The Church of Our Lady of Victory dates back to 1607, when the Discalced Carmelite Fathers built a small chapel and then a new church between 1608 and 1620, dedicated to St. Paul, under the direction of the architect Carlo Maderno.

The church was renamed "Our Lady of Victory" on the occasion of the Battle of White Mountain (near Prague) in the Thirty Years' War, which saved the city of Prague from the assault of Lutheran troops in 1620. Legend has it that, when the imperial army was at the end of its strength, the military chaplain Father Dominic of Jesus and Mary carried with him into the clash with the enemy an image depicting "Mary adoring the Child." The icon lit up and rays of light dazzled the adversaries, forcing them to flee.

In 1622, the miraculous icon was solemnly transported to Rome and enshrined in the church, which has since been called Santa Maria della Vittoria. In a fire in 1833, the icon was destroyed and subsequently replaced with a 17th-century copy in the oratory attached to the church.

The interior of the church has a single nave. The frescoes on the vault and dome were painted by Giandomenico Cerrini: the vault features the Triumph of the Virgin Mary over Heresies, while the dome features the Assumption of the Virgin. The painting depicting the Triumph of the Catholics over the Lutherans, also by Giandomenico Cerrini, was later placed in the apse.

Ai lati del transetto si aprono due cappelle: a sinistra la Cappella Cornaro, dedicata a Santa Teresa d'Avila, con il celebre gruppo scultoreo del Bernini; a destra la Cappella Capocaccia, dedicata a San Giuseppe e preziosamente ornata da una pala d'altare opera del Domenichino.

La Cappella Cornaro costituisce uno dei capolavori del Barocco a Roma. Le due figure in marmo di Santa Teresa e dell'Angelo sono circondate da raggi di luce divina materializzati in bronzo che riverberano la luce naturale e riflettono a loro volta la scena, illuminata dall'alto. La scultura rappresenta l'estasi della santa per l'amore di Dio mentre l'angelo sta per trafiggerle il cuore con la freccia. Sulla sommità dell'arco, due angeli portano un cartiglio con scritte le parole che Gesù dice a Santa Teresa: "Se non avessi creato il cielo, lo creerei solo per te".

La facciata della chiesa fu costruita in travertino nel 1626 su disegno di Giambattista Soria, a spese del cardinale Scipione Borghese in cambio della statua dell'Ermafrodito dormiente, rinvenuta nel 1608 durante gli scavi delle fondamenta della chiesa e oggi esposta al Louvre.