Chiesa di San Gregorio Magno

You have to ring the bell for admission to this looming church, which is built on the site where Pope Gregory the Great is said to have dispatched St Augustine to convert the British to Christianity. Originally it was the pope’s family home but in 575 he converted it into a monastery. It was rebuilt in the 17th century and the interior was given a baroque facelift a century later. Inside, the stately 1st-century-BC marble throne in the Cappella di San Gregorio is believed to have been St Gregory’s personal perch. Outside, in the grounds to the left of the church are three impressively frescoed chapels: the Cappella di Santa Silvia, the Cappella di Sant’Andrea and the Capella di Santa Barbara.