[We only just recently showed this particular minor basilica, and it was in fact this church which set off the idea of covering the stational churches of Lent. Accordingly, we shall keep this entry brief.]
From the Churches of Rome Wiki:
The church is believed to have originated in the 3rd or 4th century as a meeting-place for the first Christians of Rome and an institution for aiding the poor, in the home of the lady Cyriaca... It was built on the site of a Roman barracks. Her family's cemetery was where the basilica San Lorenzo fuori le Mura stands, and it was Cyriaca who arranged the burial of St Lawrence, deacon and martyr. St Lawrence used to hand out alms to the poor here.
The present church is from the time of Pope Paschal I, who had it rebuilt 818-822. Many of the older elements were preserved, but side apses were added in the Eastern style.
Alterations were made by the titular priest of the church, Giovanni Cardinal de Medici, who later became Pope Leo X (1513-1521), with Andrea Sansovino as architect.
