In 1634, Pietro da Cortona was elected president of the academy. Almost at once he began restoration of the crypt and, as was common at this time in Rome, buried remains were found and were attributed to the martyred Saint Martina.
Pietro da Cortona took office as head of the academy in 1634. He promptly undertook the reconstruction of the crypt, a common procedure in Rome at the time, where unidentified remains were reidentified as those of the revered Saint Martina.