San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane

San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane, also known as San Carlino due to its small size', was designed by Francesco Borromini in 1634 and built by 1646. It was commissioned by the Trinitarian Order for the purpose of ransoming Christians taken in war by Muslims and pirates. Borromini took the opportunity to work on the monastery free of charge in order to launch his solo career. Borromini worked on this commission from 1638-1646. Later on, the tall façade was added in 1677.

What makes this church fascinating is that it literally breaks the typical classical architectural elements. As we take a look at the facade, we see that the pediment and cornice moves in-out-in before us. The undulating walls create a wave motion that pulls us in and out visually, representing movement and rhythm through the architecture. And we see that the columns follow the same undulation approach. The columns are also split in half horizontally; visually separating the church into two levels instead of having continuous colossal columns. And we have seen examples of this in classical architecture as well, where columns are stacked on top of eachother to create an illusion of multiple levels, this creates a scale that is comfortable to the average human on the street. The reason for Borromini’s design was to create movement throughout the entire church while focusing on precision and geometries within geometries. These architectural choices act as a motif to reference God as the ultimate geometer. We know that God is all powerful and all knowing, but what seems to be highlighted and showcased through the architecture is God as the divine Creator and Architect. The precision and perfect geometries highlight God’s ability and character as the ultimate designer, He is a God of order. It reflects how humans were made in the image of God and our ability to create beautiful things to point back to Him. But the main highlight and focus in this monastery is the Holy Spirit. The way we are able to see this is the primary use of white materials such as plaster or stucco. The high ceilings that allow light in through the dome provide a transcendent experience that is sacred. The touches of gold represent the majesty and sovereignty of God as King. Which also reminds me of Isaiah 66:1 that describes God as omnipresent.

As we take a step inside we are greeted by this beautiful oval sanctuary, it is the main space of the church. This is where the Trinitarian monks would worship. Due to the size of the plot being very small compared to other churches, Borromini had to work with thoughtfully arranging the structure as two triangles as the main starting geometries. Inside each triangle is a circle, those two circles touch to make an oval; making it the primary shape of the plan within a diamond geometry. On this end of the diamond is the entrance, where we’re currently standing. 

Across us, passing the sanctuary and below the entablature is the altar where a fresco by artist Pierre Mignard is displayed. Above the entablature is a semi circular apse that has coffers with rosettes as the ornamentation of this architectural element. This apse acts as a precursor to the dome because it draws attention to the oval dome representing the trinitarian’s beliefs. We can make this conclusion because the trinitarians believe in the Triune God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The dome is made from stucco, a cheaper material that can be easily carved. The materials in this church are important because it tells part of the story of this masterpiece. It is important to mention that trinitarians used this material because they did not have much money. So this entire church was considered low cost; materials such as brick, stucco, and limestone were most used. This is an interesting fact when comparing Bernini’s Sant'andrea al Quirinale that is down the street. We can see how two great architects were able to create beautiful churches with different budgets.

As we move forward and see what surrounds the sanctuary we see these colossal corinthian columns that are engaged and part of the walls, which helps support the structure. This really elongates the spaces and has a vertical emphasis. The openness and lightness of this space also draws our eyes up to the oval dome where light radiates. Within the dome there are hexagon, octagon, and cross geometries alternating that lead to the oval in the center. On the center of the oval dome there is another oval that contains a triangle inside, within that triangle is a dove, a representation of The Holy Spirit. What's incredibly beautiful about this is that the oval is raised and has windows on the lateral sides. This detail illuminates the dove and entire lantern creating a supernatural experience in this church that brings warmth. 

As we head back to the exterior I would like to point your attention to the details of this facade. The facade is very theatrical as it was designed during the baroque period. It almost appears to be very playful because of the interaction it has with the street. The sculptures on the niches create engagement that tells a story to its visitors.

With all these thoughts in mind, we can see that one of the reasons for this church being well known is because of the amount of detail taken into the design. It was a low budgeted church because the trinitarians did not have the money to build a luxurious church, but it still ended up becoming one of the most beautiful churches in Rome due to the rich history and craftsmanship. Ultimately this church shows movement in architecture by breaking architectural rules during that time. The organic curves reflect human form as well as nature, thus creating a more approachable building.

