San Luigi dei Francesi

Frommer's Review

This has been the national church of France in Rome since 1589, and a stone salamander (the symbol of the Renaissance French monarch François I) is subtly carved into its facade. Inside, in the last chapel on the left, is a noteworthy series of oil paintings on canvas by Caravaggio: the celebrated Calling of St. Matthew on the left, St. Matthew and the Angel in the center, and the Martyrdom of St. Matthew on the right. The "divine" Caravaggio's best painting is the Calling of St. Matthew, with his familiar motif -- a beautiful young man with a slightly scornful leer.

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