The Church of
Santa Maria in Publicolis is a 17th century Baroque convent church, situated on Via in Publicolis at Piazza Costaguti in the rione VIII of Sant'Eustachio, is the only Roman church dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a little church built near the palace of the patrons, the Santacroce.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The foundation of the church is unrecorded, but it would have been one of many small parish churches built in the city in the 10th or early 11th centuries. In the 13th century it came under the patronage of the Santacroce Publicola family. The church was apparently restored in 1465 by one Andrea Santacroce, a lawyer who attended the Council of Florence.
In the early 17th century the church fell into disrepair, and so
Cardinal Marcello Santacroce had it completely rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design by
Giovanni Antonio de'Rossi in 1643. Marcello conceived it as a private chapel of the Santacroce family, whose symbol was the pair of pelicans represented also in the façade. The church was restored in 1727 for Prince Scipione Publicola Santacroce.
In 1864 the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded by St Gaetano Errico, established themselves next door. The new convent was then turned into the Generalate or congregational headquarters. The Congregation still today officiates the church.
