This is but one of the ancient churches in Trastevere. Christianity penetrated this part of Rome early on because here, in imperial times, there was less control by the authorities and because many foreigners resided in the area. The church was probably built in the 3rd century AD where the young noble martyr Cecilia used to live

You can visit excavations from the right-hand nave and see the ruins of a colonnaded building of the 2nd century AD. Above these, there are chambers that lead into a hall with 7 brick vats used for tanning skins and hides, a testament to the fact that Trastevere was once a business and mercantile center. The church was completely rebuilt in the 9th century, during the pontificate of Pascal I, but it underwent a great number of other changes before the 17th century.
The beautiful 12th century cloister was altered by a wall built in the 16th century to hold up the nuns' refectory built above. It is here in the nuns' quarters that you can see one of the greatest paintings from the Middle Ages: the Last Judgement, painted in 1293 by Pietro Cavallini on the wall of the counter-façade. The fresco was later hidden by the choir which was constructed to allow the enclosed order of nuns to take part in religious services.
In this grandiose fresco, Cavallini's strong artistic personality shines through. He knew how to apply color so that, within the monumental design of the whole work, the figures come alive and stand out. Recent studies have concluded that this master of the Roman school was the greatest innovator of Italian painting at the end of the Middle Ages.