

Map: Church of Santa Maria della Pace - Virtual Tour 360°