186, Rome, Chiesa del Gesú. Give 'em the old razzle dazzle!

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 186, Rome, Chiesa del Gesú


No other city can compare to Rome for visiting churches. Churches you stumble on accidentally here would be national treasures in most cities. I am told that after Rome, the best cities for churches are Venice, Istanbul, Seville, and Paris.


I’ve been in Rome for a month and am on my forty sixth church visit. Most of these will take many months to turn up on this blog, but a few of those which just blow you away are being moved up the queue. Like this one, Church of Jesus, or to be more precise, Church of the Holy Name of Jesus and Jesuit mother church. Building was started in 1568. Amazing ceiling, with visual tricks including mixing actually sculpted decoration with trompe l’oeil optical illusions. I love the way the images spill out of the section they normally stay in, and I hope the photos show that. The ceiling show “the Triumph of the name of Jesus”.


Majestic square pulpit. It is less a place for a quiet sermon and more of a marble-and-gold megaphone fused to a column, topped with a gilded canopy that seems to be held up by little more than divine intervention and sheer architectural ego. The Jesuit "IHS" branding sits front and center, sporting a sunburst so aggressive it practically demands a pair of period-appropriate sunglasses. The Counter-Reform is under way: give 'em the old razzle dazzle!


Cool modern lectern and other altar furniture, and Saint Ignatius is buried here.


The design of this  church influenced a number of other Jesuit churches around the world. Fancy.

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