The church was built in the 16th century thanks to funds from the Compania dell’Orazione e della Morte, which also endowed a large cemetery created to provide a Christian burial place for abandoned remains. At the time of the creation of this Confraternity, there were no public agencies in place to ensure a dignified burial to those who could not afford it.
The original cemetery of the Confraternity remained in use right up until the 1800s, providing burial space for more than 8000 bodies, some of which had been recovered from the river while others were brought from the neighbouring countryside. It was partially destroyed to build the Tiber embankments and today only the underground crypt of the church remains as a testimony to its former presence.
