Header: FABERtechnica Engineering Srl
The new lighting for the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, one of the winners at the LIT Lighting Design Award, was born from a simple idea: people should be able to see the church as one space, not as a set of separate “spots” that only work when a light switches on. FABERtechnica Engineering developed the perfect lighting system to keep the whole interior comfortable, while still giving the artworks and chapels the spotlight they need.
All the fixtures are LED, with warm white light at 2700 K and high colour rendering (CRI above 90), so surfaces and paintings are able to keep their natural tones. Anti-glare accessories help avoid that harsh “bright source in your eye” feeling, and the whole system is controlled via DALI, which basically means the lighting can be adjusted and programmed in a precise way. That matters here because the church isn’t used in just one mode; there are different scenes for free visits, guided tours, concerts (including organ and orchestra), weddings, and different parts of the liturgy.
A key part of the design is the Contarelli Chapel, which many visitors come to because of Caravaggio’s paintings. Before, the chapel had a coin-operated lighting system, which encouraged a kind of stop-start experience: you put money in, a spotlight comes on, and the rest of the church fades away. That’s been removed, and the chapel is now part of the overall lighting system, making the nave and chapels more connected than ever.
During guided visits, the lighting becomes more active. The designers created dynamic scenes where a soft accent light draws attention to the artwork as it is being discussed by the guides. In the Contarelli Chapel, this approach is expanded: three Caravaggio paintings, “The Calling”, “The Inspiration”, and “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew”, got their very own lighting programme. Instead of lighting the whole canvas at once, the focus shifts gradually to different areas that matter to the composition, guiding the eye without forcing it.
Just as important is what you don’t really notice. The fixtures are small, their colours match the backgrounds, and the wiring is hidden behind metal covers specially designed to blend in from different perspectives. In a historic interior like this, any visible technical layer can quickly become the thing your eye keeps returning to, so this seemingly little detail is actually quite crucial.
Regarding sustainability, the designers went for practical rather than symbolic. LEDs are efficient, last a long time, and avoid UV emissions that can damage paintings and historic materials. The project also includes Environmental Product Declarations and full life cycle assessments, showing an effort to reduce environmental impact over time. Where possible, existing fixtures were kept and reused in secondary areas, as the team decided not to replace everything just because a new system was installed.