Podcast Script: Palazzo Spada & S. Ivo Della Sapienza

Allow me to introduce you to Francesco Borromini! My name is Nancy Robles and I will be your host for today!  Borromini was an Italian-Swiss Architect, most known for his baroque style architecture and breaking the rules of classical architecture with overlapping geometries and undulating elements in his designs. 

Borromini started out as a young stonemason and moved to Rome. Borromini worked with Carlo Maderno, a relative of his who was an architect. After Carlo passed away, Borromini ended up working with a famous sculptor and painter, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Borromini learned from Bernini and were two great artists. The two artists worked on Palazzo Barberini and St. Peter's baldachin, also known as the bronze canopy. Soon after, Borromini got his first independent commission to design San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Although both Bernini and Borromini worked together on the bronze canopy, Borromini did not get acknowledged for his contribution to the design. The two artists ended up becoming enemies due to their strong personalities that led to bitterness and jealousy of each other's achievements. Now this context is essential for us to understand the character of Borromini and move forward on his other works that were such an innovation from classical architecture. 

Moving forward, I would like to talk about Palazzo Spada. The palazzo was originally built in 1540, before Borromini was born. The palazzo at the time was commissioned by Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro and owned by the Mignanelli family. In 1632 the palazzo was bought by Cardinal Spada who commissioned Francesco Borromini. Borromini’s idea for this commission was to create a spacious garden that made the inside appear larger. The problem with this request was that the palace had already taken a lot of space in the plot so Borromini decided to create an optical illusion through the corridor. The way Borromini did this was by lowering the ceiling and raising the floor. The colonnade perspective appears to be over 60 feet long, but it is actually more like 24 feet long, which is less than half of the appearance. In order for this illusion to work, the statue had to be scaled down. The statue is 31 inches tall, making it 2 and a half feet tall. Although the colonnade appears to be long, once you walk through it, it does not make visual sense because everything is scaling down except your height remains the same.

Moving onto St. Ivo alla Sapienza, just 8 minutes south from our first destination, which was built from 1642-1660. The site was originally Rome’s first university, University of la Sapienza founded in 1303. Sapienza means knowledge, so the site is regarded as the palace of knowledge. The church was commissioned by the pope Urbano the VIII Barberini to continue what Giacomo della Porta had already begun. They initially wanted to add a church, but space was limited. So they commissioned the infamous Borromini, who specialized in designing masterpieces in small plots to complete the structure. Borromini focused on elevation due to the plot limit. Standing at 89 feet tall, the church creates a vertical emphasis on the exterior and interior. The concave design was created to fit perfectly in what was previously the University of la Sapienza.The form of the church creates a beautiful courtyard that funnels people into the site. The arcades on the lateral sides of the concave facade were part of the University of la Sapienza, but work beautifully with the facade as a guide that pulls people into the church entry, architecturally embracing and welcoming people in.

The floor plan’s central geometry is a triangle, representing the Holy Trinity. A second triangle is inverted directly on top of the other, representing a 6-pointed star that is then added and subtracted by 6 circular geometries. Creating a hexagon that forms the shape of the rotunda. The walls rise directly from a 6-pointed geometry; creating a rigid pattern that seems to be physically breaking the plot to meet the dome and molding its form. On top of the dome of the rotunda is the famous spiraling oval lantern. The spiraling represents the journey of man to God, the cross representing Jesus as the most high. The exterior facade carries a sense of theatricality through the interaction between people and the building. The spiral grabs pedestrians attention and guides them into the site. The concave facade pulls them into the church and the interior provides a transcendent experience using geometric rhythm that points to the heavens.

With all of this said, St Ivo alla Sapienza is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings by Borromini and of baroque history because it is so special and unique. It focuses on symbolism, symmetry, adding and subtracting geometries, and optical illusions through manipulating shadows. The intricacy of detail in the exterior and interior is commended, especially when recognized that the main material to sculpt was stucco due to its affordability. It shows that beautiful things can come out of cheap materials.

That is all I have for you today, thank you so much for watching, until next time!