Angelo Cesi, Bishop of Todi and brother of the Cardinal, funded the work of the façade, which bagan in 1594. Designed by Fausto Rughesi, the façade was completed in 1605 or 1606, while the front steps were completed in 1614.

Santa Maria in Vallicella is very similar to other Counter Reformation churches in Rome. As the Jesuits' Il Gesù and Sant'Ignazio and the Theatines Sant' Andrea della Valle, it has a double-storied tripartite façade with scrolls.