Santa Maria in Domnica

A photograph showing the vestibule of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Domnica, known as the Navicella, in Rome.

The basilica was built in ancient times, but then rebuilt from 818-22 by Pope Paschal I, with mosaic decoration. For centuries, scholars debated the dates and the author of restoration that took place under Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (the future Pope Leo X), and it was generally believed that there had been two phases of renovation, before and after his election as Pope. Gaspare Celio (1638) was the first to attribute the restoration of the church to Raphael and the frieze decoration to Giulio Romano and Perin del Vaga. This opinion was accepted by scholars until documents were found first in 1910 and then 1943. These proved Andrea Sansovino to be the architect responsible for the restoration. Frommel more recently discovered another volume with payments all dated 1513-1514 and therefore rejected the traditional opinion of two different restorations. Frommel also suggested Peruzzi and his school as the artists responsible for the decoration of the frieze (see Bibliographic References).