Cappella di Bessarione

The Basilica of the Holy Apostles was first built in the 4th century by Pope Julius I (337-352). The present church, however, was built from the 14th century onwards, as the old Basilica of the Holy Apostles was destroyed by an earthquake in 1348 and abandoned. The façade was built at the end of the 15th century by Baccio Pontelli. The frescoes were painted by Melozzo of Forlì, whose murals of the Holy Apostles are renowned for their innovative perspective techniques and are considered his masterpiece. Today, the basilica is under the responsibility of the Franciscan conventual order, whose headquarters are in Rome in an adjacent building.

The church of San Marcello al Corso, dedicated to Pope Marcel I, was built in its present form in 1592 and its concave façade was completed by Carlo Fontana in 1683. The church has existed since the 4th century and is said to have been built on the site of the prison where Pope Marcel I (308-309) died. In the 8th century, Pope Adrian I (772-795) had a church built on the same site, which is now under the modern church.

The church of Santa Maria dell'Umiltà was built in the first half of the 17th century and was commissioned by the daughter of Catherine de Medici, Francesca Baglioni, widow of Francesco Orsini. In 1703 the façade was rebuilt by Carlo Fontana. It was then rebuilt in 1859 by Andrea Busiri Vici, the main architect of the Vatican. After the unification of Italy, the church and convent were entrusted to the Congregation Propaganda Fide, which transformed the convent into a boarding school for theology students from North America. Today it is still the seat of the Pontifical North American College.