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Gesu Church Description
The Gesù in Rome is the principal church of the Jesuits. The initiative for its construction came from Ignatius Loyola, founder in 1540 of the Society of Jesus, an order which spread quickly throughout the Roman Catholic countries of Europe and organized the Counter-Reformation. Adjoining the church is a house (now a Jesuit college) in which Ignatius was living at the time of the church's foundation. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, whose heraldic lilies recur frequently in the decoration of the interior, commissioned Vignola to design and build the church, which was completed by members of the Society. The basic innovation of the design was to set a dome over the crossing of the nave and transepts of a basilican church, a type familiar in
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Hobbies & Activities category: Christian sites;  Architecture - Renaissance;  Architecture - Baroque or Rococo
Gesu Church Highlights

Facade

The facade of the Gesù Church in Rome by Giacomo della Porta, completed in 1575, shows both Renaissance and Baroque features. The two statues represent Ignatius Loyola and St Francis Xavier the venerated missionary.

Interior

The interior is notable for its unified effect. Flanking the nave are lateral chapels, which seem almost cut off from the body of the church, and beyond the spacious transepts is the choir,
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Address
Gesu Church
Piazza del Gesù
I-00186 Rome
Italy
Hours
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Open6:006:006:006:006:006:006:00
Closed12:3012:3012:3012:3012:3012:3012:30
Open16:0016:0016:0016:0016:0016:0016:00
Closed19:0019:0019:0019:0019:0019:0019:00
Cost
FREE
Transit
Bus: 46, 56, 60, 62, 64, 65, 70, 75, 81, 88, 90, 170.
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