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Santa
Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto are two churches in Rome.
They
are located on the Piazza del Popolo, facing the northern gate of
the Aurelian Walls, at the entrance of Via del Corso on
the square. The churches are often cited as "twin", due to their
similar external appearance: they have indeed some differences, in both plan
and exterior details.
Looking
from the square, the two churches define the so-called "trident" of
streets departing from Piazza del Popolo: starting from the left, Via del
Babuino, Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta. The first
two are separated by Santa Maria in Montesanto, the latter by Santa Maria dei
Miracoli.
The
origin of the two churches traces back to the 17th century restoration of what
was the main entrance to the Middle Ages and Renaissance Rome,
from the Via Flaminia (known as Via
Lata and Via del Corso in its urban trait). Pope Alexander VII commissioned the
monumental design of the entrance of Via del Corso to architect Carlo Rainaldi.
This included two churches with central plant, but the different shapes of the
two areas available forced deep modifications to the projects. Both
were financed by cardinal Girolamo Gastaldi, whose crest is present in the two
churches. [Wiki]
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