Memorial Plaque of Alexander VII - S. Maria della Pace, Rome
At the confluence of Vicolo della Pace and Vicolo della Volpe, in the Rione Ponte , right on the back of the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, there is a plaque that commemorates the restoration of this church commissioned by Pope Alexander VII Chigi (1655-1667), whose coat of arms is also present.

Central to Alexander's urbanism was the idea of teatro or urban theatre whereby his urban interventions became the grand settings or showpieces appropriate to the dignity of Rome and the Head of the Catholic Church. Therefore, and although the scales are vastly different, the small Santa Maria della Pace and its piazza are as much a teatro as the imposing monumental colonnade that forms Piazza San Pietro in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

Alexander took a keen personal interest in his urban and architectural projects and made notes of these in his diaries. His projects in Rome included: the church and piazza at Santa Maria della Pace; the Via del Corso, Piazza Colonna and associated buildings; reworking of the Porta del Popolo, the Piazza del Popolo and Santa Maria del Popolo; Piazza San Pietro, the Scala Regia and interior embellishments in the Vatican Palace and St. Peter's; Sant'Andrea al Quirinale; part of the Palazzo del Quirinale; the arsenal at Civitavecchia,[30] the obelisk and elephant in Piazza della Minerva; and the Palazzo Chigi. The Palazzo Chigi in Rome is not to be confused with the Palazzo Chigi in S. Quirico d'Orcia in Tuscany, or the Palazzo Chigi di Formello.
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