1600 TO 1750 THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION AND THE EARLY BAROQUE circa 1600 circa 1625 CHAPTER 6 ARCHITECTURE Rome: Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) In the first chapter the broad pattern was sketched of the architectural position in Rome during the early years of the seventeenth century The revolutionary character of !aderno"s work has already been indicated It was he who broke with the prevailing severe taste and replaced the refined classicism of an #ttavio !ascherino and a $laminio %on&io by a forceful' manly' and vigorous style' which once again' after several generations' had considerable sculptural and chiaroscuro (ualities )ike so many masons and architects' !aderno came from the *orth+ he was born in ,--. at Capolago on the )ake of )ugano' went to Rome before /i0tus 1"s pontificate' and together with his four brothers ac(uired Roman citi&enship in ,-22" He began work in a subordinate capacity under his uncle' 3omenico $ontana After the latter"s departure for *aples he was on his own' and before ,.44 he had made a name for himself 5ut his early period and' in particular' his relationship to $rancesco da 1olterra remains to be clarified The year ,.46 must be regarded as a turning point in !aderno"s career+ he was appointed "Architect to /t %eter"s" and finished the fa7ade of / /usanna To the cognoscenti this fa7ade must have been as much of a revelation as Annibale Carracci"s $arnese 8allery or Caravaggio"s religious imagery In fact' with this single work' !aderno"s most outstanding performance' architecture drew abreast of the revolutionary events in painting In contrast to so many !annerist buildings' the principle governing this structure is easy to follow9 it is based on an almost mathematically lucid progressive concentration of bays' orders' and decoration towards the centre The triple pro:ection of the wall is coordinated with the number of bays' which are firmly framed by orders+ the width of the bays increases towards the centre and the wall surface is gradually eliminated in a process reversing the thickening of the wall ; from the !anneristically framed cartouches to the niches with figures and the entrance door which fills the entire central bay The upper tier under the simple triangular pediment is conceived as a lighter reali&ation of the lower tier' with pilasters corresponding to the half; and three;(uarter;columns below In this fa7ade *orth Italian and indigenous Roman traditions are perfectly blended !aderno imparted a clearly directed' dynamic movement to the structure hori&ontally as well as vertically' in spite of the fact that it is built up of individual units *either in his fa7ade of /t %eter"s nor in that of / Andrea della 1alle ;in its present form mainly the work of Carlo Rainaldi <26= ; did !aderno achieve an e(ual degree of intense dynamic life or of logical integration *or did he find much scope to develop his individuality in the interiors of / !aria della 1ittoria and / Andrea della 1alle 5ut the dome of the latter church ; the largest in Rome after that of /t %eter"s ; shows !aderno"s genius at its best #bviously derived from !ichelangelo"s dome' it is of ma:estic simplicity Compared with the dome of /t %eter"s !aderno raised the height of the drum at the e0pense of the vault and increased the area that was to be reserved for the windows' and these changes foreshadow the later 5aro(ue development )ong periods of his working life were spent in the service of /t %eter"s' where he was faced with the unenviable task of having to interfere with !ichelangelo"s intentions The design of the nave' which presented immense difficulties' proves that he planned with circumspection and tact' desirous to clash as little as was possible under the circumstances with the legacy of the great master 5ut' of course' the nave marred for ever the view of the dome from the s(uare' with 2 conse(uences which had a se(uel down to our own days $or the design of the fa7ade he was tied more fully than is generally reali&ed by !ichelangelo"s system of the choir and transepts >which he had to continue along the e0terior of the nave= and' moreover' by the ritual re(uirement of the large 5enediction )oggia above the portico The proportions of the original design are impaired as a result of the papal decision of ,.,<' after the actual fa7ade was finished' to add towers' of which only the substructures ;the last bay at each end ; were built These appear now to form part of the fa7ade )ooked at without these bays' the often critici&ed relation of width to height in the fa7ade is entirely satisfactory !aderno"s failure to erect the towers was to have repercussions which will be reported in a later chapter As a designer of palaces !aderno is best represented by the %ala&&o !attei' begun in ,-42 and finished in ,.,. The noble' austere brick fa7ade shows him in the grip of the strong local tradition In the courtyard he made subtle use of ancient busts' statues' and reliefs' and the conne0ion with such !annerist fronts as those of the villas !edici and 5orghese is evident 5ut the four;flight staircase decorated with refined stuccoes is an innovation in Rome It remains to scrutini&e more thoroughly the ma:or problem of !aderno"s career' his part in the designing of the %ala&&o 5arberini The history of the palace is to a certain e0tent still obscure' in spite of much literary evidence' memoranda and drawings' and a large amount of documents which allow the construction to be followed very closely indeed The unassailable data are (uickly reported In ,.