San Luigi dei Francesi

San Luigi dei Francesi, the national French church of Rome, was built during the Renaissance in honor of the Virgin Mary and St. Louis IX, the then King of France. The most famous attraction in the church is Caravaggio’s “St. Matthew” cycle of paintings in the Contarelli Chapel. These three works (The Calling of St. Matthew, The Inspiration of St. Matthew and The Martyrdom of St. Matthew) portray the controversial genre of realism as well as the artist’s innovative use of light and shade that redefined painting at the turn of the 17th century.