Rome - Santa Francesca Romana

To replace the church of Santa Maria Antique a new church dedicated to the Virgin, Santa Maria Nuova, was built in the second half of the 10th century on the other side of the Forum, on what is now the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The church occupied part of the site of the old temple of Venus and Rome. The tower, a characteristic example of a medieval Roman campanile, was added in the 13th century.