In 1188, Genoese captain of the people Oberto Spinola founded the Church of St. Luke as a chapel for the Spinola and Grimaldi families. The church's importance and its strategic position on Via S. Luca -- which would become the main western point of entry to the city -- has been underscored by the dispute between the two rival families for the exclusive control of the building, which had to be settled by the King of Aragon in the middle of the 14th century. 
click here to view fullscreenBy the 17th century, Genoa was one of the richest and most cosmopolitan cities of northern Italy and the center of an extensive trading and banking network, boasting impressive town palaces with spectacularly decorated interiors. Genoa attracted famous artists, among them Rubens and Van Dyck, whose work influenced many local artists, such as Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, also known as “il Grechetto” in Italy and “Le Benedette” in France. In 1645 Castiglione painted the altarpiece “Adoration of the Shepherds” for the church of St. Luke, which was exhibited at the National Gallery in London in 2002. The Presepio (Nativity of Jesus) ranks among his most celebrated paintings, and the Louvre contains eight characteristic examples.
Commissioned by the Spinola family, Architect Carlo Mutone rebuilt the church in its present form between 1626 and 1650. One of the few pure Baroque style churches in the city, Domenico Piola decorated it with a single series of frescoes, painted between 1681 and 1690 and restored in 2004, featuring the Coronation of the Virgin (dome), the Three Theological Virtues (presbytery left wall), the Saint Hermits (presbytery right wall), the Stories of St. Luke (St. Luke Baptizing the Neophytes, above the entrance, St. Luke Preaching to the Crowd, on the choir, St. Luke as a painter portraying the Virgin, on the absidal semidome) and, on the four squinches below the dome, Judith Beheading Holofernes, Jael Killing Sisera, the Return of the Prodigal Son and Job smitten with sores by Satan and mocked by his wife.
San Luca also hosts two statues by Filippo Parodi, Bernini's pupil: the Deposed Christ and, on the high altar, the Immaculate, both crafted in the late 17th century. On the other altarpiece are a Crucifix by Francesco Fanelli, and the Sorrowful Mother, painted by Luigi Costa.
As well as the normal church services, San Luca now celebrates a special "Tourist and City visitor Mass" every Sunday at 4.30pm.
Open: 10.00 am – 12.30pm, 3.30pm – 6.30pm Tuesday-Sun. Closed Monday.
About the Shoot:
Photographer Hans von Weissenfluh shot the accompanying panoramas for the Spinola Foundation.
He used a Sony DSC-V1 compact camera and Panosaurus panoramic head for these panoramas. “One hundred eighteen shots (35mm equivalent: 34mm) were taken during three days, in March 2006, after sunset,” he says. “Two different exposures, thus two full spheres, in order to get all the details in highlights as well as in shadows. All shots were merged through Realviz Stitcher. The two spheres were blended with Photoshop, through masking. Finally, 360 degrees photo and hotspots were exported as QTVR with Realviz Stitcher. Hotspots link to high resolution flat photos merged and retouched through the same tools. The Deposed Christ is almost completely hidden in QTVR view, but it can be seen by clicking on the hotspot located over the niche to the right side, towards the entrance of the church.”
