Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola

Lonely Planet review

A beautiful little square, the 18th-century Piazza Sant'Ignazio was designed by Filippo Raguzzini to resemble a theatrical stage - note how his wildly undulating surfaces create the illusion of a larger space. On its southern flank stands the 17th-century Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, one of Rome's most ornate baroque churches.

Dedicated to Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits who died in Rome in 1556, it was commissioned by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi and built by the Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi. Boasting an imposing Carlo Maderno façade and a sumptuous, showy interior, it's best known for the trompe l'oeil ceiling perspective by Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709). Apparently, complaints by monks in a nearby monastery meant that Grassi couldn't build a dome, so Pozzo painted one where the real thing should have been. A masterpiece in illusion, it colourfully depicts Loyola being welcomed into paradise by Christ and the Madonna. It's best viewed from the small yellow spot on the floor of the nave.