Jesuit College

Next to the Basilica of San Luigi stands the Jesuit College, built by the Marquis Francesco Gonzaga, brother of the saint, in 1608.
Work by the same architect of the Church of San Luigi, Luca Bienni, it fulfilled Francis’ dream of bringing the Jesuits permanently to Castiglione. The marquis wanted to create an authoritative spiritual and cultural point of reference for the Order of the Virgins, established by his nieces Gridonia, Cinzia and Olimpia, and to establish a prestigious school for the children of illustrious families as well as to support the powerful order in the dispute between the papacy and the Republic from Venice.
In the seventeenth century it became an important center of humanistic studies. After the suppression of the Order, the College passed to the Servites: after a long period of decline at the end of the 19th century it resumed its function as an educational institution. It is currently the seat of the Municipality.
Characteristic of the building are the wide corridors, the cross and barrel ceilings, the helical staircase of the former high school, the columned portico.