Chiesa del Gesù (Church of Jesus), Palermo (must see)

The Church of Jesus, often called Professed House, is one of the most spectacular examples of Sicilian Baroque anywhere in Italy. While its exterior is relatively restrained, the interior is overwhelmingly rich and theatrical.

Approaching the church, the facade presents three portals at ground level. Above them, niches contain statues of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Madonna and Child, and Saint Francis Xavier. Inside, the visual impact is immediate. The rebuilt interior is defined by its extensive marble inlay decoration, which covers nearly every structural surface. Walls, pillars, arches, and balustrades are faced with panels of white, red, yellow, and green marble arranged in geometric patterns, floral motifs, and sculptural compositions.

Moving along the nave, the pillars themselves become part of the decorative program. Their marble surfaces are carved with dense reliefs and allegorical figures, interwoven with scrollwork and symbolic motifs typical of Jesuit Baroque decoration. Behind the high altar, in the apse, are some of the most important surviving sculptural works. Here are the large marble reliefs of the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi, conceived within the artistic circle of Giacomo Serpotta and executed by Gioacchino Vitagliano.

Much of what visitors see today is the result of careful reconstruction. In 1943, an Allied bombing raid caused the collapse of the dome and destroyed large sections of the church, along with many frescoes and decorative elements. The survival of the marble decoration and apse reliefs is therefore especially significant, preserving key elements of the original program within a reconstructed architectural shell.

As the space opens at the crossing, attention shifts upward toward the dome, which today reflects a postwar reconstruction of the original decorative scheme. The original Baroque dome frescoes were destroyed. However, original frescoes by Filippo Tancredi survive in the upper vaults of the nave, depicting Marian triumphal themes with angels and allegorical figures.