St Cajetan Church, built by Italian Theatine missionaries between 1655 and 1661, is modelled on St Peter's Basilica in Rome — the missionaries had wanted to convert the kingdom of Golconda but were expelled, and built this church instead using plans they had drawn up for the Indian interior. The result is the most Baroque church in Goa: a round dome over a Greek cross plan, with an elaborate facade.
The church is less visited than the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the Se Cathedral, which makes it one of the better places in Old Goa to sit quietly and take stock. The interior has a high, airy quality different from the heavier Portuguese-style buildings nearby. The crypt beneath the church was used as a burial vault by the Portuguese and Dutch East India Company merchants; it can sometimes be visited with the resident priest.