In the second half of the 12th century, the population of Il Monte, in Castelnuovo di Porto venerated a painting of the Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist that stood on the entrance gate to the Degli Effetti estate, close to the Roman road which is today Via Roma.
Wanting to create a suitable setting for the painting, Antonio Degli Effetti commissioned the building of a church on his land, and entitled it S. Maria de Virtude. The cornerstone was laid on 6 December 1672 in the presence of Cardinal Francesco Maria Brancati.
Building of the church, with the connected sacresty, oratory and guardian's residence, was certainly finished by 11 January 1674 when Brother Franciscus Lard of Paris is indicated as the guardian. It was consecrated on 12 May 1674 by the Bishop of Viterbo, Stefano Brancacci. Cardinal Ulderico Carpegna granted right of patronage to Antonio Degli Effetti on 3 April 1677, a right held in the family until the end of the 19th century.
While the church was officiated, no maintenance work was carried out and the building steadily deteriorated to the extent that the visiting Cardinal Serafino Vannutelli ordered its closure in 1904. Several years later, the oratory and the church were both burgled and damaged.
Today, the small building has an elegant portico resting on three slender Doric columns in travertine stone (replacements for the originals installed during restoration work) and three facing half-columns in brick recessed into the façade.
The only gable-end is provided by a bell gable with two bells under a tympanum and closed at the base with two inscribed fascias. The church has a Greek cross floor plan. The sacresty and oratory stand adjacent to the cross arm with the entrance from the road.
The unadorned interior no longer houses the painting that inspired the church's construction.