Pope Leo X (1513-1521) gave his approval for the project of building a university chapel jointly dedicated to Pope Saint Leo the Great and the martyr, Saint Fortunatus.
However, the project was only completed around 1660 during the pontificate of the Barberini Pope, Urban VIII, who entrusted the works to the famous architect Francesco Borromini. It was Borromini who was responsible for creating the beautiful church of Sant’Ivo.
The dedication to Saint Ives is because the consistorial lawyers, who had sponsored the construction of the building, wanted the church to be named after their patron saint. As a result, the full name of the church became Saint Leo, St Ives and St Pantaleo, although the latter name was only added later. In 1870 the church was closed and became a book depository for the Alexandrian Library, but in 1926 it was re-opened and was re-consecrated as a place of worship.
