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 8th 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.
