The church of the Gesù, also known as the Parish church of the Santissimo Nome di Gesù is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on Via di Voltaio #101 in central

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome b ...

, region of Tuscany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

The

Jesuit Order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, who commissioned this church, after some initial travails, firmly settled in Montepulciano in 1606. The set up an office in the oratory of the Compagnia della Croce, near the present church, and by 1630 had set up a school. Seeking to attach a church to the school, they commissioned this church at the site of the Oratory of the ''Tre Ave''. Construction only began by 1691, with plans for a circular layout with a large dome, designed by Giovanni Battista Origoni. However concerns with the soundness of the ambitious design in this hilltop town with steep borders, caused them to recruit a design from the fellow Jesuit,

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

, who had shown success in creating the interior illusion of a dome in

Sant'Ignazio, Rome la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption ...

. Between 1702 and 1703, he worked in Montepulciano. Ultimately the church was completed in 1713 with the dome design of Sebastiano Cipriani. The exterior facade remains in unfinished brick, except for the portal. The interior has an elaborate Baroque decoration. The elliptical shape recalls the layout of Borromini's San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane in Rome, with rhythmic uses of columns and pilasters. The stucco-work was completed by Francesco Notari, with four stucco statues by Bartolomeo Mazzuoli, two flanking each side chapel. The cupolina and “trompe l’oeil” side altars were painted by Antonio Colli. The apse, depicting the ''Glory of the Holy Name of Jesus'' (1901), was frescoed by Sallustio Tarugi.Parish site for Montepulciano.
Other churches highly influenced by Borromini's San Carlino include Santa Rita da Cascia in Campitelli.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gesu Montepulciano Churches in Montepulciano Roman Catholic churches completed in 1713 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Tuscany Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany