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!