Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio detta della Missione

The church of San Francesco Saverio, known as Chiesa della Missione, is a Baroque landmark in Mondovì Piazza. Built for the Jesuits from 1665, it is renowned for illusionistic frescoes by Andrea Pozzo and a surviving altar machine.

Why it matters

The church is an important work of Baroque perspective art. Pozzo adapted the interior to a programme honouring the missionary Saint Francis Xavier, using painted architecture to create the illusion of domes and openings. The altar machine is a rare surviving example of Baroque theatrical design.

What to notice

Pozzo's trompe-l'oeil decoration makes the nearly flat vault appear to open into painted domes and storeys. The Gloria of Saint Francis Xavier dominates the central dome. The high altar preserves a macchina d'altare, a mechanism made of wood, cardboard and metal that could raise a painted image of the saint. A right-hand altar dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows is also associated with Pozzo.

Context and history

The Jesuits commissioned the church from Giovenale Boetto in 1665; construction continued until 1678. Andrea Pozzo joined the project in 1676 and developed its illusionistic decorative programme. After the suppression of the Jesuit order, the church passed to the Missionary Fathers of Saint Vincent de Paul, giving it the popular name La Missione. The artistic decoration is attributed to Pozzo in institutional accounts.