Caravaggio's celebrated Madonna of the Pilgrims—which scandalized all of Rome because a kneeling pilgrim is pictured, all too realistically for the taste of the time, with dirt on the soles of his feet, and the Madonna stands in a less than majestic pose in a dilapidated doorway—is in the first chapel on the left. In a niche just inside the door of the church is Sansovino's sculpted Madonna and Child, known to the Romans as the Madonna del Parto (of Childbirth) and piled high with ex-votos. Above it looms a prophet painted by Raphael.
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip