In 527 Theodoric the Great and his daughter Amalasuntha gave a library hall and part of a temple to Pope Felix IV, who joined them into a basilica. The circular building is traditionally held to be a temple dedicated by Maxentius to his son Valerius Romulus, though the article calls this tentative. The main hall was perhaps the library of the Forum of Peace.
The apse mosaic shows the Second Coming, with Saint Peter presenting Cosmas and Theodorus, and Saint Paul presenting Damian and Felix IV. The article says it is heavily restored.
In 1632 Pope Urban VIII ordered a restoration by Orazio Torriani, who raised the floor about 23 feet (7 m) to match the Campo Vaccino and added a cloister. A new entrance on Via dei Fori Imperiali opened in 1947. Franciscan friars run it.
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