 The church was constructed up against the Arch of Septimius Severus.Mariano Armellini notes that it had a small campanile that was constructed on the attic of the arch, but Rodolfo Lanciani maintains that that tower was not connected to the church, having been pulled down in 1636, much later than the church itself.He supports his claim with a report of the city council of Rome that appropriated the tower's materials for the church of Santa Martina.