Santa Maria del Popolo
Soon after its transfer to the prestigious Lombard Congregation Santa Maria del Popolo was reconstructed between 1472 and 1477 on the orders of Pope Sixtus IV. This was part of the ambitious urban renovation program of the pope who presented himself as "Urbis Restaurator" of Rome. The medieval church was entirely demolished and a new three-aisled, Latin cross shaped basilica was built with four identical chapels on both sides, an octagonal dome above the crossing and a tall Lombard style bell-tower at the end of the right transept. The result of this reconstruction was an early and excellent example of Italian Renaissance architecture in Rome. In spite of the many later changes the basilica essentially kept its Sistine form until today.
Santa Maria del Popolo
The altar was executed by stonemason Gabriele Renzi around 1658. The altarpiece for the left side altar was entrusted to Bernardino Mei, a painter from Siena, who was called to Rome by Pope Alexander VII in 1657 and there he made friends with Bernini. He got 200 scudi for the commission on 11 August 1659. The painting is perfectly adapted to the Berninian ideal of «bel composto». The angel on the right is gracefully aligned with the marble angel supporting the altar. The iconography of the painting is rather complex and departs from the usual representation of the Rest on the Flight into Egypt.