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The church of Il Gesu', being the first large church built after the Council of Trent, established a type of proto-type for the development of Baroque architecture, especially in churches. For more then two centuries, its architectural design had been reproduced in countless other churches, especially Jesuit ones, all over Europe. Ignatius of Loyola's new religious order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) had been approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. By the time of Ignatius death in 1556, the Jesuits numbered 1,000 in nine European provinces, and following the pioneer work of Francis Xavier in the Far East, were sending missionaries far and wide. Ignatius transposed his soldierly ideals to the religious sphere, creating a tightly structured, rigorously trained, and deeply committed organisation. The Society became the Popes army in the Counter Reformation, using as its weapons advanced academic studies, the education of youth, and zealous missionary activities. The Jesuits almost immediately began to argue against Protestant theologians in Church councils, set up excellent schools throughout Europe, and were bringing the Gospels to Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Il Gesu' is the Jesuit Mother Church. It occupies the site St. Ignatius chose for his headquarters shortly after he founded the Society of Jesus in 1540. That year Pope Paul III Farnese gave the Society a small neighbourhood chapel, Santa Maria della Strada which although conveniently located, soon proved much too small for the expanding order. Ignatius dreams for a large and appropriate church-headquarters were not realised in his lifetime. In fact, as early as 154, the Jesuits had already thought of replacing this church with a new, larger building. Designs for the new church were submitted by Nanni di Baccio Bigio (1550) and Michelangelo (1554). However, by 1548, with the financial help of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the Jesuits managed to acquire the necessary plot of land and began to build the church, as it had been designed by architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola.
A theoretical and practical architect, Giacomo Barozzi was born at Vignola in 1507. He died in 157. He was the pupil and successor of Michelangelo. His two books, Regole delle cinque ordini dArchitettura (156) and the posthumous Due regole della prospettiva pratica, had great influence for centuries. This is partly because he presents with skill the rigid sequence and the beautiful relation of parts in ancient architecture, and partly because his writings present a standard for work easily grasped by amateurs and persons of small ability. These writings place him in the same class with Serlio and Palladio. He built a small palace near Piazza Navona, in strict accordance with his own rules. The lowest story was embellished with Doric columns beneath a vigorous Doric frieze; the middle story with Ionic columns; while above the top story was a cornice with brackets, the whole forming a simple and graceful façade. The most celebrated of his secular buildings was the Farnese castle at Viterbo, which shows the impressions made upon him during a visit to France the exterior is a pentagonal fortress; within is a fine circular court in the Renaissance style. From 1564, Vignola carried on Michangelos work at St. Peters and constructed the two subordinate domes according to Michelangelos plans, yet with a successful independence. Besides buildings erected at an earlier date at Bologna and Montepulciano, he also worked in Villa Giulio for Pope Julius II, the Church of the Angels at Assisi, and lastly, the Church of Sant Andrea at Rome on the Pontemolle road, a square structure with a cupola.
Cardinal Farnese proved to be a very generous benefactor, but he had precise ideas on the architecture of the new church, since he wished to be buried in it. He ensured the Vignola, his court architect, was appointed instead of Giovanni Tristano, the Jesuits' architect. In turn, Tristano was employed to supervise the proceeding work on the new church. Cardinal Farnese had become so influential to the project, that he ordered that the nave should be barrel-vaulted, even though the Jesuits actually opposed this decision. With regards to the façade, Cardinal Farnese was so careful to its artistic appearance, that he decided to replace Vignola by Giacomo della Porta. Giacomo della Porta was much younger than Vignola, but the Cardinal preferred della Porta's draft for the façade.
Born in Porlezza in 15, Giacomo della Porta assumed a role as one of the leading Roman architects of the late sixteenth century. The son and grandson of sculptors, della Porta learned the technical and formal aspects of architecture through an association with Guidetto Guidetti, Vignola and possibly, Michelangelo. His sense for decorative details and his technical competence resulted more from practical knowledge rather than from speculative thinking.
