Adam Furman: October 1626 Archives

Sant' Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio is a Baroque church in Rome. It was built in 1626 and dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, who had just been canonized. It was the church of the adjacent Collegio Romano, now moved to another location. In the above image you can see the piazza in front of the church which creates an outdoor oval through the plan and strong cornice lines of several adjacent buildings…

Church design and construction was commissioned by the Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. The architectural design is generally indebted to Carlo Maderno, and was executed by the Jesuit Orazio Grassi. The church has a Latin cross plan with numerous side chapels: the rich decoration include stuccoes, precious marbles and gilt areas. There is no narthex, or preamble to the church nave, and the main altar is against the far apse wall.

One masterpiece is Andrea Pozzo's trompe l'œil fresco spanning the nave ceiling (1685)[1]. The lavish Baroque fresco of 17 m of diameter is devised to make an observer, standing on the spot marked by a golden disc set into the nave floor, will see a lofty vaulted cupola decorated by statues, while in fact the ceiling is hemi-cylindrical. Closer to the altar marks a second marker is ideal for viewing the false dome painted above the crossing. It is said that the neighbors of Sant'Ignazio didn't want a rather large dome blocking their sun, and therefore a pictorial illusion was provided.

The nave depicts the saintly Ignatius welcomed into the celestial paradise by Christ and Blessed Virgin. The figures around him represent the four continents. The Baroque altarpieces and apse dome fresco, also by Pozzo, recall the life and apotheosis of St. Ignatius[2]. The Siege of Pamplona depicts the event where St. Ignatius was wounded, leading him to a transforming convalesence. The Vision of St. Ignatius at the chapel of La Storta recalls his reception of a divine calling. St. Ignatius sends St. Francis Xavier to India recalls the aggressive Jesuit missionary work in foreign countries. Finally, St. Ignatius receives Francesco Borgia recalls the recruitment of the Spanish noble who would become General of the Company of Jesuits. The pinnacle arches of the false dome are frescoed with Judith, David, Samson, and Jaele. The dome of the presbytery is frescoed by Pozzo with St. Ignatius heals the pestilent.

The counter-facade has a sculptural group of the Magnificence and Religion (1650) by Alessandro Algardi, who also helped design the stuccoed frieze over the nave.

Other artworks in the church and a huge statue of St. Ignatius, in stucco, by Camillo Rusconi (1728) and the portrait and glass coffin of Cardinal Bellarmino. The first chapel on the right has a 17th century painting of Saints Stanislaus Kostra and Francis Regis worshipping the Virgin and child. The 2nd chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph and Virgin with altarpiece and right lunette by Francesco Trevisani with left lunette by Giuseppe Chiari, and ceiling by Luigi Garzi. The third chapel has an altarpiece of St. Joachim presents Young Mary to the Temple and God the Father by Stefano Pozzi.

The chapel in the right transept is dedicated to St. Aloysius Gonzaga. A large marble relief depicts a three dimensional St. Aloyzius Gonzaga in Glory[3] (1697-99) by the French Pierre Legros. The ceiling is frescoed with the glory of the saint by Andrea Pozzo. The remains of the saint are in a lapis lazuli urn. The chapel also houses the relics of St. John Berchmans.

The far fifth chapel to the right of the apse, houses the funereal monument of Pope Gregory XV also by LeGros and Pierre-Étienne Monnot, completed in the late seventeenth century (over 60 years after Gregory's death). Also is the monument to cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi.

The sacristy has a 15th century altar with an altarpiece with 'Madonna and Bambino' by Pierre Delattre.

The chapel in the left transept has a marble altarpiece of the Annunciation by Filippo Della Valle, with allegorical figures and angels (1649) by Pietro Bracci, and a frescoed ceiling Assumption by Andrea Pozzo. The second and first chapels to the left have paintings by Delattre