Oratory of the Caravita (San Francesco Saverio)

The Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita is located in the Pigna district, next to the Church of Sant'Ignazio. Built in the same place where the ancient church of San Nicola de Forbitoribus once stood, it was originally dedicated to Santa Maria della Pietà.

It is commonly called the Caravita oratory, from the name of its founder, the Jesuit Piero Caravita, who had it built in 1631, with the financial support of noble families who lived near the Pantheon, inaugurating the first nocturnal oratory in Rome; the construction work was completed in 1633.

The façade, in two-order bricks, has the entrance portal surmounted by a triangular tympanum between two framed windows; on the second floor there are three windows of the House of the Jesuit community. The interior, restored in the 19th century, has a nave preceded by an atrium whose vault is frescoed with Stories from the Life of San Francesco Saverio, by Lazzaro Baldi (1624-1703). There are also other works by Lazzaro Baldi, Sebastiano Conca and fragments of frescoes by Baldassarre Peruzzi.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed at the Oratorio in 1770, where, as a teenager, he attracted the attention of the court in Rome.

Photo credits: courtesy of Opera e Lirica official site