Italy in Photos

Via di Porta Soprana, 16121 Genova GE, Italy (September 2020)

Chiesa dei Santi Ambrogio e Andrea detta del Gesù

Positioned at Piazza Matteotti, just steps from Piazza De Ferrari and flanked by the Palazzo Ducale and the archiepiscopal palace, the Chiesa del Gesù (Saints Ambrose and Andrew) stands as a glittering testament to Genoa’s Baroque legacy. Its origins trace back to the 6th century, when the exiled Milanese clergy, led by Bishop Honoratus (Onorato Castiglioni), sought refuge in Genoa amid Lombard persecutions. The original chapel, founded around 569 and dedicated to Saint Ambrose, served the displaced Milanese until their return in the mid-7th century.

Fast forward to the mid-16th century: in 1552, the Jesuits arrived in Genoa and undertook a grand reconstruction of the church, culminating around 1589 under the design of Jesuit architect Giuseppe Valeriano—also credited with the Gesù Nuovo in Naples. The Pallavicino family played a pivotal role in funding the project. The architectural layout, inspired by central-plan traditions, cleverly evolved into a hybrid cross-shaped configuration: a Greek-cross core augmented with additional entrance bays, resulting in a longitudinal plan East–West in appearance but centralized in experience. This arrangement, marrying rigorous layout with Baroque dynamism, earned it a place among Genoa’s most distinguished Jesuit churches.

Despite sustaining damage during the 1684 French naval bombardment, the church was lavishly restored in the early 18th century by artists like Lorenzo De Ferrari. A striking 19th-century makeover reshaped the facade: following the demolition of a courtyard that once connected it to the Doge’s Palace, the current frontage, modeled on a Peter Paul Rubens design, was completed in 1894 and features statues of Saints Ambrose and Andrew by Michele Ramognino.

Step inside and you are engulfed by opulence: polychrome marbles, gilded stuccoes, and a network of frescoed vaults. Central to the decor are the Carlone brothers, Giovanni and Giovanni Battista, who adorned the nave, transept, and dome in the 17th century. The artistic prestige continues with masterworks such as The Circumcision of Jesus and Saint Ignatius Healing an Obsessed Woman by Rubens, The Assumption of the Virgin by Guido Reni, and additional contributions by Simon Vouet, Domenico Piola, Valerio Castello, Lorenzo De Ferrari, Andrea Pozzo, and others.