Basilica Parrocchiale di Santa Maria del Popolo
Renaissance basilica above Nero's legendary grave, sheltering Caravaggio and Raphael masterworks.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome begins with a legend: a cursed walnut tree said to grow over the ashes of Emperor Nero, and the pope who came in 1099 to perform an exorcism on the spot. It follows how a small chapel there grew, centuries later, into a full Renaissance basilica commissioned to draw Rome's greatest artists, including a domed family chapel designed by Raphael that sat unfinished for over a century before Bernini added to it. Both patron and architect died the same year the chapel began, leaving it unfinished for over a century until Bernini finally added its marble figures.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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