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.
Mellini Chapel (Santa Maria del Popolo)
The very long funerary inscription mentions fact the Cardinal Savio has served as papal nuncio in Spain for ten years, and later he was the cardinal priest of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo. According to the inscription his tomb was erected in 1699 (i. e. during his lifetime). A will dated to 9 September 1698 states that the statues of the tomb had been completed but the monument was still unfinished at the time. The cardinal planned his own tomb and apparently lived to see it erected because he died in 1701.