The Jesuit tour of Rome

This experience is a walk through the “Jesuit District” of Rome, designed to immerse you in the fascinating history of the Order while offering an exploration of the art of illusion. We will admire Baroque masterpieces crafted to captivate the eye and transform our perception of reality. Get ready, as vaults seem to move, paintings appear to break into the buildings, curves masquerade as corners, and flat surfaces morph into rounded, towering shapes. This is the illusion of anamorphic painting, a technique mastered by Andrea Pozzo over three centuries ago.

What makes this even more captivating is that these artistic wonders were created with a religious purpose as part of a groundbreaking evangelization approach: the Jesuit method. This visit will explore themes of religion, war, political power, military strategy, mysteries, social justice, ecumenical dialogue, and the profound role of spirituality and art in missionary work.

Our journey begins with Andrea Pozzo’s most renowned work: the vault and the illusory dome in the Church of St. Ignatius. The effect is breathtaking, but to truly appreciate his genius and the deeper meaning behind this anamorphic art, we will continue to the corridor he painted in the rooms of St. Ignatius.

These rooms are just a five-minute walk from our meeting point, located within the Jesuit Order’s headquarters. Next, we will visit the Order’s principal church, the Gesù. After a brief exploration of the church, we will conclude with the spectacular Machina Barocca show. Here, above the tomb of St. Ignatius, surrounded by art and music, we will witness the dramatic unveiling of a massive silver statue of the saint, seemingly ascending straight to Heaven.

Catholic art has never been this thrilling…

 

Duration: 2/3 hours

Available every day (except Sundays) at 3.30 PM

Introductive information:

The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J. and S.I. or SJ, SI) is the largest Roman Catholic religious order of regular clerks . Members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Christ, and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because of the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1441-1556), who was a knight before becoming a priest.

They concentrated themselves on three activities. First, they founded schools throughout Europe. Jesuit teachers were rigorously trained in both classical studies and theology. The Jesuits' second mission was, as soldiers of the Pope, to convert non-Christians to Catholicism, so they trained and sent out missionaries. Their third goal was to stop Protestantism from spreading. The zeal of the Jesuits overcame the drift toward Protestantism in Europe.


© Christiaan Santini