Monuments in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
This elaborate Baroque monument set against the third pillar of the south aisle has several peculiarities. It is crowned by the coat-of-arms of Pope Nicholas IV (Girolamo Masci) but this medieval pope was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The monument in Santa Maria del Popolo was built for his late descendant, Count Masci-Ferracuti from Ascoli Piceno who was appointed to the Bishop of Vieste by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. He died in Rome in 1613 at the age of 60 years. He was buried with solemn pomp in a marble tomb in the basilica. The tomb was built by her niece, Anastasia Mascia and her husband, Marzio Elefantucci, a nobleman from Bologna. Under the pretense of honouring their uncle they built a monument for the most illustrious member of their family, Pope Nicholas IV whose name is mentioned twice in the funerary inscription.
Santa Maria del Popolo
The most visible 18th century addition to the basilica is the spectacular funeral monument for Princess Maria Flaminia Odescalchi Chigi, the young wife of Don Sigismondo Chigi Albani della Rovere. It was designed by Paolo Posi in 1772 and sometimes dubbed the "last Baroque tomb in Rome". By the time the church was full of valuable tombs and artworks, and there was not much room left for the 19th century. Nonetheles there were smaller interventions: the Cybo-Soderini Chapel was restored in 1825, the Feoli Chapel was completely redesigned in Neo-Renaissance style in 1857 and the monumental Art Nouveau tomb of Agostino Chigi by Adolfo Apolloni was erected in 1915. After that only repairs and restorations happened regularly; the first important modern intervention was conducted by Antonio Muñoz in 1912 with the aim to "restore the church to its beautiful quattrocento character" and removing many of the Baroque additions in the nave and the transept.