National churches in Rome

Charitable institutions attached to churches in Rome were founded right through the medieval period and included hospitals, hostels, and others providing assistance to pilgrims to Rome from a certain "nation", which thus became these nations' national churches in Rome (Italian: chiese nazionali). These institutions were generally organized as confraternities and funded through charity and legacies from rich benefactors belonging to that "nation".

Source: Wikipedia — National churches in Rome (CC BY-SA 4.0)