The Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the few Gothic churches in Rome.
In the area currently occupied by the Basilica, there once stood a temple dedicated to the cult of Minerva Chalcidice. As early as the 8th century, a small church stood next to this temple, which Pope Zacharias granted to some Basilian nuns who had fled Constantinople. In the second half of the 13th century, Dominican friars settled in the convent, who also acquired possession of the church. In 1280, the friars began construction of the large Gothic church thanks to funding from Pope Boniface VIII. In 1453, Count Francesco Orsini ordered the construction of the façade at his own expense, which was completed by Pope Benedict XIII. In the 17th century, numerous works were carried out inside, giving the church a Baroque appearance. The interior is The church is divided into three naves with cross vaults and rich fresco decoration created during the 1850 restoration.

The two side naves feature several chapels that have retained their Baroque appearance. These include:

• The Chapel of the Annunciation, by Carlo Maderno, with an Annunciation by Antoniazzo Romano;
• The Aldobrandini Chapel, from the first decade of the 17th century, by Giacomo Della Porta and Carlo Maderno. It houses the funerary monuments of the parents of Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini, created by Nicolas Cordier, as well as the a valuable painting by Federico Barocci on the altar;
• the Carafa Chapel, an important work of the early Renaissance in Rome, entirely frescoed by Filippino Lippi for Cardinal Oliviero Carafa at the end of the 15th century.

Inside the Carafa Chapel, you can admire a cycle of mural paintings depicting:

• Saint Thomas Aquinas presents Cardinal Oliviero Carafa to the Virgin of the Annunciation;
• Assumption of Mary;
• Triumph of Saint Thomas Aquinas;
• Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Miracle of the Crucifix;
• Sibyls.

The building preserves valuable works from the 15th and 16th centuries, including the funerary slab of Beato Angelico, created by Isaia da Pisa in 1455, and the statue of Christ Carrying the Cross, sculpted by Michelangelo between 1518 and 1520. In the left aisle is Christ the Savior, a painting on wood attributed to Perugino. There are also various funerary monuments created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini or attributed to him, such as the Memorial to Sister Maria Raggi and the bust from the tomb of Giovanni Vigevano.

The basilica houses the remains of Saint Catherine of Siena under the high altar; the marble sarcophagus (mid-15th century) is attributed to Isaia da Pisa. In the square in front of the church, Piazza della Minerva, stands one of Rome's thirteen ancient obelisks, from the Iseum Campense and dedicated to the goddess Neith, the Egyptian equivalent of the Roman goddess Minerva. The small pink granite obelisk is raised on a base, the work of Ercole Ferrata based on a design by Bernini, depicting a graceful elephant.

The elephant is Also popularly known as the "Pulcin della Minerva": "pulcino" in the dialect of the time meant "porcino," "little pig," referring to the elephant due to its smaller size and rounded shape, more suited to a piglet.
A curious fact concerns the convent adjacent to the church, which for many years was the seat of the Holy Inquisition. Here, on June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei, accused of heresy, abjured his astronomical theses.