Thursday, March 22, 2007

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome


Designed by Francesco Borromini, my favorite Baroque architect.

Less celebrated than his contemporary, Bernini, who got many of the best commissions, Borromini's sensual plasticity revolutonized architecture. Keep in mind that this fluidity of form was achieved without modern construction materials. Eessentially, this is all cut stone.

Borromini's spires and cupolas directly influenced Guarini and Juvarra, in Torino, and Sir Christopher Wren, whose churches once defined the skyline of London, and can still be seen throughout the older parts of the city.

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