Quando a Roma...Parte 3 (tre)

So, after spending some time with Bernini, we took a walk over to a church by Borromini - architectural genius of the Baroque (and actually from Switzerland). The name of the church is San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (sometimes called San Carlino) - it is right next to a little intersection famous for holding four fountains, though I only got a good picture of one of them (it's hard with cars zooming by!).

So, background on Borromini - actually this is what made the tour so good - Simona, first off, really enjoys giving tours, and secondly, is always reading new books about the art and the artists she's presenting. She feels that to really understand artists' work, you need to know something about who they were as people - and I agree. Borromini was, essentially, the rival of Bernini, at least in his head. Borromini was basically everything Bernini wasn't - absolutely no people skills because he was manic-depressive. He was very sensitive about his work and didn't appreciate input from other people - which, when you are commissioned to create a church, is not the best personality trait to possess. He would tend to drop projects entirely if someone tried to suggest/demand a different technique or effect than he had planned. This unfortunately means that there is not tons of Borromini floating around. Also rather jealous of Bernini - obviously; Bernini was commissioned for architectural projects even though they were not his forte, and he often stole projects from Borromini because he was, after all, "Mr. Beautiful", and very good at getting what he wanted. I think Simona said that for the altar in St. Peter's Basilica, Borromini and Bernini were collaborating, but Borromini did most of the work and Bernini is the one who is credited with it. That gives you a good idea of the situation between the two. Borromini, sadly, committed suicide - but the way he went about it was to position a sword so that he could fall on top of it. It thus took him a few days of suffering before he actually died. Very interesting, and sad, life.

So, San Carlino: this is actually a brilliant Borromini church because he was given complete control on this project (see, this is why it's good to know about the artist's life!). It is just a little chapel commissioned by a convent that was on the site at the time. Very different from Bernini's showy style - the interior is mostly white. Borromini thought that corners were ugly, so you don't find any - everything is continuous and smooth. He covered the church with an elliptical dome (typical Baroque - actually that's a funny thing to say since Borromini is part of what defines the Baroque in the first place! - but I mean, in contrast to a circular dome, you would consider an elliptical dome more irregular). With Borromini, the complexity doesn't strike you at first; it is much more subtle (I mean, you can tell that Bernini is complex just by looking at all the different colored stone he used; you need to consider Borromini a bit more since everything is white). The dome is oriented so that you are walking along the major axis towards the altar. The fact that there are no corners also serves to give the impression that the church is hugging you - you feel very comfortable in it and I would say it isn't quite so much about being "awed" into God's presence but more about contemplation and reflection.

And now, the pictures!

Uno di le "Quattro Fontane" that is right near the church.

A little, inaccessible balcony above the entrance to let more light inside.

The beautiful elliptical dome! Borromini actually calculated the pattern to get appropriately smaller so that you have the illusion that the dome is taller than it really is. That was a mouthful.

The altar.