Chiesa del Gesù, Rome

Near the Piazza del Popolo, the Chiesa del Gesù, Rome's first Jesuit church, served as a model for later churches. Its appearance was changed in the 17th Century, when its original austerity ceded to Baroque decoration. Designed by Andrea Pozzo, the chapel of Sant'Ignazio, with its columns in lapis lazuli and its gilded friezes, is typical of Baroque taste. Bernini is represented by a statue dedicated to San Roberto Bellarmino, a great theologian of the counter-Reformation. Do not miss the allegorical frescos of the nave, with stuccoes by Antonio Raggi, designed by Giovan Battista Gaulli, known as Baciccia, and responsible also for the paintings in the vault, the dome and the apse.

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