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Chiesa del Gesù

Typology: Non Parish Church

Address

Address: Piazza del Gesù
Zone: Rione Pigna (Torre Argentina) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Telephone: 06 697001

Opening times

For the times of the masses and how to visit the museum, please consult the contacts indicated. For visits to the rooms of Sant'Ignazio, please complete the form at the following link https://www.chiesadelgesu.org/prenotazione-messe

Description

In 1551 St Ignatius of Loyola commissioned the Florentine architect Nanni di Baccio Biggio to design a church for the Society of Jesus. The plan, which presented a large church with a single nave, side chapels and a shallow apse, was redesigned in 1554 by Michelangelo, but his design also remained on paper.

Finally Cardinal Alessandro Farnese provided the funding in 1561 and commissioned Jacopo Barozzi, called 'Il Vignola', one of his favourite architects, to design and build the Gesù Church in Rome. The Jesuit architects Giovanni Tristano and Giovanni de Rosis were active collaborators on the interior designs and directed the current construction.

Not satisfied with the design of the façade by Vignola, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese chose a design by Giacomo della Porta. Construction of the church began in 1568, but after Vignola's death it was Giacomo Della Porta who completed it in 1575. At the time of its dedication in 1584, the church was the largest and first completely new church built in Rome since the 'Sacco' of 1527.

In the second half of the 17th century, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as Baciccia, decorated the church with paintings and worked on the two large chapels in the transept: the chapel of St Francis Xavier and the particularly sumptuous chapel of St Ignatius.

During the events at the end of the 18th century, which followed the suppression of the Order (1773), the temple was deprived of many riches.

In 1814 the church was returned to the Jesuits. In the mid-19th century, the tribune was decorated and the high altar built. From 1858 to 1861, the Farnese temple was decorated thanks to the generosity of Prince Alessandro Torlonia, who had the nave covered with marble.

In conclusion, the Chiesa del Gesù, built in a style between Renaissance and Baroque, had a great influence on the sacred architecture of Baroque churches in Italy and elsewhere in the world, to the point of inspiring the term - now disputed - 'Jesuit style'.

The sober façade, with its volumes, masses and play of light and shadow anticipating the Baroque, was carefully oriented towards the surrounding streets and square.

Last checked: 2022-07-06 15:05