The oldest building of worship belonging to the Evangelical Christian Church of the Brethren, a Protestant denomination that arose in Italy during the Risorgimento deeply influenced by the spirituality awaking of a number of Anglo-Saxon denominations stands in Via della Vigna Vecchia.
The building was  purchased in 1879 and renovated in the Tuscan Gothic style. It stands on the ruins of the 6th century Saint Apollinaire Basilica. The church was deconsecrated in 1755, and following major renovations was used as a prison by the Inquisition and then from 1782 as a prison for debtors.
One of the organisers  of the purchase was the patriot and scholar Theodoric Pietrocola Rossetti (1825-1883) who played a leading role in the development and rise of the Christian Church of the Brethren not only in Tuscany but also in the rest of Italy.