Chiesa di Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is located on Navona Square, in Parione district. The first Church, St. James of the Spaniards, dates from the thirteenth century. In 1440 the building was rebuilt at the expense of Don Alfonso de Paradinas, by Bernardo Rossellino. In 1506 Alexander VI ordered new extension work, with a square in front of the entrance on Via della Sapienza: the Church became "National Church of the Kingdom of Castile." In 1818 it  was abandoned by the Spaniards in favor of St. Mary of Montserrat, where they were also transferred to the furnishings and the graves, then deconsecrated and sold to the French Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It was Pope Leo XIII to order the restoration of the building to the architect Luca Carimini, who modified the main facade. Reconsecrated, the Church passed to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Inside it can admire the Chapel of St. James, the work of Sangallo, the Choir in polychrome marble, by Torrigiano, and the marble backdrop behind the main altar, by Peter and Domenico Rosselli.