Between 1900 and 1906 the monastry and parish church of Sant'Andrea della Porta, the oldest parts of which dated to the beginning of the year 1000, was completely demolished, together with the hill on which it stood, to allow the urban restructuring of the area and the construction of the building of the Bank of Italy.

The only part of the structure that was saved was the medieval cloister which was dismantled and relocated (about twenty years later) to its current location.

The cloister probably dates to the construction of the building itself or only a short time later, as evidenced by the original Romanesque style figured capitals, dating to the mid twelth century. However, it is likely that there was a substantial redevelopment towards the end of the thirteenth century: documents from 1294 refer to major works in which the older figured capitals were probably retained but others (in the Gothic style) were added, these are decorated with simple leaves.