BORROMINI TOUR – ROME

The Borromini tour will take you to visit “Palazzo Spada”, where you will really get a sense of Bernini’s skill with perspective tricks. On the outside of the palace, you can see some beautiful decorations made with stucco, including some statues placed in alcoves. The main attraction of “Palazzo Spada”, however, is the corridor that leads to the courtyard. The pavement is slightly tilted upwards, while the columns that hold the ceiling become smaller and smaller, making this 26 ft long corridor look 121 ft long! The height of the statue at the end of the corridor is also an illusion. It appears life-size when you look at it from afar, but you will be surprised to see how tall it actually is! The church of “Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza” was a real challenge for Borromini. The courtyard and the palace that were already there left him very little space to work with. Borromini however rose to the occasion, creating what is now considered one of the greatest masterpieces of architecture. The design of the “rotunda”, the most famous characteristic of this church, is made by crossing two triangles together and then adding circles to soften their sharp edges. Borromini also paid attention to the symbolism of the shapes he was using. The circle symbolizes God’s perfection, and the triangle symbolizes the trinity. The many hexagons present in the design of the church are also a clever homage to his patrons, the Barberini family, whose symbol is the bee. The Borromini tour will take you to another famous church built by Borromini, the church of “San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane”. It is affectionately referred to as “San Carlino” by the people of Rome because of its small size. Borromini prided himself in using humble materials like stucco and cement render, because he believed that the poorest materials could be made to look like the most beautiful in the hands of a true master. The order of monks who commissioned “San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane” did not have a lot of money to finance the project, but the skill of Borromini made this church an absolute gem of baroque architecture, and one of the most beautiful churches in Rome. Another church that you will visit during the Borromini tour is “Sant’Agnese in Agone”. This beautiful church was not initially designed by Borromini, but he was given the project when it was already being built. Borromini modified the façade to make the dome of the church look better, and he changed the distance of its two towers to make the church look more elegant as a whole. “Francesco Borromini” created some of the most beautiful churches in Rome, using perspective and geometry to create unique designs. During the Borromini tour you will learn all about the technique of this genius of baroque architecture.