Transfer with ease to discover the optical illusions of Baroque Rome
Penetrate the optical illusions in the Church of S. Ignazio while traveling
When you have completed your transfer in Rome, go contemplate the illusions in the Baroque church of S. Ignazio. It holds one of the most impressive optical illusions in Baroque Rome. The beautiful rococo piazza situates the church in a splendid theatrical setting. Stepping inside, you will be see that the artist, Andrea del Pozzo, has painted an fictive architectural framework that gives way to a crowded sky filled with personifications, putti, and St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Xavier being glorified in the heavens. This church belongs to the Jesuits who conducted several missionary ventures. St. Ignatius said "Go forth and set the world on fire", meaning to spread the word of the Catholic faith. Following precise rules of perspective, Pozzo continues the real architecture of the church into a fictive quadratura architecture of the celling. This style of decoration is called di sotto in sù, meaning from the bottom up. Notice how you see the undersides of the clouds and the feet of the putti. Don’t worry about getting a crick in your neck from gazing upwards; the church has kindly provided mirrors for your viewing pleasure! Your Rome Transfer driver will be waiting so you can spread you own enthusiasm and fire anywhere else!
If this masterful illusion does not astound you, keep walking toward the center of the church, and for the yellow disk. Stand on it. Look up at the dome. The rays of afternoon sunlight are pouring in and illuminate the dome’s coffers and ribs. Now, keep looking at the dome and walk forward…. what happened? The dome didn’t change! It isn’t a dome at all but a thirty-four-meter piece of canvas painted to look like a dome. The Jesuits didn’t have much money left to finish the church, so more economical to commission the illusion of a dome than a real one. The only thing that will trick you with Rome Transfer’s service is the high quality service at an affordable price.
The Spada Gallery
This little gallery is well worth the visit for the paintings, pinacotheca alone, but it also has a splendid optical illusion. Cardinal Bernardino Spada purchased the palace in 1632 and commissioned Francesco Borromini to construct a little corridor lined with columns that leads from his studio garden to the little garden adjacent. With the help of a mathematician, Borromini created a splendid optical illusion. The forced perspective corridor makes the garden appear to be thirty-seven meters away, but the corridor is only eight meters long! This made his property seem even larger than it is. Important visitors the cardinal entertained in his studio would never know the garden was so close. If the deception was revealed, it created delight through the clever illusion. When you enter the museum, their guides will demonstrate the optical illusion for you! With Rome Transfer’s chauffeur service the ease of your transfers around the city will also seem like magic.