Chiesa Nuova
You’re looking at Santa Maria in Vallicella, more widely known as Chiesa Nuova—and it’s the main church of the Oratorians, a congregation of secular priests founded by St Philip Neri in 1561 during the Counter-Reformation. That was a moment when Rome was welcoming new religious movements with fresh styles of preaching and church-building. The story actually reaches further back: by tradition, an early church was founded here by St Gregory the Great, and by the 12th century it was dedicated to Santa Maria in Vallicella. Then everything takes a big turn in 1575, when Pope Gregory XIII recognized Neri’s group and granted them the church and its attached convent—so the building could be rebuilt starting that same year. The nave was completed in 1577, and the church was consecrated in 1599. Even the façade has a timetable: Fausto Rughesi designed it, finished around 1605–1606. …
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