Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi

Lonely Planet review

The church of Rome's French community since 1589, the Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi is one of the capital's art heavyweights. Built by Domenico Fontana and designed by Giacomo della Porta, its interior is a master class in baroque bombast, with no less than three paintings by Caravaggio - the so-called St Matthew cycle.

The first of his religious commissions, La Vocazione di San Matteo (The Calling of Saint Matthew), Il Martiro di San Matteo (The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew) and San Matteo e l'Angelo (Saint Matthew and the Angel), painted between 1600 and 1602, all stress the utter humanity of the saint and highlight Caravaggio's dramatic use of colour, light and narrative. You'll find them in the front chapel to the left of the altar. Before you leave the church take a moment to enjoy Domenichino's somewhat faded 17th-century frescoes of St Cecilia in the second chapel on the right. St Cecilia is also depicted in the altarpiece by Guido Reni, a copy of an earlier work by Raphael.