Church of the Gesù
Discover Church of the Gesù
Last updated on October 8, 2026Introduction
The Church of the Gesù, officially the Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù, stands at Piazza del Gesù in the rione of Pigna. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus.
Its façade has been described as "the first truly baroque façade", and the church served as a model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in Central Europe and in the Portuguese colonies. Its paintings in the nave, crossing and side chapels became models for art in Jesuit churches throughout Italy and Europe, and in those of other orders.
It is one of the great seventeenth-century preaching churches built in Rome's historic centre by Counter-Reformation orders — the others being Sant'Ignazio, San Carlo ai Catinari, Sant'Andrea della Valle and the Chiesa Nuova.
It was first conceived in by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and was the home of the Superior General of the Society until the suppression of the order in . The Jesuits later regained it, and the adjacent palazzo is now a residence for Jesuit scholars studying at the Gregorian University.
Architecture
The Gesù is an argument about how a church should work, built in stone. The Council of Trent said little about architecture, but its push towards simplification prompted Charles Borromeo to reform building practice, and the evidence is all over this building.
There is no narthex to linger in. The visitor is projected straight into the body of the church — a single nave without aisles, so the congregation is assembled in one space and attention is focused on the high altar. In place of aisles there is a series of identical interconnecting chapels behind arched openings.
It was built to be heard. The single nave and the dome at the nave-and-transept crossing exist so that a congregation can clearly hear the words of the sermon. This is a preaching church, and everything in the plan serves that.
The façade is the one that started it. Begun to Vignola's design and revised by Giacomo della Porta, it has been called the first truly Baroque façade. Historians compare Vignola's balanced composition in three superimposed planes with della Porta's dynamically fused tension bound by strong vertical elements — Vignola's rejected version survives in a engraving, so the comparison can actually be made.
The surfaces do the rest. Inlaid polychrome marble revetments relieved by gilding, frescoed barrel vaults, and white stucco and marble sculpture breaking out of its own tectonic framing.
Its influence was structural, not stylistic. The Gesù did not eliminate the traditional aisled basilica, but after it, experiments in Baroque floor plans — oval, Greek cross — were largely confined to smaller churches and chapels.
How it was built and evolved over time
Michelangelo offered to do it for nothing, and did not get the job. At the request of the Spanish cardinal Bartolomeo de la Cueva he offered, out of devotion, to design the church for free. The money came instead from Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III — the pope who had authorised the founding of the Society of Jesus — and the commission went to the Farnese family architect, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola.
It was built on a particular patch of ground on purpose. The site was that of the earlier church of Santa Maria della Strada, where Ignatius of Loyola had prayed before an image of the Virgin. That image, now adorned with gems, is still in the church.
Four architects, one plan. Construction began on to Vignola's design. The Jesuit Giovanni Tristano took over in 1571; on his death in 1575 the Jesuit architect Giovanni de Rosis succeeded him; and Giacomo della Porta built the cross-vault, the dome and the apse, and redesigned the façade. The church was consecrated on .
The decoration came a century later, and changed everything. Gaulli frescoed the ceiling in 1678–79; Andrea Pozzo built the St Ignatius chapel between 1696 and 1700, having won a public contest after the project had passed through della Porta's and Cortona's hands.
And one campaign was a subtraction. In Pius VI had the colossal silver statue of Ignatius melted down to pay Napoleon's reparations under the Treaty of Tolentino. The figure in the altar now is a copy.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free? Yes. It is the mother church of the Society of Jesus and an active parish; there is no admission charge.
What are the opening hours? Two seasonal timetables. Winter (last Sunday of September to 29 June): weekdays 7.30–12.30 and 16.30–19.30; Saturday to 20.00; Sundays and holidays 8.30–13.30 and 16.30–20.00. Summer (30 June to the last Saturday of September): weekdays 7.30–12.00 and 17.00–19.30; Saturday to 20.00; Sundays and holidays 8.30–12.30 and 17.00–20.00.
Why is it shut when I get there? Almost certainly the midday closure — about four hours in the middle of every day, and longer in summer than in winter.
What is the ceiling? The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, frescoed by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Baciccia) in 1678–79. He also painted the cupola, pendentives, central vault and transept ceilings.
Is the lapis lazuli globe really the largest in the world? No. It was thought to be, but it is mortar decorated with lapis lazuli. The four columns around the statue are lapis-veneered.
Is the statue of St Ignatius original? No. Pius VI had the original silver statue melted down in 1797 to pay war reparations to Napoleon under the Treaty of Tolentino. The present figure is a copy, probably by Adamo Tadolini in Canova's studio.
Who designed the church? Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, with Giacomo della Porta responsible for the cross-vault, dome, apse and the final façade. Michelangelo had offered to design it for free and was not used.
Why does it matter architecturally? Its façade has been called the first truly Baroque one, and its plan — a single aisle-less nave with interconnecting side chapels, built so a congregation can hear a sermon — became the model for Jesuit churches worldwide into the twentieth century.