Francesco Borromini (Italian, 1599 – 1667)
Rome
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, also called San Carlino, is an iconic masterpiece of Baroque architecture. The church was designed by the architect Francesco Borromini, and it was his first commission. The church is built for the Spanish Trinitarians, an order dedicated to the freeing of Christian slaves.
In the 1630s, the monks of the Trinitarian Order were searching for an architect to build a church connecting their monastery. Francesco Borromini offered to complete the commission free of charge in order to start his career as a solo architect. The rise of baroque architecture prompted Borromini to bring his sculpture background to life by creating unexpected combinations of curves and rectangular forms in his work. Many baroque architects during the seventeenth century focused their design basis to fall in line with proportions of the human body. Borromini was non-classical in the sense that he based his designs on geometric figures. In San Carlino it all culminates in the dome with its geometrical patters.
Francesco Borromini (1599–1667) came from a lower-class background but quickly built a name for himself by taking on small commissions for churches around Europe. Borromini became known as a father of baroque architecture after completing his first solo project, the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Borromini first found his interest in architecture through his travels to Milan, in which his father sent him to observe stonecutting. His interest lead to years of architectural and sculptural training which caused a growing debt to his father. Borromini fled to Rome to avoid his debt and found himself becoming an architectural star pupil under renowned Italian architect Carlo Maderno. Together, Maderno and Borromini worked side by side on numerous architectural giants, St. Peter’s Basilica, Palazzo Barberini, Sant’Andrea della Valle, until Maderno died and Borromini found himself working as a solo baroque architect.
Being inside this small church San Carlino and looking up towards the dome is a grand exprerience and makes one realise that Borromini is a top genius of architecture. This church, small as it is, is a masterpiece of the baroque era. For Saint Peter’s church one needs to queue for hours, San Carlino has no queues at all!
The Khan Academy has a great and very instructive video about San Carlino and the Trinitarians, who commissioned the church.
- San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane is open for visits every morning, except Sunday. Here are the directions.