Church of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola

The Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola (Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola) is one of Rome’s most ornate churches in a baroque style. Originally the site was a church for the students of the neighboring school of grammar, but as the school grew it became insufficient to serve the larger number of students. Pope Gregory XV had been a student at the school and had canonized St Ignatius. It was he who suggested that a temple be dedicated to St Ignazio di Loyola and that the site should be at the college itself.

Construction began in 1626 with Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi leading proceedings. In 1650 the church was opened for public worship and dedicated to the Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits.

The interior of the Church of Sant’Ignzio di Loyola is sumptuous and renowned for its trompe l’oeil ceilings. These fresco ceilings, were painted by a Jesuit brother Andrea Pozzo. He created a trompe l’oeil cupola as other monks complaints’ had prevented the architect building an actual cupola in the church. His paintings depicting the life of St Ignatius and the works of the Jesuits covers the entire nave ceiling.

The church sits on a charming square designed by the architect Raguzzini to represent a stage in a theatre. The Piazza Sant’Ignazio uses undulating spaces to create the illusion of a larger, more open space.

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