The Church of the Gesù, also called Casa Professa, stands on Piazza Casa Professa in Palermo. The Jesuits arrived in the city in 1549. Work began in 1590 from a design by the Jesuit architect Giovanni Tristano, and the church was completed in 1636. The dome was finished in 1686, and Natale Masuccio later refurbished the interior.
It follows a Latin cross plan. The nave is about 237 feet (72.1 meters) long and 140 feet (42.65 meters) wide, and it rises 230 feet (70 meters). The interior is rich in polychrome marble, stucco and frescoes, with a double dome and stained glass windows. The facade has three portals and niches holding statues of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Madonna and Child, and Francis Xavier.
In 1943 a wartime bomb collapsed the dome and destroyed most surrounding walls and wall paintings. After restoration the church reopened on February 24, 2009.
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