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According to popular tradition, this church stands on the site of a brothel where St. Agnes, stripped naked, was saved from dishonor by the miraculous growth of her hair. The present church was commissioned by Innocent X Pamphilj to adjoin his familial palace on Piazza Navona. Work was begun by the father/son architectural team of the Rainaldi in 1652, however; by June of 1653, Innocent had replaced them with his favorite architect: Borromini, who is responsible for the unusual concave facade. Built, as all structures of Piazza Navona are, upon the foundations of the Stadium of Domitian (inaugurated AD 86), St. Agnese has an intricate Greek-cross plan in which a remarkable effect of spaciousness is provided by the cupola.
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