Statue of an angel above the entrance of the St Ignatius Church (1725 - Jesuit - Baroque) in the Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia
On the south side of the Gundulic Square a monumental Baroque staircase leads to the Church of St Ignatius and Collegium Ragusinum, Dubrovnik's reputable Jesuit college, are located. This urban complex many find to be the most representative Baroque example in Dubrovnik and the whole Croatian coast. Dissatisfied with numerous Italian scholars, Beccaddeli, the bishop of Dubrovnik, asked in 1555, to the newly founded Jesuit order to open a college in Dubrovnik. The idea was not realized until 1647 when the legacy of Marin Gundulic, a Jesuit from Dubrovnik, opened the door for the start of planning the project. In 1653, the Jesuit Rector Gianbattista Canauli made a project which was supposed to regulate the whole urban structure of the suburb in the oldest part of the City and provide space to build the Jesuit church and college. The project planned for demolishing a wide number of houses. The buy off had already started when the destruction of Great Earthquake of 1667 interrupted all work. The project had resumed at the close of the century, for which purpose, Iganzio Pozzo, renowned Jesuit architect and painter was called to the City in 1699. Pozzo had finalized the plans by 1703 and the construction of the church completed in 1725. The Church of St Ignatius is single nave, with side chapels and a semicircular divided apse, decorated by magnificent Baroque frescoes with scenes from life of St. Ignatius de Loyola painted by Gaetano Garcia. The church belfry houses the oldest bell in Dubrovnik, cast in 1355 by Viventius and his son Viator. At the right angle to the St. Ignatius church frontispiece, leans the Jesuit college building constructed according to the designs of Ranjina and Canali. With its neutral and hard lines the College building emphasizes the Baroque frontispiece of the church and the connected staircase leading towards the City centre. Designer of this fantastic looking Baroque staircase from 1738 is the Roman architect Pietro Passalacqua.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Saint Ignatius Church, Poljana Rudera Boskovica, Old Town, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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