Church of St. Louis of the French (1589)

The Church of St. Louis of the French ( San Luigi dei Francesi ) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome.   Named after Louis IX, king of France, the church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Domenico Fontana between 1518 and 1589, and completed through the personal intervention of Catherine de' Medici.

Brief History

1518                Cardinal Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici commissioned Jean de Chenevières to build the church. 

1527                Building was halted when Rome was sacked in 1527.

1589                Completed in 1589 by Domenico Fontana and Giacomo della Porta.

1589, Oct 8^th   Consecrated by the Cardinal François de Joyeuse

1746-1756       The interior was restored by Antoine Dérizet

Architecture

The plan of the church is almost square. There is a nave of five bays with side-aisles, and off the aisles five chapels on each side. The church has no transept, but a long rectangular sanctuary with apse which is slightly narrower than the central nave.

The gabled nave roof is pitched and tiled, and the aisles and side chapels are sheltered under single-pitched lower roofs. The sanctuary roof is slightly higher and, because the sanctuary has a saucer dome inside, it has a tall lantern. It is octagonal, with eight tall narrow round-headed windows and a hemispherical lead cupola.

The interiors also has frescoes by Charles-Joseph Natoire recounting stories of Saint Louise IX, Saint Denis and Clovis.

Façade

Giacomo della Porta made the façade as a piece of decorative work entirely independent of the body of the structure , in travertine limestone. 

The façade has 2 stories.  The first storey has 6 Doric pilasters.  There are 3 entrances.  The larger central entrance has a pair of Ionic columns with festooned diagonal vollutes.  There are 2 statues by Pierre de I’Estache, depict Charlemagne and King St Louis IX. 

2 salamanders were portrayed below both statues.  The salamanders were encircled with encryption “NUTRISCO ET EXTINGUO” which means “I Nourish and I Extinguish”.

The 2nd storey also has 6 pilasters, but are Corinthian.  There are a large central window with 2 side windows.   2 statues by Pierre de I’Estache,  each depicted St. Clothilde and St. Jeanne of Valoise.

On center top of the façade is coat of arms of the Kings of France by Nicolò Pippi. 

  

Nave

The interior decoration in polychrome marble and gilded stucco is by Dérizet, who finished it in 1756.

The central panels has a fresco depicting The Apotheosis of St Louis, which was painted in 1756 by Charles-Joseph Natoire.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary has a dome, which is coffered in hexagons containing stars and rosettes. The pendentives sport stucco sculptures of the four Latin Doctors of the Church (SS Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose and Gregory). St Jerome is shown being taken into heaven with his lion.

Into the break is intruded the round top of the enormous altarpiece, a painting of the Assumption by Francesco Bassano the Younger.

Chapel of St Denis of Paris

The first chapel on the right is dedicated to St Denis of Paris. The design is unusual, for there is no altar aedicule. Rather, the altarpiece is simply hung on the far wall.  The altarpiece, by Renaud Levieux (1613-99) shows the saint curing a blind man.

Chapel of St Cecilia

The second chapel on the right is dedicated to St Cecilia.  The altarpiece depicting The Ecstasy of St Cecilia is a copy by Guido Reni in 1614 of a famous painting by Raphael.

The side walls and vault have frescoes of the Life of St Cecilia by Domenichino, painted 1616-1617.   To the left the saint is recovering from an attempt to suffocate her in a steam bath, and to the right she is giving away her clothes to poor people. The vault shows her Apotheosis in the centre, flanked by her refusing to sacrifice to idols on the left and her being crowned by an angel with her husband Valerian, to the right.

Chapel of St Jeanne de Valois

The third chapel on the right is dedicated to St Jeanne de Valois, with an altarpiece having black marble Corinthian columns. The altarpiece is by Étienne Parrocel. 

To the right is the sumptuous neo-Classical monument to Louise Guilleman, 1859 and to the left is a memorial to Cardinal Arnaud d'Ossat.

Chapel of St Remigius

The fourth chapel on the right is dedicated to St Remigius of Rheims, who baptized King Clovis and hence was responsible for converting the Franks to Catholic Christianity. The altarpiece, by Jacopino del Conte 1547, shows the moment of the king's conversion in the presence of the saint.

The right hand wall fresco depicts Clovis at the Battle of Tolbiac.  The left hand wall has The Baptism of Clovis by Girolamo Sicolante da Sermoneta, who finished it after Perino del Vaga started abandoned the work.

Chapel of the Crucifix

The fifth chapel on the right is dedicated to the Crucifix, and has a painted wooden one as its altarpiece.

Chapel of St Matthew

The fifth chapel on the left is dedicated to St Matthew.

The chapel was commissioned by Cardinal Matthieu Cointerel, who died in 1585. Giuseppe Cesari made the vault, which has a central scene from the saint's life and two side panels depicting prophets.

The Inspiration of St Matthew is the altarpiece.  The side walls feature The Call of St Matthew and The Martyrdom of St Matthew.  All by Michaelangelo de Caravaggio.

Chapel of Our Lady

The fourth chapel on the left is dedicated to Our Lady. The altarpiece is by Charles Mellin, who also frescoed the vault. The three fresco panels there show The Coronation of Our Lady in Heaven in the middle, flanked by two scenes from the Presentation of Christ.

The side wall frescoes are by Giovanni Baglione, and depict the Annunciation and the Visitation.

Chapel of St Louis of France

The third chapel on the left is dedicated to King St Louis IX.

It was fitted out by a woman architect called Plautilla Bricci, and consecrated in 1680.

The large paintings on the side walls depict King St Louis with the Crown of Thorns by Ludovico Gimignani, to the right, and King Henry II and Queen Catherine de' Medici Present the Plan of the Church to King St Louis, by Nicolas Pinson to the left.

Chapel of St Nicholas of Bari

The second chapel on the left is dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari. The altarpiece showing the saint resurrecting three little boys, previously killed and pickled in brine, is by Girolamo Muziano. The two panels showing virgin martyrs that flank the aedicule are ascribed to Girolamo Massei.

The side wall frescoes are by Baldassare Croce, and show the saint's birth to the left and his death to the right. They were restored by Giuseppe Manno in 1829.

The vault frescoes are by Croce.   The saint's Apotheosis in the middle, and his martyrdom to the left. The panel to the right shows him anonymously providing a dowry for a poor girl.

Chapel of St Sebastian

The first chapel on the left is dedicated to St Sebastian. The altar has a pair of Corinthian columns in what looks like cipollino marble. The altarpiece depicting the saint's martyrdom is by Numa Boucoiran.