Protestant Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus

Church of the Gesu The façade of the church was modified and done later by Giacomo Della Porta. We can see two main sections which are decorated with acanthus leaves on pilasters and column capitals. The lower section is divided by six pairs of pilasters (with a mix of columns and pilasters framing the main door). The main door is well decorated with low relief, the papal coat of arms, and a shield with the initialism SPQR, tying this church closely to the people of Rome. The main door stands under a curvilinear tympanum and over it a large medallion with the letters IHS representing the Christogram and an angel. The letters IHS are the Latin form of the first three letters of the Greek spelling of the name Jesus, indicative of both the central figure of Christianity and the Jesuit's formal name, Society of Jesus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Gesu SPQR, an abbreviation for Senatus Populusque Romanus (Classical Latin: [s̠ɛˈnäːt̪ʊs̠ pɔpʊˈɫ̪ʊs̠kʷɛ roːˈmäːnʊs̠]; transl. ...