Sant'Ambrogio della Massima (also Sant'Ambrogio alla Massima) is a Roman Catholic church in rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy, that perhaps dates to the 4th century. It was a convent until it became the subject of a Vatican investigation in the 19th century, when it was disbanded and repurposed as a missionary college and later an abbey church. It is said to have been associated with Saint Ambrose. Etymology The name of the church derives from the tradition that the church was built on the site of the house in which Saint Ambrose lived in Rome, before he moved to become the consul in Milan. The family home was built on the ruins of a temple to Hercules. Archeological research has discovered parts of the temple and porch beneath the current Sant’Ambrogio buildings. The name "Massima" may derive from the Cloaca Maxima, a branch of which flows nearby, or from the Porticus Maximae, the long arcaded road passed in the immediate vicinity of the church. The Porticus Maxima was part of a larger passageway for pilgrims to reach the tomb of Saint Peter at the Vatican, History According to legend, the church of Saint Mary was founded by Saint Marcellina, the older sister of Saint Ambrose, in 353. The house was also the seat of her religious community, but later became the property of a certain Maxima who, under the pontificate of Pope Leo III, had a Latin cross church with a monastery built there. It was called variously "Santo Stefano de Maxima" or "Santa Maria in Formosa". Around 1500, the church was renovated and turned over to the Benedictines, who re-dedicated it to St. Ambrose. Giacomo della Porta added a new wing in 1578. In 1606, Beatrice de Torres, sister of the abbess, Olympia de Torres, and her brother Cardinal Ludovico de Torres commissioned Carlo Maderno to redesign the church. It was rebuilt by Orazio Torriani incorporating the remains of the previous building. The church was abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars, but was restored under Pope Pius VII beginning in 1814. During this period the convent was inhabited by Franciscans nuns. The founding abbess of the restored convent, Maria Agnese Firrao, was convicted in 1816 of "false sanctity", or pretending to be a saint, and was removed from her post and imprisoned. Despite this, she continued to direct activities at the convent via smuggled correspondence with followers there. In 1859, Princess