<R PROPNUM="1135"> Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. This bona fide patrician palace is still home to a princely family, which rents out many of its 1,000 rooms. You can visit the remarkably well-preserved Galleria Doria Pamphilj(pronounced pam-fee-lee), a picture-and-sculpture gallery that gives you a sense of the sumptuous living quarters. The first large salon is nearly wallpapered with paintings, and not just any paintings: on one wall, you'll find no fewer than three works by Caravaggio, including his Penitent Magdalen and his breathtaking earlyRest on the Flight to Egypt.Off the gilded Galleria degli Specchi (Gallery of Mirrors)—reminiscent of Versailles—are the famous Velázquez portrait and the Bernini bust of the Pamphilj pope Innocent X. The free audio guide by Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, the current heir, provides an intimate family history well worth listening to.<!–tip–> 1Numbered paintings (the bookshop's museum catalog comes in handy) are packed onto every available inch of wall space. Numbered paintings (the bookshop's museum catalog comes in handy) are packed onto every available inch of wall space. <SI><ADDRESS>  <str> Piazza del Collegio Romano 2, near Piazza Venezia </str> , <neighb> Corso </neighb></neighb><zip> 00186 </zip></ADDRESS>  06/6797323  www.doriapamphilj.it  €8  Fri.–Wed. 10–5. </SI><LAST.VISIT MONTH="DEC" YEAR="2006" OTHER=""/></R> <ASSIGN.SIGHTS TAG="RELIGIOUS.BUILDING–SITE–SHRINE"/> <R PROPNUM="1385"> Sant'Ignazio. Rome's largest Jesuit church, this 17th-century landmark harbors some of the most magnificent illusions typical of the baroque style. Capping the 17th-century nave is the trompe l’oeil ceiling painted by Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709), frescoed with flying angels and heavenly dignitaries, including Saint Ignatius himself, who floats about in what appears to be a rosy sky above. The crowning jewel, however, is an illusionistic oddity—a cupola that is completely flat yet, from most vantage points, appears convincingly three-dimensional. The Jesuits resorted to this optical illusion when funds to build a real dome dried up. The church also contains some of Rome's most splendid, gilt-encrusted altars. If you're lucky, you might catch an evening concert performed here (check the posters). Step outside the church to look at it from Filippo Raguzzini's18th-century piazza, where the buildings, as in much baroque art, are arranged resembling a stage set. .<!–tip–>Numbered paintings (the bookshop's museum catalog comes in handy) are packed onto every available inch of wall space..†Numbered paintings (the bookshop's museum catalog comes in handy) are packed onto every available inch of wall space.<SI><ADDRESS>EPiazza Sant'Ignazio,<neighb>Corso</neighb></neighb><zip>00186</zip> </ADDRESS>P06/6794560CDaily 7:30–12:20 and 3–7:20.</SI><LAST.VISIT MONTH="NOV" YEAR="2008" OTHER=""/></R> <ASSIGN.SIGHTS TAG="FOUNTAIN"/> <ASSIGN.SIGHTS TAG="PLAZA–SQUARE–PIAZZA"/> <R PROPNUM="65912"> Spanish Steps. That icon of postcard Rome, the Spanish Steps—called the Scalinata di Spagna in Italian—and the Piazza di Spagna from which they ascend both get their names from the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican on the piazza, opposite the American Express office—in spite of the fact that the staircase was built with French funds in 1723. In an allusion to the church of Trinità dei Monti at the top of the hill, the staircase is divided by three landings (beautifully banked with azaleas from mid-April to mid-May). For centuries, La Scalinata ("staircase," as natives refer to the Spanish Steps) has always welcomed tourists: 18th-century dukes and duchesses on their Grand Tour, 19th-century artists and writers in search of inspiration—among them Stendhal, Honoré de Balzac, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Byron—and today's enthusiastic hordes. TheFontana della Barcaccia(Fountain of the Unfortunate Boat) at the base of the steps is by Pietro Bernini, father of the famous Gianlorenzo.<!–tip–>Numbered paintings (the bookshop's museum catalog comes in handy) are packed onto every available inch of wall space.<SI>E<ADDRESS>Piazza di Spagna, at head of Via Condotti<!– hood in address –></neighb><zip>00187</zip></ADDRESS>. </SI><LAST.VISIT MONTH="DEC" YEAR="2008" OTHER=""/>.</R> Worth Noting <ASSIGN.SIGHTS TAG="RELIGIOUS.BUILDING–SITE–SHRINE"/> <R PROPNUM="65887"> 3 Il Gesù. Grandmother of all baroque churches, this huge structure was designed by the architect Vignola (1507–73) to be the tangible symbol of the Jesuits, a major force in the Counter-Reformation in Europe. It remained unadorned for about 100 years, but when it finally was decorated, no expense was spared: the interior drips with lapis lazuli, precious marbles, gold, and more gold. A fantastically painted ceiling by Baciccia (1639–1709) seems to merge with the painted stucco figures at its base. Saint Ignatius's apartments, reached from the side entrance of the church, are also worth a visit (afternoons only) for the trompe l'oeil frescoes and relics of the saint.<SI><ADDRESS>EPiazza del Gesù, near Piazza Venezia,<neighb>Corso</neighb><zip>00187</zip> </ADDRESS>P06/697001wwww.chiesadelgesu.orgCDaily 7:30–12:30 and 4–7:45.</SI><LAST.VISIT MONTH="DEC" YEAR="2008" OTHER=""/></R>