This is the facade of the great Roman church: Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola, which I think is my favorite religious building in all of Rome. And that is saying something, because there are dozens of incredible churches in the Eternal City.

But today it is the piazza of the same name that I want to discuss. This square is without doubt my favorite outdoor urban space in this incredible city. The large church facade of course dominates the space, but when you step out of the church and look across the rectangular piazza, your eyes feast upon an intimate yet theatrically designed Rococo urban space created by architect Filippo Raguzzini in 1727. To me this dramatic urban space seems to just call out for an operatic performance to be held.

The space sits tightly integrated within the historic Campus Martius neighborhood, framed by narrow medieval and Baroque streets such as the Via de’Burro. When you walk through the space, passing in, by, and around the little palazzi, you find changing but interesting points of view as you look toward the monumental facade of the church.

I’ve recently posted twice so far about the church. One was just a quick introductory look, pictures taken when I was walking through Rome with a Roman who had his own ideas about what to look at in the building. The 2nd post were photos and text from my following visit, when I had lots of time and no one else to think about. I was able sit and look for as long as I wanted and believe me, I wanted a long time!

And, finally, today’s post, which is dedicated to this fabulous, unique piazza.

The square functions like an open-air theater set. Standing on the church steps, one feels like they are standing upon a stage, facing an audience. The surrounding residential buildings feature curving, concave facades that wrap around the small square like an amphitheater. Locals nicknamed the unique curving structures il canterano (the chest of drawers) or burrò (from the French bureau) because their rounded shapes resemble 18th-century furniture. The intimate, closed-in geometry of the surrounding domestic palazzi contrasts sharply with the massive, towering travertine façade of the church itself.

The architectural setting around the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola) in Rome is one of the world’s premier examples of deliberate Baroque and Rococo urban theater.

Rather than sitting isolated or facing an open, standard square, the massive church is integrated into a highly choreographed, compact streetscape designed to shock and awe visitors emerging from narrow alleys.

The most significant component of the architectural setting is Piazza Sant’Ignazio, a legendary public square designed by architect Filippo Raguzzini between 1727 and 1728. Raguzzini laid out the square using an innovative, symmetrical geometry resembling three interlocking ovals.The Burrò Little Palaces: Facing the church are three-story residential buildings designed for the Roman bureaucracy (nicknamed the case da affitto). Their facades feature alternating concave and convex walls that mimic miniature theater backdrops or a set of chest-of-drawers (burrò). The buildings wrap snugly around the square, funneling visitors into a tight space. This deliberately contrasts the warm, cream-and-peach stucco residential architecture against the towering, solemn travertine stone facade of the church.

Who, what, when, where and why?

Filippo Raguzzini (1690 – 1771) was a highly influential Italian architect and the prime champion of the Roman Rococo style. He is widely considered the most brilliant spiritual successor to the legendary Baroque master Francesco Borromini thanks to his revolutionary manipulation of curved walls and complex urban geometries.

Born in Naples into a family of stonemasons, Raguzzini’s life shifted when he went to help rebuild the town of Benevento after a massive 1702 earthquake. There, his talent caught the eye of the Archbishop, Pietro Francesco Orsini. When Orsini became Pope Benedict XIII in 1724, he brought Raguzzini straight to Rome. Raguzzini experienced a dramatic, meteoric rise to the top of the papal architectural establishment, earning knightly honors by 1725.

While the masterfully staged Piazza di Sant’Ignazio remains his crowning achievement, Raguzzini completely reshaped early 18th-century Rome with several other notable structures:

Ospedale di San Gallicano (1724–1726): Located in Trastevere, this sprawling hospital facility was remarkably advanced for its era, highly praised by contemporaries for its innovative layout and integrated ventilation system.

Chiesa della Madonna della Quercia (1727–1731): Built near Palazzo Spada, this small church for the butchers’ guild serves as a textbook example of Rococo church architecture, using delicate concave lines along its compact facade.

Birth of the Roman Palazzina: The three signature apartment houses Raguzzini built to frame Piazza di Sant’Ignazio fundamentally birthed the concept of the modern Roman palazzina—compact, courtyard-free residential apartment blocks tailored to the city’s rising administrative class.

