Sant'Andrea al Quirinale

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's elliptical masterpiece (1658-70), built for Jesuit novices on the Quirinal Hill — the only one of his architectural works he ever called 'perfect,' and where he reportedly sat alone in old age admiring it. The oval is rotated unconventionally so the short axis runs from entrance to altar, creating an immediate panoramic embrace of the entire space the moment you walk in. Pink, white, and gold marble, gilded stucco, and a saint sculpted apparently rising up from the altar pediment toward heaven combine into an integrated theatrical experience. Closed Mondays. Just down the street from Borromini's San Carlino — visit both to see the Bernini-Borromini rivalry in microcosm.