St. Charles Borromeo Church

This Baroque church in Antwerp was built in the early seventeenth century for the Jesuit order, with the young Peter Paul Rubens contributing to the design of the ornate facade and providing ceiling paintings that were later lost to fire. The richly decorated interior of coloured marble and gilding reflects the theatrical spirit of the Counter-Reformation. A side chapel preserves lavish stucco and paintings that survived the blaze. The church remains a showpiece of the exuberant style that flourished in the city during its artistic golden age.