**Santa Maria in Vallicella**, also called *Chiesa Nuova*, is a church in Rome, Italy.
The first church on the site was built sometime in the 6th century, and by the 12th century was dedicated to **Santa Maria in Vallicella**, or "Our Lady in the Little Valley". The church was rebuilt in **1575**.
Of particular note are the ceilings by **Pietro da Cortona**, one of the great artists and architects of the **Roman Baroque**.
Cortona painted the *'Trinity'* in the dome from 1647-51, the four prophets in the *pendentives* below the dome in 1655-56, and the *'Assumption of the Virgin'* in the apse.
The fresco in the nave of the church is the *'Miracle of the Madonna della Vallicella'*, executed by Cortona from 1664-65.
**The nave fresco:**
![](http://i.imgur.com/Xrtz28w.jpg)