Sant'Andrea della Valle: the Tosca Church in Rome

A Theatine basilica built for preaching

The Theatines received Donna Costanza Piccolomini d'Aragona, duchess of Amalfi, as their patron in 1582. She left her palace and the church of San Sebastiano on this spot for a new church honouring Saint Andrew, Amalfi's patron. Work began around 1590 under Giacomo della Porta and Pier Paolo Olivieri, restarted by 1608 with an endowment of over 150,000 gold scudi, and the grander plan was designed mainly by Carlo Maderno. The interior was complete by 1650.

The result is one of the great 17th century preaching churches of the Centro Storico, built by the Counter-Reformation orders alongside the Gesù, Sant'Ignazio and the Chiesa Nuova. It is a titular church, a minor basilica and the seat of the general curia of the Theatines. If you are mapping out opera houses in Rome and the places Puccini set to music, this church belongs near the top of the list.

Why opera lovers come

Act 1 of Tosca is set here. The escaped prisoner Angelotti hides in the Attavanti chapel, the painter Cavaradossi works on his fresco and sings Recondita armonia, Tosca arrives jealous of the blonde woman in the painting, and the act closes with Scarpia's Te Deum under this dome. The opera premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, today's Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, which sells its own season seats and guided tours.

The basilica now hosts Tosca arias concerts in the nave, an unusual chance to hear the music in the building Puccini had in mind. Expect singers and accompaniment in a concert setting, not scenery and costumes.

Facade, nave and the dome

Start outside on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The facade faces the street at the intersection with Corso Rinascimento, on the Piazza Vidoni side. Step in and look up first: the dome fresco, the Glory of Paradise, was painted by Giovanni Lanfranco and completed in 1627, setting the model for dome decorations for decades after.

Lanfranco won the commission in a contest with Domenichino, and both were employed in the end. Domenichino painted the four evangelists in the pendentives between 1621 and 1628. For a long time this was the third largest dome in Rome, after St Peter's and the Pantheon.

• Lanfranco's Glory of Paradise in the cupola
• Domenichino's evangelists in the pendentives
• The apse decoration by Alessandro Algardi

The chapels, right side then left

On the right, the Ginetti Chapel was designed by Carlo Fontana in 1670, with Antonio Raggi's white marble relief of the angel urging the holy family to flee to Egypt, carved in the manner of his teacher Bernini. The Strozzi Chapel holds bronze copies by Gregorio De Rossi of Michelangelo's Pietà, Leah and Rachel, and was probably designed by Michelangelo himself. In the right transept is the Chapel of St Andrew Avellino with another Lanfranco altarpiece.

On the left, the Chapel of the Madonna della Purità holds an altarpiece copied from Luis de Morales, and the left transept is dedicated to Saint Cajetan, founder of the Theatines. Look for the tomb of Pope Pius II over the entrance to the left circular chapel. The Cappella Barberini was designed for Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, and holds a Saint John the Baptist by Pietro Bernini and Francesco Mochi's Saint Martha, which is far larger than the other sculptures in its niche.

• Ginetti Chapel: Carlo Fontana design, Raggi's Bernini-style angel
• Strozzi Chapel: bronzes after Michelangelo
• Cappella Barberini: sculptures by Pietro Bernini and Francesco Mochi

When to go and what to wear

The basilica is open daily for worship and a look is free. Fixed visitor hours are not stated, so plan for daylight and allow a plan B. Concert evenings meet at the church on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, and both listings offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.

Dress for a church: shoulders and knees covered. The same rule applies at other concert churches in Rome, and the listings for the evening concerts at St Paul's Within the Walls ask for smart casual. Our advice on what to wear to a concert evening is on the Rome opera dress code page.

Quiet times and behaviour

As our estimate, the church is calmest in the morning and again around the middle of the day, while late afternoons bring tour groups and the approach of Mass. Keep voices low, skip the flash photography during services and do not enter roped chapels. If a service is under way, sit at the back or come back later.

Mass times are posted at the door and are not stated here, so check on site if you need them.

By foot, bus and metro

Sant'Andrea della Valle stands on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II at Piazza Vidoni, in the rione Sant'Eustachio. From Piazza Navona it is a few minutes on foot, our estimate, and Campo de' Fiori is close by. The nearest metro stops serve the edges of the centre, so most visitors arrive on foot or by bus along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

It pairs naturally with the rest of the Tosca trail. Palazzo Farnese, Act 2's setting, is a short walk to the northwest, our estimate, and the route to Castel Sant'Angelo crosses the river by the Ponte Sant'Angelo. If you are planning an evening elsewhere afterwards, note that the opera concerts at St Paul's Within the Walls are on the far side of the centre near Piazza Venezia.

One church or the whole Tosca morning

For the church alone, give it 30 to 45 minutes, our estimate: the dome, the Ginetti and Strozzi chapels and the apse. Add an evening and it becomes a two-hour outing with a concert.

The full Tosca walk works in a morning. Start at the church for Act 1, walk to Palazzo Farnese for Act 2, Scarpia's apartments, then cross the Tiber to Castel Sant'Angelo, where Act 3 ends with Tosca's leap. Walking times below are our estimate.

The list

A short list of facts worth carrying with you.

• The money to build it was a private bequest from a duchess of Amalfi, who gave her palace and an older church to the Theatines in 1582 Wikipedia: Sant'Andrea della Valle.
• The dome was for a long time the third largest in Rome, after St Peter's and the Pantheon Wikipedia: Sant'Andrea della Valle.
• Lanfranco and Domenichino competed for the dome fresco, and both ended up working on it Wikipedia: Sant'Andrea della Valle.
• The Strozzi Chapel bronzes of Michelangelo's Pietà, Leah and Rachel may sit in a chapel Michelangelo himself designed Wikipedia: Sant'Andrea della Valle.
• Tosca premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome and was delayed one day for fear of disturbances, despite becoming an immediate public success Wikipedia: Tosca.