 Tradition holds the first church on the site was begun by Pope Miltiades, in the 4th century on the north side of the Coelian Hill.One of the first churches of Rome, it bore the "Titulus Aemilianae" from the name of the foundress, who probably owned the elaborate Roman villa, whose structure is evident under the church.The church was completed by the end of the 6th century, and because of its proximity to the medieval papal residence of the Lateran Palace, it became prominent in its day.