<- Cardinal $rancesco 5arberini bought from Alessandro /for&a /antafiora' 3uke of /egni' the palace at the "?uattro $ontane" A year later Cardinal $rancesco presented the palace to his brother Taddeo %ope Urban 1III commissioned !aderno to redesign the e0isting palace and to enlarge it The first payment for the new found; ations dates from #ctober ,.<2 !aderno died on 64 @anuary ,.<A' and the %ope appointed 5ernini his successor To all intents and purposes the palace was completed in ,.66' but minor work dragged on until ,.62 It is clear from these data that 5ernini >who was assisted by 5orromini= was responsible for almost the entire work of e0ecution !aderno"s design survives in a drawing at the Uffi&i which shows a long front of fifteen bays' fashioned after the model of the %ala&&o $arnese' and an inscription e0plains that the design was to serve for all four sides of the palace In fact' with some not unimportant alterations' it was used for the present north and east wings At this stage' in other words' !aderno made a scheme that by and large corresponded to the traditional Roman palace' consisting of a block with four e(ual sides and an arcaded courtyard 5ut there is no certainty that this was !aderno"s last pro:ect In the present palace' the plan of which may be likened to an H' the traditional courtyard is aban; doned and replaced by a deep forecourt The main fa7ade consists of seven bays of arcades in three storeys' linked to the entirely different system of the pro:ecting wings by a transitional' slightly receding bay at each side Bho was responsible for the change from the traditional block form to the new planC At first sight' it would appear that nothing like this had been built before in Rome and' moreover' qua palace' the structure remained isolated in the Roman setting ; it had no suc; cession %sychologically it is intelligible that one prefers to associate the change of plan with the young genius who took over from !aderno rather than with the aged master Det neither the e0ternal nor the internal evidence goes to support this In fact' there is the irrevocable document in 1ienna >Albertina= of an unfinished elevation of half the fa7ade >drawn for !aderno by 5orromini= which' apart from minor differences' corresponds with the e0ecution If one regards the palace' as one should' as a monumentali&ed "villa suburbana"' the plan loses a good deal of its revolutionary character' and to attribute it to !aderno will then no longer surprise us The old /for&a palace which !aderno had to incorporate into his design rose on elevated ground high above the ruins of an ancient temple The palace overlooked the %ia&&a 5arberini but could never form one of its sides *or was it possible to align the west front of the new palace with the /trada $elice >the present 1ia /istina= In other words' whatever the new design' it could not be organically related to the nearest thoroughfares A block;shaped palace with arcaded courtyard cannot' however' be dissociated from an intimate relationship with the street front It was' therefore' almost a foregone conclusion that the block;shape would have to be abandoned and replaced by the type which became traditional for the "villa suburbana" from 3 %eru&&i"s $arnesina on and which only recently 1asan&io had used for the 1illa 5orghese In addition the arcacled centre between containing bays and pro:ecting wings was familiar from such buildings as !ascherino"s cortile of the ?uirinal %alace and the garden front of the 1illa !ondragone There is' therefore' no valid reason why !aderno should not be credited with the final design of the %ala&&o 5arberini9 all its elements were ready at hand' and it is the magnificent scale rather than the design as such that gives it its grand 5aro(ue character and places it in a class of its own It is even (uestionable whether 5ernini' given a free hand' would have been satisfied with designing three arcaded tiers of almost e(ual value #n the other hand' it is certain that ad:ustments of !aderno"s design outside as well as inside were made after 5ernini had taken over The celebrated windows of the third tier' set in surrounds with feigned perspective' are' however' !aderno"s The device' used by !aderno on at least one other occasion' made it possible to reduce the area of the window;openings+ this was necessary for reasons of internal arrangement #ne may assume that even the enrichment of the orders ; engaged columns in the second tier' pilasters coupled with two half;pilasters in the third tier ; occurred while !aderno was still alive Another e0ternal feature is worth mentioning The ground floor and piano nobile of the long wings are articulated by framing bands' a device constantly employed by )ate !annerist