Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino stands on Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta on the Aventine Hill in Rome. It was commissioned for the Benedictine Confederation, which was founded under Pope Leo XIII. Hildebrand de Hemptinne and Fidelis von Stotzingen were the architects, and Francesco Vespignani was the builder. The papal brief was issued on January 4, 1887, construction began in 1892, and the church was consecrated on November 11, 1900. The Neo-Romanesque complex cost 2,500,000 lire.
The church has three naves with granite columns, a main altar and two side altars. The crypt has five naves and sixteen side altars. There are mosaics by Radbodus Commandeur and a Roman Orpheus mosaic at the entrance. A bronze statue of Saint Anselm from 1966 stands in the atrium.
The site once held fortifications of a house built for Pope Paul III.
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