The church dates back to the middle of the XV century, when Pope Nicholas V ordered a small church to be built here, for clergymen from Slavonia, as well as a hospice and a hospital for visitors. At the end of the following century, during the pontificate of Sixtus V, the church was expanded according to the design of Martino Longhi (the Elder). Longhi was also the designer of the mannerist façade made of travertine. The heraldic emblems of Pope Sixtus V can be seen from afar – a pile of spheres (monti) and eight-pointed stars found at the base of the façade (on both sides). Further testimony of the pope’s input into the construction is an inscription found on the frieze of the façade.

The street, where the church stands was built by Pope Leo X (via Leonina), while its name was changed at the beginning of the XVIII century to via Ripetta, relating to the river port found opposite the church. This picturesque place can be seen on old engravings with a terrace and a flight of steps leading all the way to the surface of the water. In subsequent centuries the port was shut down, and fortifications were built along the Tiber, which would often flood, while the church itself lost its mysterious aura. The hospice adjacent to it was also torn down. Between the churches of San Girolamo and San Rocco, an empty space was created, which today is embellished by just the single, modest Fontana della Botticella, funded by the owners of the numerous taverns and inns which used to be located there. The interior of the church is based on the plan of a Latin cross with three chapels on each side. At the end of the nave, behind a broad transept we can see a rather unusual four-sided choir. The church was thoroughly renovated and modernized in the middle of the XIX century, which meant it was newly equipped and decorated. Most of the paintings, which can be seen inside today come from this very time, including the frescos of Pietro Gagliardi, decorating the ceiling and walls of the chapels, as well as the imposing painting in the transept. On both its sides we can see scenes painted with great splendor – The Adoration of the Magi and The Crucifixion. Richly framed, they give off the expression of grand canvas, making the church look like a museum and the faithful look like viewers moving around among episodes from the life of St. Jerome, biblical scenes, and those depicting saints.

In a shallow dome, there are frescos created at the end of the XVI century, which are supposed to in a rather primitive way make it seem as if there was an open space stretching on above, yet they do not really fulfill this role. The central scene depicts Mary with Christ accompanied by St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist.

The space of the four-sided choir was designed in a very surprising way – there is neither an altar nor a baldachin, only paintings on three of its sides. The main wall depicts St. Jerome being ordained in Syrian Antioch. The lion accompanying the scene is not shown as a witness to the event, but rather as an attribute to the saint. On the other hand the side walls show two other important events from the life of Jerome – St Jerome Debates on the Holy Scriptures in Front of Pope Damasus, which as we know he translated to Latin (Vulgate), as well as Disputes on Doctrine in the Desert of Chalcis, near Antioch, the place where many hermits lived, which had suddenly come alive with arguments over the arrangements of the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.). The choice of topics is a testimony to the new spirit, which prevailed in the Church in the XIX century. The teaching and understanding of its writings and teachings was replaced by the naïve in its expression apotheoses, glorifications and miracles of previous centuries, including scenes connected Jerome hermit, at best a half-naked erudite working on the translation of the Bible. This is exactly how we will see him in one of the chapels (the first from the enterance on the left), where in the main altar there is an XVII-century image of the aesthetic working on his memorable work.

Among the many objects found in this church, it would be easy to overlook a modest but very  expressive figure of a man greeting and saying goodbye to visitors (on the right side of the enterance) sad, chiseled in marble, looking at us with a friendly smile, from the niche of his tombstone as if it was a window. In this window, as during Corpus Christi, a carpet hangs, which in this case serves as the background for the tombstone inscription commemorating Paolo Gozzi, a Venetian representative in Constantinople.   Perhaps it is a good idea to exchange a few thoughts with him, since he is certainly awaiting company. This tombstone was created in 1680 and is the work on an unknown artist – most likely an apprentice or an imitator of the famous Alessandro Algardi.