The church of Santo Stefano del Cacco was built in its present form in 1607 on an ancient medieval church probably dating from the 9th century. The bell tower, now part of the nearby monastery, and the apse date from the 12th century. Pope Pius IV granted it to the Silvestrin Fathers in 1563, with the charge of caring for souls. The church was restored by the same fathers in 1607 and again in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Basilica Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is a 15th century basilica near the Pantheon. It is a rare example of Gothic architecture in Rome. It is in the contiguous convent of the church that, on June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei, suspected of heresy, abjured his scientific theses.
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus. Built between 1568 and 1584, it was designed by a Florentine architect, Nanni di Baccio Bigio. In 1554 the project was reworked by Michelangelo and then by Vignola (1568). The construction of the church is considered an important turning point in the history of art, the whole of its design serving the cause of the Counter-Reformation.
First mentioned in 1192, the church of San Macuto has had several owners at different times. The monks of Bergamo, who owned the church in the 16th century, gave it a new facade around 1560. The facade was designed by the architect Giovanni Alberto Galvani and was partially rebuilt in 1577-1585 to a design by Francesco da Volterra.
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