Santa Maria della Consolazione is easily missed, lying behind the Roman Forum. I came across it on the way down from Palazzo Conservatori and heading out to try and find the Templo Di Vesta. The history behind the foundation of Santa Maria della Consolazione is quite intriguing.

Santa Maria della Consolazione - Rome visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Santa Maria della Consolazione' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Roma.

Panorama of the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione (Saint Mary of Consolation) in Rome. Santa Maria della Consolazione lies just behind the Roman Forum on Via Consolazione. The cliff behind the church is thought to be the Tarpeian Rock, from which condemned criminals were thrown to their deaths in Roman times. The area continued to be associated with execution and the place lay along the route to the execution site in the 14C. In 1385 a condemned nobleman, Giordanello degli Alberini, paid 2 gold florins for a picture of Mary to be placed on this site to provide consolation condemned criminals on their last journey. It was from this that both the street and the church get their names.

The first church to Maria della Consonlazione was built here in 1470. It was reconstructed between 1583 and 1600, at which time the Baroque façade was installed. This panoramic photograph was taken inside the church and shows the fresco of Madonna della Consolazione above the altar painted in the 14th Century by Antoniazzo Romano. 2 chapels can be seen leading off to the right and left of the altar. The one on the left contains a marble relief of the Marriage of St. Catherine by Raffaello da Montepulo and dates from 1530. The church has a total of 11 side chapels owned by both local noble families and craft guild members.

In 1506 a hospital was built nearby, and it was here that that St Aloysius contracted the plague while caring plague victims. This is commemorated by a plaque on the wall past the church. The hospital was demolished in 1936 and the site is now the HQ of the fire brigade.