Rome - Santa Maria della Pace

Santa Maria della Pace, one of Rome's most beautiful churches, reached its present form in a number of stages. In 1482 Pope Sixtus IV rebuilt an earlier church of the Virgin on this site in thanksgiving for the peace with Milan. The architect is thought to have been Bacio Pontelli, who created a rectangular church to which another architect, perhaps Bramante, added an octagonal structure and a cloister. In 1656 Pietro da Cortona restored the church, adding the Baroque facade and a semicircular porch (pronate). This spirited entrance gives access to the nave and octagon, which contains famous frescoes by Raphael (1415) depicting the ancient Sibyls, to which figures of prophets and saints were later added by other painters.

The admirably proportioned cloister, built for Cardinal Oliviero Caraffa in 1504, was Bramante's first work in Rome.