Santa Maria in Vallicella

Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians, a religious congregation of secular priests, founded by St Philip Neri in 1561 at a time in the 16th century when the Counter Reformation saw the emergence of a number of new religious organisations such as the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Theatines and the Barnabites.

St. Gregory the Great built the first church on the site. By the 12th century, it was dedicated to Santa Maria in Vallicella ("Our Lady in the Little Valley").

In 1575, Pope Gregory XIII recognised Neri's group as a religious Congregation and gave them the church and its small attached convent.

St. Philip Neri, helped by Cardinal Pier Donato Cesi and Pope Gregory XIII, had the church rebuilt, starting in 1575. When Pierdonato died, his brother Angelo Cesi, Bishop of Todi, continued his family's patronage. Initially the architect was Matteo di Città di Castello, but he was replaced later by Martino Longhi the Elder. The nave was completed in 1577, and the church was consecrated in 1599. The facade, designed by Fausto Rughesi, was completed in 1605 or 1606. The Cesi heraldry is still evident in the church.

The ground plan follows the Counter-Reformation design of churches established at the Gesù; a single main nave with transepts and side chapels, leading towards the High Altar. Neri had intended that the interior be plain with whitewashed walls but it was filled by patrons with various artistic works, mainly during the period from 1620 to 1690, including masterworks by some of the principal artists of those decades in Rome. It is renowned for its altarpieces by Barocci, Pietro da Cortona's ceilings, and the Rubens slate and copper altarpiece.

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