The elegant Chapel of San Domenico within the church Santa Maria sopra Minerva,

Remodeled the facade of San Sisto Vecchio,

Was even involved in structural restorations of the Spanish Steps in 1731

Though Raguzzini fell somewhat out of favor after his papal patron died in 1730, he served as a municipal architect for another 40 years. His willingness to blend formal geometric systems with casual, undulating residential shapes broke the rigid structural rules of his time, transforming city blocks into dynamic interactive art.

In the coming weeks, it is my plan to get back to Rome and familiarize myself with these other notable buildings by Raguzzini. This has opened an entirely new avenue of happiness in learning for me!

Alla prossima!

The false dome of the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Rome is one of the world’s most celebrated masterpieces of trompe-l’œil (fool the eye) and quadratura (illusionistic perspective painting). Painted by Jesuit lay brother, mathematician, and artist Andrea Pozzo between 1685 and 1694, it mimics a soaring, ribbed architectural cupola on a completely flat surface.

The original architectural blueprints by Orazio Grassi called for a grand, physical stone dome over the church transept crossing. However, two major complications halted its construction:

1. By 1642, the Jesuit Order had completely run out of funds allocated for the structure.

2. The massive height of the planned dome sparked protests from the neighboring Dominican monastery, as it threatened to completely block light from reaching their extensive library.

Rather than leaving the interior roof flat and bare, Pozzo was commissioned to paint a 13-meter-wide canvas that would simulate the missing architecture.

The horrendous and long lasting heat wave has finally broken and the city looks beautiful to my eyes again! Just walking through the center, enjoying the day, I see the city with new eyes and it is lovely!

And also kitchsy!

And, as always, and as it is perhaps best known for throughout the ages, Florence is home to a very sophisticated upscale marketplace of luxury goods. Oh, some of them are so beautiful!

Florence, we made it through another hot summer together! Good to see you again!

What a beautiful city!

Let’s start with a gorgeous scene in the Oltrarno. The Tower of San Nicolò looks spectacular at night! I often wonder what it’s original designer/builders would say if they could see it 730 years later, and with lights at night! They would be in awe!

But I am in awe today looking at their handiwork from so long ago!

One sees the fresco in the lowest arch more clearly when it’s lit up at night. Wow.

And then there is the historic center of Florence, illuminated at night! Wow!

To really see the city you have to be outside if it, as in you can’t see the forest for the trees type of thing.

And below, sometimes the banks of the river are best enjoyed at night!

Ah Firenze! Che bello!

Oh! The absolute delight of rounding a corner by the Pantheon and seeing this confection!

Elephant and Obelisk was designed by the fabulously talented Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was unveiled in 1667 in the Piazza della Minerva in Rome, adjacent to the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where it stands today.

The red granite obelisk which is displayed as a part of this ensemble was originally erected by Pharaoh Apries of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt, about 580 BC, in his capital Sais. The obelisk was rediscovered in 1665 during excavations near the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and only 2 years later it was on display the way we see it today. The obelisk had probably been brought to Rome in the first century AD for the temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis. The obelisk is 5.47 meters tall and is the smallest of the 13 ancient obelisks present in Rome. Together with pedestal and elephant, the statue stands 12.69 meters tall.

The obelisk is considered to be one of a pair; the other is in Urbino.

When my son was 10, I brought him on his first trip to Italy and we were lucky enough to stay at the hotel Minerva, also seen in these pictures. It was an incredible trip that I will always remember!

Various preparatory drawings done by Bernini exist, and he was already thinking about how best to support an obelisk before this particular one was discovered. One Bernini drawing is in Windsor Castle, UK and was probably done in the 1630s when Cardinal Francesco Barberini wished to place an Egyptian obelisk in front of his family palace, the Palazzo Barberini. Nothing came of this specific project, but Bernini revived the idea in the 1660s, when Pope Alexander VII, Fabio Chigi, wished to build a similar monument after this particular Egyptian obelisk was discovered in Rome.

Various other concepts were explored for this later commission as attested by preparatory drawings. It is likely that the drawings were used so that the patron could make a decision about which design he wanted. This included a drawing (in Leipzig) of the figure of Time holding a scythe and simultaneously the obelisk. In the Vatican Library there are two pen and ink drawings with other figures holding up the obelisk, including one of Hercules, and another with various allegorical figures supporting the spire. A third version in the Vatican Library shows Bernini adapting on the concept he created in the 1630s, although he added in a larger base, changed the direction of the elephant’s orientation, and made its face appear more friendly than ferocious.

