The present church is the third to stand on the same site. A distinctive feature of the exterior is the slender, almost delicate bell tower, which rises about two and a half stories above the church building. In connection with the name “Santa Maria dell’Anima,” special mention should be made of the gable sculpture above the main portal: the enthroned Queen of Heaven with the Child Jesus is implored by two naked figures, the “animae” (poor souls), who kneel at her side.

The interior of the church is designed as a three-aisled, four-bay hall with transversely arranged chapels in the form of niches. There are eight chapels, named as follows: St. Benno Chapel; St. Anne Chapel; St. Mark, Fugger, or Holy Cross Chapel; Pietà Chapel; Margrave or Centurion Chapel; St. Barbara Chapel; St. John Nepomuk Chapel; St. Lambert Chapel. Due to the shape of the plot, the nave is slightly trapezoidal; the space is structured by pillars with a cross-shaped ground plan.

A special symbol, also found inside the church, is the double-headed imperial eagle. It represents the successful effort to place the “Anima” under the protection of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. In the 18th century, the imperial protectorate passed personally to the House of Habsburg.

Among the outstanding works of art in the Church of Santa Maria dell’Anima are the altarpiece by Giulio Romano, the tomb monument of Pope Adrian VI, and works by Francesco Salviati, Carlo Saraceni, Lorenzetto (real name Lorenzo Giovanni di Ludovico), Girolamo Siciolante (known as “il Sermoneta”), and Johann Weyringer.