After work in Genoa in the church of Annunziata dei Frati Minori between 1565 -1570, he moved to Rome and worked here and in Latium. Della Porta was a pupil and a follower of Vignola, continued numerous unfinished works of his teacher and some of them were executed in collaboration with Michelangelo façade and stairs of the Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitoline Hill, the highest loggia in Palazzo Farnese; the dome in St. Peters where the original Michelangelos design was a bit modified; the dome, chapels of Madonna and St. Francesco.
His other works in religious architecture include the facade of San Luigi dei Francesi, the churches of Madonna dei Monti, di SantAtanasio dei Greci, San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. With regards to civil architecture, della Porta was involved in works in Palazzo Maffei, Palazzo Aldobrandini, palaces on the Piazza Capmitelli, Collegio Clementino, courtyard of the Palazzo della Sapienza, and Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati. Apart these, numerous works were also projected and built fountains located on the most famous Roman squares. Giacomo Della Porta was a member of Accademia di San Luca, official architect of the Church and conducted the works in St Peters for almost 0 years.
Although of Lombard origin, della Porta generated most of his work within Rome. As a result, he earned the title of Architetto del Popolo Romano. During his long career, he completed a great many projects for various popes and members of the Roman nobility. He worked on almost all of the major building enterprises of the day.
In his search for new forms, Della Porta often created inventive and decorative surfaces that mimicked those of Michelangelo. However, he simplified Michelangelos style and synthesized it with a classical vocabulary. By concentrating on unified dynamic movement, on vertical clarity, and on the decorative interaction of parts, Della Porta represented a progressive transformation from the classical into the Baroque.
Della Porta took over the building of the church in 1571, at a point when the church had been completed up to the main entablature level. Vignola's plan for the nave had been modified and barrel-vaulted, according to Cardinal Farnese's desire. The façade was also done in a completely new design, according to the draft that had been presented by della Porta himself.
In spite of the recommendations put forward by Cardinal Farnese with regards to his preferences, the ground plan and elevation of the church follow the practical and theological requirements of the Council of Trent. The church has the shape of a Latin cross, as St. Carlo Borromeo had written as being the most appropriate spatial form for churches. The interior consists of a short but wide nave, with three chapels with altars, and an adjoining crossing with a drum dome, a transept and a choir.
The nave is subdivided by a succession of arcades and double pilasters. The pilasters support an entablature which surrounds the entire nave and continues as far as the crossing. The barrel-vaulted nave was given special importance. Since the nave is not very long but on the contrary, very wide, the onlooker has an unobstructed view of the crossing and altar, immediately on entering the church. The crossing, which is very lit, is expanded on either ways by a short and wide transept and choir, and by the narrow bay at the end of the nave. Due to this layout, the crossing area resembles a centrally planned area. The significance of this church lies in the idea of linking the short nave to the dominating crossing, which is very lit, which becomes a centrally planned area. Vignola's idea of the 'room church' became a very successful architectural ideal in Roman Catholic Europe, especially due to its functional spatial abilities.
The original work, as left by Vignola and della Porta, was considerably altered when ceiling frescoes and altars were added in the 17th century. The frescoes were executed by Giovanni Battista Gaulli and the transept altars were done on the plans by Andrea Pozzo and Pietro da Cortona.
The church has a single nave with short transepts, flanked by side chapels. Through Vignolas design, focus is set on the high altar, which is visible from all parts of the church. The church as done by Vignola and della Porta was undecorated, only in shades of white and grey, as suggested by the Counter Reformation as being the ideal church. Only the side chapels were richly decorated.
The vault was painted by Baciccio in 167-1685. In his fresco "The Triumph of the Name of Jesus", he used an overhead perspective that seems to break through the vault. The stucco figures are by Antonio Raggi.
The cupola was designed by Vignola and completed to his design by della Porta. It has frescoes depicting persons from the Old Testament by Baciccia.
