Founded in the 9th century by Celestine monks on the site where St. Peter was believed to have been crucified on the cross upside down, the church takes its name from "Mons aureus" or "Golden Mountain," from the color of the earth that makes up the Janiculum Hill, at whose slopes it is located.
The church was rebuilt in the late 15th century thanks to funding from the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand V and Isabella of Castile, and consecrated in 1500 by Pope Alexander VI Borgia.

The interior, with a single nave, features five side chapels designed by Vasari, Ammannati, Daniele da Volterra, and Bernini, among others. The first chapel on the right contains two works by Sebastiano del Piombo, painted around 1518: "The Flagellation" and "The Transfiguration." The second chapel houses a fresco attributed to Pomarancio, several frescoes from the school of Pinturicchio, and an allegorical sibyl attributed to Baldassarre Peruzzi. The Cappella del Monte contains frescoes by Giorgio Vasari.

Around 1640, Gian Lorenzo Bernini created the chapel of the Marquis Marcello Raymondi, a work of great interest for its marked scenographic character.
The church's high altar once housed Raphael's splendid Transfiguration, now housed in the Vatican Museums and replaced by a copy of Guido Reni's Crucifixion of St. Peter, made by Vincenzo Camuccini.

Without a doubt, the most famous work in the entire complex is the Bramante's extraordinary Tempietto, located in the center of the convent's cloister, on the very spot where legend has it that Saint Peter was crucified. In the underground crypt, you can see the hole where the cross of martyrdom was planted. This work is considered the manifesto of Renaissance classicism architecture, due to its purity of lines and decorative austerity.
The Tempietto was built of granite, marble, and travertine. It is circular in shape, surrounded by a colonnade, and covered by a hemispherical dome.