The marble elephant was probably carved by Bernini’s assistant Ercole Ferrata.

The Latin inscription at one side of the pedestal reads: “Let any beholder of the carved images of the wisdom of Egypt on the obelisk carried by the elephant, the strongest of beasts, realize that it takes a robust mind to carry solid wisdom.”

The statue turned out to be the last commission Pope Alexander VII would ask of Bernini, as the pope died in May 1667. He was succeeded by Pope Clement IX.

It almost looks as if the elephant is polychromed, but I think these must be rust stains.

Wow! What an eternal city!

I went to Rome on a mission recently. I planned to return to the incredible church of St. Ignazio of Loyola, which is one of my favorite places in the city.

I was happily traveling solo. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, for however long I wanted. No one to bother me. No compromises on what I wanted to see, think about, or study. It was as heavenly as the frescoed ceiling in the church!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Not all of the most beautiful artworks in Rome are hidden away in art galleries and museums.

One of the most startling and beautiful things you can do in the Eternal City costs absolutely nothing and takes about twenty minutes, is something a large proportion of the city’s visitors never encounter. Simply walk into the church of Sant’Ignazio in central Rome, stand at a small circular marble disc set into the floor of the nave, and look up.

What you will see is one of the greatest illusions ever painted: a ceiling that opens, apparently, directly into the heavens.

The dazzling frescoes celebrating the holiness and missionary vision of the Jesuit order’s founder Ignatius Loyola were the brainchild of Andrea Pozzo, a Jesuit lay-brother and painter who dedicated 15 years of his career to the church in the late 17th century.

Perhaps you will recall my recent post on the church here: https://getbacklauretta.com/2026/08/15/the-outrageously-wonderful-baroque-frescoes-of-andrea-pozzo-in-the-church-of-st-ignatius-rome/. Those pictures were the result of a recent trip with a friend, when I didn’t have the opportunity to really take in the ceiling fresco the way I wanted to.

But this time, I did! I completed my enjoyable mission and these pictures are the results that are long visit.

May I just give a quick shout-out to the iPhone camera, which has revolutionized the way I travel and record. Thanks Steve Jobs.

I took a few overall videos and you know I love the personification of America especially. I’ve talked about that before!

The video above pays close attention to the altar end of the church which, while amazingly decorated, pales in comparison for me to the main fresco.

Now, sit back, and enjoy with me an orgy of photographic details of this amazing fresco!

First up we have the personification of Europe, shown as an older queen type.

Below, we have Africa.

Then, Asia!

Is it just my imagination of is a blue/white type of porcelain shown in these attributes of Asia? I try to talk myself out of it. It also looks like Italian polychromed ceramics, not porcelain. What do you think this bowl is?

That is one busy sky!

Words are not enough! You need hand gestures as well as torso, shoulders, neck, head and face (eyes, mouth, eyebrows, jaw) gestures as well!

As seen in Rome, but could be anywhere on the peninsula. I just love watching it!

Maybe you are lucky enough to have been to Rome. Maybe you have seen the Pantheon, either from its impressive facade or you have been in its marvelous interior. In the olden days, when I first started coming to Italy in 1979, entry was free. Any time the doors were open, you could enter. It was fantastic to have that ability

Now, post-Covid, in the days of mass tourism that continues to set records every year, entry will cost you and usually you must get in a very long line and wait your turn. To say that serendipity with visiting the Pantheon has been lost would be the understatement of the 21st century, so far anyway.

At any rate, on a day in Rome when I had all the time and energy I needed to do whatever I wanted, I did something I’ve NEVER done before. I encircled the Pantheon, taking it in in all its breadth and width and stopping to look at the foundations, so deep in the soil it is amazing to think how these ancient cities keep rising up physically.

I captured the views in videos and hope you enjoy having a look around this incredible monument with me.

This is a new one to me. I’ve walked along the Tiber many times but I have never seen a tour boat before. I saw this in late August, 2026

I’m usually up for any kind of adventure, but I’m not sure about this one. I suppose it would offer some interesting views of the city that you can only see from the river. Maybe I’ll do it; I’m not in a rush, though. The water is brackish and doesn’t seem to flow.