architects and also by !aderno Although in a rather untraditional manner' 5orromini often returned to it It is therefore not at all unlikely that it was 5orromini"s idea to articulate the bare walls of !aderno"s design in this way To what e0tent the internal organi&ation deviates from !aderno is difficult to determine As far as the details are concerned we are on fairly firm ground' and 5ernini"s as well as 5orromini"s contribution to the design of doors will be discussed later 5ut the large staircase with the four flights ascending along the s(uare open well' traditionally ascribed to 5ernini' may well be !aderno"s It is as new as the deep portico' the enormous hall of the piano nobile lying at right angles to the front' and the inter;connected oval hall at its back #ne is tempted to believe that 5ernini assisted by 5orromini had here a freer hand than on the e0terior' but at present these problems are still in abeyance and may never be satisfactorily solved 5y the time !aderno died' he had directed Roman architecture into entirely new channels He had authoritatively re:ected the facile aca; demic !annerism which had belonged to his first impressions in Rome' and although not a revolutionary like 5orromini' he left behind' largely guided by !ichelangelo' monumental work of such solidity' seriousness' and substance that it was e(ually respected by the great antipodes 5ernini and 5orromini Architecture outside Rome In the *orth of Italy the architectural history of the second half of the si0teenth century is dominated by a number of great masters The names of %alladio' /camo&&i' /anmicheli' 8alea&&o Alessi' )uca Cambiaso' %ellegrino Tibaldi' and Ascanio 1itto&&i come at once to mind 5y contrast' the first (uarter of the seven; teenth century cannot boast of names of the same rank' with the one e0ception of $! Ricchino #n the whole' what has been said about Rome also applies to the rest of Italy9 the reaction against the more e0travagant application of !annerist principles' which had generally set in towards the end of the si0teenth century' led to a hardening of style' so that we are often faced in the early years of the new century with a severe form of classicism' which' however' was perfectly in keeping with the e0igencies of the counter;reformatory church #n the other hand' the *orth Italian architects of this period also transformed their rich local tradition more imaginatively than the Romans The work of 5inago' !agenta' and Ricchino is infinitely more interesting than most of what Rome had to offer and it was to a large e0tent they who prepared the stylistic position of the High 5aro(ue In 1enice 1incen&o /camo&&i >,--<;,.,.= remained the leading master after the turn of the century It is immediately apparent that his dry )ate !annerism is the 1enetian counter;part to the style of 3omenico $ontana and the elder !artino )onghi in Rome @ust as his great theoretical work' the Idea dell'Architettura Universale of ,.,-' with its hieratic structure and its codification of classical rules' concluded an old era rather than opened a new one' so his architecture was the strongest barrier against a turn towards 5aro(ue principles in all the 4 territories belonging to 1enice #ne should compare /ansovino"s %ala&&o Corner >,-6<= with /camo&&i"s %ala&&o Contarini dagli /crigni of ,.4A in order to reali&e fully that the latter"s academic and linear classicism is' as far as plastic volume and chiaroscuro are concerned' a deli; berate stepping back to a pre;/ansovines(ue position !oreover' in many respects /camo&&i"s architecture must be regarded as a revision of his teacher %alladio by way of reverting to /erlio"s conceptions Their calculated intellectualism makes /camo&&i"s buildings precursors of eighteenth;century *eo;classicism His special brand of frigid classicism' a traditional note of 1enetian art' was not lost upon his countrymen and left its mark for a long time to come 5ut in the ne0t generation the rising genius of 5aldassare )onghena superseded the brittle' linear style of his master and reasserted the more vital' e0uberant' imaginative' and painterly facet of the 1enetian tradition Even where /camo&&i"s influence did not penetrate in the terra ferma, architects turned in the same direction Thus 3omenico Curtoni' /anmicheli"s nephew and pupil' began in ,.4A the impressive %ala&&o della 8ran 8uardia at 1erona' where he applied most rigidly the precepts of his teacher' ridding them of any !annerist recollections !ilan' in particular' became at the turn of the century the stronghold of an uncompromising classicism It was probably /t Charles 5orromeo"s austere spirit rather than his counter;reformatory guide to architects' the only book of its kind' that provided the keynote for the masters in his and his nephew"s service The !ilanese $abio !angone >,-2E;,.<A=' a pupil of Alessandro 5isnati' was the man after Cardinal $ederico"s heart As a sign of his appreciation he appointed him in ,.<4 %rofessor of Architecture to the newly founded Accademia Ambrosiana Throughout the seventeenth century the cathedral still remained the focus of !ilanese artistic life' and every artist and architect tried there to climb the ladder to distinction !angone achieved this goal+ in ,.,E he succeeded 5isnati as Architect to the Cathedral and remained in charge until his death in ,.