The project for the imposing chapel, inspired by classical models such as the Pantheon in Rome, was entrusted to the architect Angelo Venturoli (1749-1821), who in 1793 had also been entrusted with the extension of the family palace in Strada Maggiore, now housing a faculty of the University of Bologna.
Prince Filippo Hercolani, who died in 1810, is depicted at the centre of the chapel above a high memorial stone with a colossal marble sculpture by Cincinnato Baruzzi (1790-1878). Four large heraldic coats of arms in bipartite stucco appear in the splays at the base of the dome: to the left the heraldic symbol of the Hercolani, and to the right that of the families to whom they were related.