Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola

One of Rome’s most ornate baroque churches, the 17th-century Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola lords it over exquisite Piazza Sant’Ignazio, a small rococo square laid out in 1727 to resemble a stage set. Note the exits into ‘the wings’ at the northern end and how the undulating surfaces create the illusion of a larger space. The church, built by Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi, boasts an imposing Carlo Maderno façade and a celebrated trompe l’oeil ceiling fresco (the ceiling is in fact completely flat) by Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709) depicting St Ignatius Loyola being welcomed into paradise by Christ and the Madonna. To get the best effect, look up from the small yellow spot on the nave floor.