The World's First Baroque Building 🏛️

🎫 Admission: Free ⏰ Opening Hours: 7:00-12:30 and 16:00-19:45 Estimated Visiting Time: 30-45 minutes 💬 As a paragon of Counter-Reformation architecture, the Church of the Gesù in Rome is a treasure trove of Baroque art, also known as "the world's first Baroque building." As we all know, there are countless churches in Rome, but how can one miss the Church of the Gesù with such a title? ➡️ Ceiling Fresco This is "The Triumph of the Name of Jesus" painted by Giovanni Battista Gaulli. It's huge, magnificent, and dazzling, with a hypnotic effect if you stare at it for too long. Looking up is, of course, the most direct way to admire it; but please note that there is an adjustable-angle mirror in the nave of the church 🪞 that allows you to view the fresco more clearly and take a photo with this masterpiece. ➡️ Tomb of Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. This Spanish saint lived in this church from 1544 until his death in 1556. This luxurious tomb was built by Andrea Pozzo. The altar tomb is made of gorgeous marble and bronze, with columns sheathed in lapis lazuli, and a spherical lapis lazuli at the top, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. On either side, there is a sculpture, their names aptly condensing the ideological characteristics of the Jesuit order: on the left is "Faith Defeats the Worship of False Gods," and on the right is "Orthodox Religion Whips Heretical Fallacies." ➡️ Church Facade The church facade, designed by Giacomo Della Porta, draws on the treatment of the Florentine St. Mary's Little Church designed by the master of Renaissance architecture, Alberti. The upper part of the facade has two large volutes on either side. These treatment methods were later widely imitated. ➡️ The church's luxurious interior is, of course, worth taking your time to admire and photograph. #Rome #Churches #RomanChurches #ItalianChurches