Rome - San Gregorio Magno

The church of San Gregorio, which is approached by a large flight of steps, was founded in 575 - before he became Pope - by Gregory the Great, a member of the Antitii family, who converted his family house on this site into a convent. It was rebuilt in the medieval period and completely re-fashioned in the Baroque period, by Giovanni Battista Sorià (1629-33), on the model of the church of Sant'Ignazio, though on a smaller scale. The interior was remodeled by Francesco Ferrari in the mid 18th century; the ceiling painting (1727) is by Placido Constanzi. The atrium, the church itself, the oratory and the three chapels of St Andrew (frescoes by Guido Reni and Domenichino, 17th century), St Silvia ("Angel fresco" by Reni, 1608) and St Barbara (wall painting by Antonio Viviani, 1602) combine to form a unity of impressive effect.