Architect · Italy · 1599-1667
Francesco Borromini Biography, Buildings and Best Books
Swiss-Italian Baroque architect (1599-1667) of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, whose geometric, undulating spaces transformed Rome.
Photo: anonymous artist, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) was one of the great architects of the Roman Baroque and the rival of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Building with modest materials on cramped sites, he composed churches from complex geometry, curving walls and light, as in the tiny San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and the star-shaped Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, works that architects have studied ever since.
Ticino and St Peter’s
Borromini was born in Bissone, on Lake Lugano, in 1599, into a family of stonemasons. He trained in Milan and moved to Rome, where he worked as a stone carver and draughtsman at St Peter’s under his relative Carlo Maderno and then alongside Bernini.
San Carlo and Sant’Ivo
His first independent commission, the church and cloister of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638-1641), fits an oval dome of coffers into a tiny site; its undulating facade was completed at the end of his life. Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza (1642-1660) rises from a six-pointed star plan to a spiralling lantern.
Oratory, Lateran and Palazzo Spada
He built the Oratory of St Philip Neri, remodelled the interior of San Giovanni in Laterano and created the forced-perspective gallery at Palazzo Spada. He died in Rome in 1667.
Borromini
Anthony Blunt’s classic study explains each of Borromini’s buildings and his place in the Roman Baroque.
View on Amazon
Timeline
- 1599Born on 25 September in Bissone, Ticino.
- 1619Works at St Peter’s in Rome under Carlo Maderno.
- 1638Begins San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
- 1642Begins Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza.
- 1646Begins remodelling San Giovanni in Laterano.
- 1653Builds the perspective gallery at Palazzo Spada.
- 1667Dies on 3 August in Rome.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Francesco Borromini known for?
Francesco Borromini is known for San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome, the Oratory of St Philip Neri and the perspective gallery at Palazzo Spada.
Who was Borromini’s rival?
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with whom he first worked at St Peter’s and later competed for commissions in Rome.
Why is San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane famous?
Its oval dome, complex geometry and undulating facade fit an extraordinary space into a very small site, making it a landmark of Baroque architecture.
What is the best book on Borromini?
Borromini by Anthony Blunt (Harvard) remains a clear and authoritative introduction.
