The Florentine community of Rome resided near the Tiber, in a trio of short streets that branched from Ponte Sant'Angelo. The most important of these was the Via Banco Santo Spirito, so named for the Zecca or Mint prominently situated at the head of the street. A newer street, named after Pope Paul III, the Via Paola, connected Ponte Sant'Angelo to the older Via Giulia (laid out under Julius II), which ran parallel to the Tiber River to Ponte Sisto. At the intersection of Via Giulia and Via Paola was an irregular plot of land near the Tiber, which, before the modern embankments were built, was flooded with seasonal regularity. There was limited space to build a church; however, the site was perfectly suited for a compact, centrally planned building.

SAN GIOVANNI DEI FIORENTINI

Construction of a new church in Rome for the Florentine nation, aptly named San Giovanni dei Fiorentini after the community's patron saint, had been decided upon as early as 1518, during the pontificate of Leo X. Virtually every Florentine architect (and some foreign) showed interest in the project, with the predictable result that nothing much was accomplished. Antonio da Sangallo was the most prolific in providing plans for a new church – some ten designs of his are preserved in the Uffizi.