Parish Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Traspontina

The Parish Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Traspontina is located in today's Via della Conciliazione in Rome, near the Vatican.

The church was founded in the 16th century to replace an older one, demolished by Pius IV because it was an obstacle to the trajectories of the bombardments of Sant'Angelo castel.

For the same reason the dome of the church appears very flattened and has no drum.

The new church was built along the Borgo Nuovo road, at that time the main artery of the district.

The architect of the building was the Bolognese Ottaviano Mascherino, who also built the first nucleus of the Quirinale Palace and the church of San Salvatore in Lauro.

An altarpiece by Giulio Cesare Procaccini, once placed in the church, is today in New York; another by Antonio Gherardi (Santa Teresa) is still in place.

When the Borgo Nuovo road was demolished in 1936-1950 to open Via della Conciliazione, the church was one of the few buildings to be spared, and therefore remained aligned with the old road rather than with the new artery.

Furthermore, since the surface of Via Conciliazione is lower, some steps had to be added to allow entry into the temple.

Map: Parish Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Traspontina