ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH

The square is dominated by the travertine façade of the seventeenth-century church of St. Ignatius, dedicated to the founder of the Order of Jesuits. It is rightly famous for its impressive fresco covering that was created starting in 1691 by Andrea Pozzo. The genius Jesuit painter and architect set up the immense vault that covers the only nave of the church like a dramatic stage that makes the space look almost twice as big! Between arches and colonnades, groups of saints, angels, and symbolic figures, its whole is practically like an encyclopedia of the geographic and technical knowledge of the time: although its decoration gives you an impression of great exuberance and freedom, it had been created according to rigorous scientific criteria. The most important work is the Glory of St. Ignatius by Loyola. Pozzo also designed the rich altars and painted the frescoes behind the main altar, which are also full of illusions. Even the dome is an illusion: go stand under the fresco that depicts it and look for the stone on the floor that indicates the point from which you should observe it to appreciate its trickery. See what a daunting effect?!

FUN FACT: in the 1800s the church of St. Ignatius was part of a tradition that was related to its proximity to the Astronomical Observatory and the exact time: every morning at 6 o'clock a wooden rod was lowered from the façade. At 12 o'clock exactly, a painted, black, wicker ball would slide down the rod, which was a signal to Castel Sant'Angelo to shoot the cannon which announced midday.