Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome's largest Gothic church and was constructed on the site of an ancient Minerva temple, hence its name. Its central location and Dominican preaching order's service made it popular with the people of Rome, and with the number of grave slabs on the floor and on the walls, it shows a significant role in the city's religious life.

Construction on the building began around 1280 and was finished in 1453. The Carafa Chapel, also known as the Chapel of the Annunciation of St. Thomas, is the most well-known of the three-aisled basilica's memorial chapels and is noted for its Filippo Lippi frescoes. It is located near the end of the south transept. These feature scenes from St. Thomas Aquinas' life to glorify both the Virgin and the Dominican order member. The relics of St. Catherine of Siena are kept on the high altar, and Michelangelo's statue of the risen Christ, dating from 1521, sits in front of the altar on the left.