Discover San Luigi dei Francesi

San Luigi dei Francesi is the national church in Rome of France, standing between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, and it holds three paintings by Caravaggio. Entry is free. The parish states it flatly: it is a church, so there is no charge and no ticket is required.

The Contarelli Chapel carries the Saint Matthew cycle, which the reference work dates to 1599–1600: The Calling of Saint Matthew on the left wall, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew above the altar, and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew on the right. The parish records that Caravaggio obtained the commission for the Calling and the Martyrdom in 1600, through his friendships in pro-French circles, and that this first large commission for religious subjects marks the principal turning point of his career.

The building is older than it looks and younger than its dates suggest. Cardinal Giulio de' Medici commissioned Jean de Chenevières in 1518 to build an octagonal, centrally planned church; work stopped at the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the church was finished in 1589 by Domenico Fontana and Giacomo della Porta to an entirely different design. Catherine de' Medici intervened personally to see it completed, donating property nearby. It was consecrated on 8 October 1589.

The facade is not attached to the church. Della Porta made it as a piece of decorative work entirely independent of the body of the structure — a method, the reference work notes, much copied later. Its statues are French history: Charlemagne, Saint Louis, Saint Clothilde and Saint Jeanne of Valois.

There is a second chapel most visitors walk past: the Polet Chapel, frescoed by Domenichino with the Histories of Saint Cecilia.

Hours are the thing to check. The parish publishes Monday to Friday 09.30–12.45 and 14.30–18.15, Saturday 09.30–12.00 and 14.30–18.30, Sunday 12.00–12.45 and 14.30–18.30 — and notes that the church is closed on the morning of every first Wednesday of the month. Because it is above all a place of prayer, the parish warns the hours may change for particular celebrations.

The front of this church is not part of the church. The reference work states that Giacomo della Porta made the facade as a piece of decorative work entirely independent of the body of the structure — and that this was a method much copied later. It is a screen, designed to be looked at from a narrow lane, not a face on the building behind it. Once you know that, the way it sits slightly apart from everything stops being a defect.

The plan is the second one. Chenevières's 1518 design was for an octagonal, centrally planned edifice. What stands is the entirely different design by which Fontana and della Porta completed the church in 1589 — a longitudinal nave with chapels down both sides, which is what lets the Contarelli Chapel exist as a room of its own.

The sculpture on the facade is a French national roll-call. The reference work notes the French character is evident from the facade itself, with statues including Charlemagne, Saint Louis, Saint Clothilde and Saint Jeanne of Valois. Inside, Charles-Joseph Natoire frescoed stories of Saint Louis IX, Saint Denis and Clovis.

The interior surfaces are 18th century over a 16th-century shell, restored by Antoine Dérizet between 1749 and 1756. The darkness that makes the Caravaggios work is partly this later, heavier decoration.

Two chapels carry the art. The Contarelli holds the three canvases, hung so that the Calling is on the left wall, the Inspiration above the altar and the Martyrdom on the right — a sequence you read by turning, not by walking. The Polet Chapel is frescoed by Domenichino with the Histories of Saint Cecilia. Elsewhere there is work by Cavalier d'Arpino, Francesco Bassano il Giovane, Muziano, Giovanni Baglione, Siciolante da Sermoneta, Jacopino del Conte, Tibaldi and Dérizet.

It took seventy-one years and two unrelated designs. Cardinal Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici commissioned Jean de Chenevières in 1518 for an octagonal, centrally planned church. Work stopped when Rome was sacked in 1527 and did not resume on that design at all.

What finished it was a different architect and a queen's money. The church was completed in 1589 by Domenico Fontana and Giacomo della Porta, according to an entirely different design, and through the personal intervention of Catherine de' Medici, who donated to it some property in the area. It was consecrated on 8 October 1589 by Cardinal François de Joyeuse, Protector of France before the Holy See.

The facade was built as a separate object. Della Porta made it entirely independent of the body of the structure, which is why it could be designed as a composition in its own right — and why, the reference work notes, the method was much copied later.

The ground was never anyone's to build on freely. A bull of Otto III in 998 confirms the Abbey of Farfa holding three churches here; the monks ceded the property to the Medici in 1480, at which point Santa Maria became St Louis of the French. The French establishment in Rome still runs it: the Pieux Établissements de la France à Rome et à Lorette is responsible for the five French churches in the city and is governed by an administrative deputy named by the French Ambassador to the Holy See.

The interior was finished twice. Antoine Dérizet restored it between 1749 and 1756, and the adjacent late-Baroque Ospizio San Luigi dei Francesi went up between 1709 and 1716.

Is it free? Yes. The parish states that it is a church, so entry is not charged for and no ticket is required — including for the Caravaggios.

What are the opening hours? Monday to Friday 09.30–12.45 and 14.30–18.15; Saturday 09.30–12.00 and 14.30–18.30; Sunday 12.00–12.45 and 14.30–18.30.

Is it ever closed unexpectedly? Yes, predictably so: the church is closed on the morning of every first Wednesday of the month. The parish also warns that hours may change for particular celebrations.

How many Caravaggios are there? Three, all in the Contarelli Chapel: The Calling of Saint Matthew (left wall), The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (above the altar) and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (right wall).

When were they painted? The reference work dates the cycle 1599–1600. The parish says Caravaggio obtained the commission for the Calling and the Martyrdom in 1600, through his friendships in pro-French circles.

Why are they important? The parish calls this his first large commission for religious subjects and the principal turning point of his career.

Is there an audio guide? Yes, and it is free: a smartphone and headphones, no app to install, reached by scanning the QR code as you enter.

Can I arrange a tour? The parish says groups may ask a member of the community of priests to show them round during opening hours, and that private visits outside opening hours can be requested.

Who built the church? It was completed in 1589 by Domenico Fontana and Giacomo della Porta — to an entirely different design from the octagonal church Jean de Chenevières began in 1518 and the Sack of Rome stopped in 1527.

How long should I allow? Thirty to forty minutes.