Church of Santa Pudenziana: Overall view; top of the entrance pediment visible below street level

S Pudenziana (ca. 390), was converted from a domus ecclesiae. Dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Saint Praxedis and daughter of Saint Pudens. This church was the residence of the pope until, in 313, emperor Constantine offered them the Lateran Palace. In the 4th century, during the pontificate of Pope Siricius, the building was transformed into a three-naved church. The entrance is below street level. The Romanesque belltower was added in the early 13th century. Francesco da Volterra [Capriani] added the Caetani Chapel (ca. 1590) which has an oval sail vault over a rectangular plan with a polychrome marble interior; it was finished by Maderno in 1601.