Church · Italy · Still standing

Church of the Gesù

Chiesa del Gesù

The Church of the Gesù in Rome is the mother church of the Society of Jesus and a foundational model of Baroque Jesuit churches. Built from 1568 and completed architecturally in the late 16th century, its interior decoration — notably Giovanni Battista Gaulli’s ceiling frescoes and the later chapels — established an influential visual program for Counter-Reformation preaching churches.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

1568

Its prime

1700

Today

Still standing

As it stood in 1700

What Church of the Gesù looked like in its prime.

A broad, two-storey travertine façade with a pronounced central axis: three doors at ground level beneath classical pediments, a large IHS medallion over the central doorway, paired pilasters and Corinthian capitals, volute scrolls easing the upper-to-lower stage, and a triangular pediment topped by a small cross. Interior: a single wide nave with polychrome marble revetments, gilded stucco framing, a barrel-vault ceiling densely frescoed, and a dome over the crossing with an octagonal drum. Scale is monumental but urban, set on a shallow flight of steps opening onto a small piazza.

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11 places to explore in 1700.

The record describes 11 distinct spots at Church of the Gesù, including 10 interiors: nave looking toward the high altar, nave looking toward the west entrance and organ loft, crossing beneath the dome and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Front steps and façade (exterior approach)Nave looking toward the high altarNave looking toward the west entrance and organ loftCrossing beneath the domeSt Ignatius Chapel (left transept)St Francis Xavier Chapel (right transept)Presbytery and apseCappella di Sant'Andrea (first chapel on the right)Cappella della Passione (second chapel on the right)Cappella degli Angeli and side chapels sequenceSacristy and adjoining liturgical rooms

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