The church of Santa Maria della Pace ai Parioli is the main church of Opus Dei, where the remains of its founder are kept. The church was built between 1954 and 1959 to a design by the young architect Jesús Álvarez Gazapo. The church consists of a single nave with the raised area of the presbytery where the high altar is located, in which the remains of Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) are kept.
The church of San Roberto Bellarmino was built between 1931 and 1933 according to the plans of the architect Clemente Busiri Vici. The church is built in the neo-Romanesque style with a brick façade and a simple portico supported by four pilasters and framed by two low octagonal bell towers. The interior has a single nave with a transept and an octagonal dome.
According to a legend, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo originated in the year 1099 on the site of emperor Nero’s tomb. Pope Paschal II, following an apparition of the Madonna who in a dream asked him to build a temple in his honour, built the first church, dedicated to Madonna of the people.
The Basilica of Santa Maria di Montesanto is, together with its twin church, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the base of the so-called "trident", three streets leading from Piazza del Popolo: from the left, Via del Babuino, Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta. The origin of the churches dates back to the 17th century in what was the main entrance to Rome in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, via Via Flaminia. Pope Alexander VII commissioned the architect Carlo Rainaldi to design the monumental entrance to the Via del Corso. The project included two churches, but the different configurations of the two available locations meant that major changes had to be made to the plans.
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