In 1099, a chapel was built by Pope Paschal II to Our Lady, over a tomb of the Domitia family. Tradition has it that the site was haunted by Nero's ghost or demons in the form of black crows; therefore the pope chopped down the walnut tree sheltering the crows and built a church in its place. The name del Popolo ("of the people") probably derives from its funding by the people of Rome, but some sources say it comes from the Latin word populus, meaning "poplar" and referring to a tree located nearby. The chapel became a church by will of Pope Gregory IX, and given to the Augustinians, who still oversee the church, in the first half of 13th century.