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. The church received its present name when it was dedicated to the foundress of the Oblates, St Frances of Rome. Notable features of the interior, which is richly adorned with marble stucco and pictures, are the Confessio, the apse mosaic and the sixth century Madonna on the high altar (ascribed to St Luke).