The Chapel of St Francesco Borgia has an altar by Andrea Pozzo.The paintings are by P.F. Mola, made c. 1600.
The Chapel of St Ignatius in the left transept was designed by Andrea Pozzo in 165-16. More than 100 artists have contributed to the chapel; among the most well-known are Pierre Legros, Bernardino Ludovisi, Il Lorenzone and Jean-Baptiste Thodon. A gilded bronze urn from 167 by Alessandro Algardi underneath the altar holds the saint's relics. The statue above the altar is by Pierre Legros, made in 167. It was made entirely of silver, but in 177 it was damaged after the French invasion. There are two versions Either it was damaged by French soldiers, or Pope Pius IV had some of the silver melted down to satisfy Napoleons greedy demands after the Treaty of Tolentino. It was later partly reconstructed by Canova, who used bronze. The monument is crowned by the Holy Trinity, and the globe held by the Father is a single piece of lapis lazuli. Thudons also produced a sculpture representing the Triumph of Faith over Heresy, an allegory of the ambitions of the Jesuit order.
Opposite that chapel is the Chapel of St Francis Xavier, built between 1674-1678 by Giacomo della Porta. Some sources say that the chapel was built by Pietro da Cortona. As it was built after his death in 166, this is impossible, but della Porta may have based his work on his design. A reliquary contains one of the saints arms. Above the altar is a realistic painting of the Death of St Francis Xavier by Carlo Maratta.
The chapel next to the Chapel of St Ignatius is dedicated to the Santa Maria degli Astalli. It holds the icon known as the Madonna della Strada. The 15th century painting is connected to the early history of the Jesuits. It was kept in the church on this site that was demolished so that this church could be built, and illustrates the growth of the Order. The name comes from its original position on a street leading to Capitol.
The Sacred Heart Chapel is attributed to Giacomo della Porta. The frescoes are by Baldassare Croce, 15. The painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was made by Pompeo Batoni in the 18th century.
The altar of St. Robert Bellarmine, with a bust of the saint by Bernini, stands on the left side of the sanctuary. The saint is interred here.
A new high altar was made by A. Sarti, 184-184. It is in the Neo-Classical style, far removed from the Baroque opulence of the rest of the church.
The facade by della Porta has some new features in the design of Roman church facades. The original plan for the facade, as designed by Vignola, proposed a two-storey facade of equal height and five axis in three layers. The facade by Vignola had a relaxed form, and the storeys and articulating elements, relate to one another in a well balanced way.
However, della Porta's design was somewhat different. He designed a facade with two storeys and five axis, but the upper storey was less high than that designed by Vignola. Della Porta's design also concentrated all the design elements to the central section of the facade. The outer facade axis were left plain, whereas the two central axis are decorated with niches above the portals. Thus the decorative element is increased towards the centre. The portico area extends itself to the upper storey, giving it massive proportions. Della Porta's facade differs from the earlier facades because the decorative elements tend to focus towards the centre of the facade itself.
The period in which the church of Il Gesu was built is associated with the Counter Reformation. In fact, the values put forward by the Council of Trent could be easily be identified in late 16th Century architecture. The interiors were many times left bleak, built many times, the interior was lately profusely decorated in later times. One such example is the church of Il Gesu itself. Also, the move from a centrally designed church to the Latin cross shape, was also a sign of the times. The church of Il Gesu is dominated by a barrel-vaulted space and a light filled dome. The rhythm of the church is also faster and more dynamic than other earlier churches. This effect is caused by the closeness of the pilasters in the interior. This setting also gives the church a sense of compactness, rather than the emphasis on the individual church parts, as happened in the typical Renaissance buildings. The sense of compactness, the dominance of the overall form rather than individual parts, dynamic features and rhythms in movements are all favourites in the Baroque style of architecture.
Il Gesu' succeeded where the High Renaissance churches had failed, that is that the Roman style was accepted not only in Italy, but also in other parts of Europe, where the Gothic style had been predominant for many years before.
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