The Church of the Gesù (its full name is the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Argentina) is the mother church of the Society of Jesus; it houses the tomb of its Founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
When the number of students grows, Pope Gregory XV entrusts Orazio Grassi with the project for the construction of a church dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The new church is consecrated in 1722.
Andrea Pozzo, Jesuit and painter, created the internal decorations in 1685: the "fake dome", the vault and the presbytery.
Currently the Church is part of the vast historical and artistic heritage of the Fondo Buildings of Worship of the Ministry of the Interior, that is, the body to which the assets deriving from the Ecclesiastical Axis were attributed after the suppression of the religious corporations and factories. Its singular artistic richness marks the Church of the Gesù as an important chapter in the history of art and is one of the most visited monuments in Rome.
The works for the construction of the current chapel lasted, under the direction of the Jesuit Andrea Pozzo, from 1695 to 1699.
The very rich chapel is considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces of Baroque art: the four columns are encrusted with lapis lazuli and strips of gilded bronze. Likewise, the niche containing the silver foil statue of the saint is covered with lapis lazuli.
The sumptuous Chapel of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, in clear Baroque style, is dedicated to Ignazio di Loyola, a Spanish religious and founder of the Society of Jesus. The initial project was entrusted to the sculptor and architect Giacomo della Porta (together with the external facade and the cupola) and later to Pietro da Cortona. In the end, the works on the altar of the chapel dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola were entrusted to Andrea Pozzo, a Jesuit painter and architect, and were carried out between 1696 and 1700.
Church of Sant 'Ignazio di Loyola
Address: Via del Caravita, 8a, 00186
Phone: +39 06 679 4406
Site:
https://santignazio.gesuiti.it/Location inserted by
CHO.earth