Sant' Ignazio
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History and the Piazza
Rococo style residential buildings by Filippo Raguzzini
The piazza in which this church sits is most delightful.
The residential buildings and square were designed by Filippo Raguzzini, who was an architect from Naples. In 1702, he was called to Benevento, which is west of Naples, to assist in the rebuilding of the town itself which had been devastated by an earthquake. It was there, that he met Archbishop Pietro Orsini with whom he developed a good working relationship. Orsini eventually became Pope Benedict XIII and when he moved to Rome so did Raguzzini. Because of their relationship, Raguzzini moved up through the papal ranks to hold important architectural positions.
Raguzzini used a delicate approach when he designed this piazza focusing on the space in the piazza itself. He chose to design the residential buildings with an almost musical shape with wing-like arms that gracefully hush you over to the church.
The apartments are built in the Rococo style demonstrating:
The façade of the church is Baroque because it contains:
Originally, this area housed a college, as the Jesuits believed that the positive evolution of the world depended on good education of youth. It was founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius as a school teaching grammar, humanity and Christian doctrine. Soon there were so many students at the college that they needed larger space.
Construction began on the present church in 1626, following the plans of architect Orasio Grassi, who was a professor at the college. It was opened for public worship in 1650 but wasn’t completed until 1685. The façade was designed by the not-so-well-known, Baroque sculptor Alessandro Algardi and was built in 1649.
St. Ignatius, to whom the church is dedicated, was the founder of the Jesuits.
The residential buildings and square were designed by Filippo Raguzzini, who was an architect from Naples. In 1702, he was called to Benevento, which is west of Naples, to assist in the rebuilding of the town itself which had been devastated by an earthquake. It was there, that he met Archbishop Pietro Orsini with whom he developed a good working relationship. Orsini eventually became Pope Benedict XIII and when he moved to Rome so did Raguzzini. Because of their relationship, Raguzzini moved up through the papal ranks to hold important architectural positions.
Raguzzini used a delicate approach when he designed this piazza focusing on the space in the piazza itself. He chose to design the residential buildings with an almost musical shape with wing-like arms that gracefully hush you over to the church.
The apartments are built in the Rococo style demonstrating:
- elaborate curves
- pastel colours
- lightness and elegance
The façade of the church is Baroque because it contains:
- large gestures
- enhanced echoes of a Renaissance church façade
- deep relief from the greatest depth of the façade to the most shallow
- chiaroscuro effects causing light and shadow through the use of deep relief
Originally, this area housed a college, as the Jesuits believed that the positive evolution of the world depended on good education of youth. It was founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius as a school teaching grammar, humanity and Christian doctrine. Soon there were so many students at the college that they needed larger space.
Construction began on the present church in 1626, following the plans of architect Orasio Grassi, who was a professor at the college. It was opened for public worship in 1650 but wasn’t completed until 1685. The façade was designed by the not-so-well-known, Baroque sculptor Alessandro Algardi and was built in 1649.
St. Ignatius, to whom the church is dedicated, was the founder of the Jesuits.
Interior and Dome |
This is by far the most Baroque church we have seen along the way in this tour. Rich decorations, marble, stucco, ornamentation, and frescoes are everywhere!
The floor plan of the interior is that of a Latin cross, with a large nave edged with giant orders of pilasters and highly ornamental layers of decoration. There are a number of side chapels which are also decorated displaying Baroque techniques and flare. The entire church presents a very varied palette of colours.
As you walk towards the front of the church, through the nave, find the bronze marker on the floor and stand on it. Once you are there with your feet on the bronze marker, look up to the dome.
Look closely…
It is not a real dome!
It too was painted by Pozzo and uses the illusionist technique of trompe l’oeil.
Standing on the bronze medal embedded in the floor allows you to see the full effect of the illusion from the proper viewing point. This illusionist dome is probably the most well-known of its kind because of who painted it and because of its location in this church. It seems to get a lot of attention from art enthusiasts because we are all taken by surprise by it. However, it is not the only dome completed in this fashion. Look carefully as you travel, and you will find a number of them scattered throughout Italy as it was a very quick and cost-effective way for a church to have a dome.
In this case, the people of the church wanted a dome and the design of the interior called for a dome, but they had run out of money. So, they turned to Pozzo, who had just completed the magnificent ceiling fresco. He designed and painted the dome on flat canvas, in perfect perspective.
Although we see trompe l’oeil being used by Mannerist and Baroque painters as if it is a new idea, the first use of it is recorded in Pompeii. As years passed, it was perfected by the Mannerist and Baroque painters.
Trompe l’oeil used in ceiling paintings is called di sotto in su, which means from below, upward. Look up to the ceiling painting of The Apotheosi of Saint Ignatius and you can see the bottoms of people’s feet, you are right below them looking up!
The floor plan of the interior is that of a Latin cross, with a large nave edged with giant orders of pilasters and highly ornamental layers of decoration. There are a number of side chapels which are also decorated displaying Baroque techniques and flare. The entire church presents a very varied palette of colours.
As you walk towards the front of the church, through the nave, find the bronze marker on the floor and stand on it. Once you are there with your feet on the bronze marker, look up to the dome.
Look closely…
It is not a real dome!
It too was painted by Pozzo and uses the illusionist technique of trompe l’oeil.
Standing on the bronze medal embedded in the floor allows you to see the full effect of the illusion from the proper viewing point. This illusionist dome is probably the most well-known of its kind because of who painted it and because of its location in this church. It seems to get a lot of attention from art enthusiasts because we are all taken by surprise by it. However, it is not the only dome completed in this fashion. Look carefully as you travel, and you will find a number of them scattered throughout Italy as it was a very quick and cost-effective way for a church to have a dome.
In this case, the people of the church wanted a dome and the design of the interior called for a dome, but they had run out of money. So, they turned to Pozzo, who had just completed the magnificent ceiling fresco. He designed and painted the dome on flat canvas, in perfect perspective.
Although we see trompe l’oeil being used by Mannerist and Baroque painters as if it is a new idea, the first use of it is recorded in Pompeii. As years passed, it was perfected by the Mannerist and Baroque painters.
Trompe l’oeil used in ceiling paintings is called di sotto in su, which means from below, upward. Look up to the ceiling painting of The Apotheosi of Saint Ignatius and you can see the bottoms of people’s feet, you are right below them looking up!
The Ceiling: Sant’ Ignazio - Apotheosis of Saint Ignatius
Andrea Pozzo
Quick Facts
- Topic: The Saint on his way to heaven and commemoration of two centuries of Jesuit explorers and missionaries.
- The amazing feat about this painting is the fact that ceiling is flat but appears to have incredible depth. This illusionary type of painting is called trompe l’oeil, or trick of the eye. It is an optical illusion.
- It was designed and painted by Andrea Pozzo, one of the Jesuits from the church who was also a painter, architect and stage designer.
- He uses a technique called quadratura perspective, in which the focal lines start at the corner of the painting and meet at the central vanishing point.
- Pozzo wrote about his perspective ideas in a two volume publication called Tractus perspectivae pictorum et architectorum, which was so popular that it was translated into German, English, Flemish and Chinese. His theories are still used by modern day set designers.
Directions: Sant' Ignazio to the Pantheon - Distance 250 M Time 3 Min