<A Assisted by Ricchino' the portals were e0ecuted by him during this period >with Cerano in charge of the rich decoration' p AA=' but his severe design of the whole fa7ade remained on paper !angone"s earlier activity was connected with the >much rebuilt= Ambrosiana >,.,,=' which )elio 5u&&i had begun The fa7ade of the original entrance is as characteristic of his rigorous classicism as is the large courtyard of the Collegio Elvetico >now Archivio di /tato= with its long rows of 3oric and Ionic columns in two tiers under straight entablatures' begun in ,.o2 His fa7ade of / !aria %odone >begun ,.<.= with a columned portico set into a larger temple motif points to a knowledge of %alladio"s church fa7ades' which he transformed and submitted to an even sterner classical discipline Thus !ilanese architects revert via %alladio to ancient architecture in search of symbols which would be en rapport with the prevailing harsh spirit of reform in the city A different note was introduced into !ilanese architecture by )oren&o 5inago >called 5iffi' I--F;,.<A=' a 5arnabite monk' who built / Alessandro' one of !ilan"s most important churches >begun ,.4,' still unfinished in ,..,= !angone"s architecture is strictly !ilanese' setting the seal' as it were' on %ellegrino Tibaldi"s academic !annerism 5inago' by contrast' created a work that has its place in an all;Italian conte0t )ike a number of other great churches of this period' the design of / Alessandro is dependent on the 5ramante;!ichelangelo scheme for /t %eter"s In order to be able to assess the peculiarities of 5inago"s work' some of the ma:or buildings of this group may be reviewed In chronological se(uence they are9 the 8esii *uovo at *aples >8iuseppe 1aleriano' /@' ,-2F=+ / Ambrogio at 8enoa >also 8 1aleriano' ,-2E=+ / Alessandro at !ilan+ / !aria della /anita' *aples >$ra *uvolo' ,.4<=+ the 3uomo *uovo at 5rescia >85 )antana' ,.4F=+ and / Carlo ai Catinari in Rome >Rosato Rosati' ,.,<= All these buildings are interrelated+ all of them have a s(uare or rectangular outside shape and only one fa7ade >instead of four=+ and all of them link the centrali&ed plan of /t %eter"s with an emphasis on the longitudinal a0is9 the 8esG *uovo by adding a pair of satellite spaces to the west and east ends' / Ambrogio by adding a smaller satellite unit to the west and e0tending the east end+ the 3uomo *uovo at 5rescia and / Carlo ai Catinari by prolonging the choir' the latter' moreover' by using oval;shaped spaces along the main a0is' / !aria della /anita by enriching the design by a pair of satellite units to each of the four arms+ / Alessandro' finally' by adding a smaller centrali&ed group with saucer dome to the east / Alessandro' therefore' is in a 5 way the most interesting of this series of large churches It contains another important feature9 the arches of the crossing rest on freestanding columns 5inago himself recommended that these be used with discretion The motif was immediately taken up by )antana in the 3uomo *uovo at 5rescia and had a considerable following in Italy and abroad' down to @ules Hardouin !ansart"s dome of the Invalides in %aris The :oining of two centrali&ed designs in one plan had a long pedigree In a sense' the problem was already inherent in 5runelleschi"s #ld /acristy of / )oren&o+ but it was only in the *orth Italian circle of 5ramante that the fully developed type emerged in the form of a coordination of two entirely homogeneous centrali&ed domed spaces of different si&e' an arrangement' incidentally' which had the support of classical authority 5inago"s / Alessandro represents an important step towards a merging of two previously separate units9 now the far arm of the large 8reek;cross unit also belongs to the smaller domed space In addition' the spacious vaulting between the two centrali&ed groups makes their separation impossible Thus the unification of two centrali&ed groups results in a longitudinal design of richly varied character It is at once evident that this form of spatial integration was a step forward into new territory' full of fascinating possibilities $or a number of reasons one may regard the whole group of churches here mentioned as )ate !annerist' not least because of the peculiar vacillation between centrali&ation and a0ial direction It is precisely in this respect that 5inago"s innovation must be regarded as revolutionary' for he decisively subordinated centrali&ed contraction to a0ial e0pansion The future lay in this direction #n the other hand' the derivations from the centrali&ed plan of /t %eter"s found little following during the seventeenth century' and it was only in the eighteenth century that they saw a limited revival' probably because of their )ate !annerist (ualities The ne0t step beyond / Alessandro was taken by $rancesco !aria Ricchino >,-2F;,.-2=' through whom !ilanese architecture entered a new phase It was he' a contemporary of !angone' who threw the classicist conventions of the reigning taste overboard and did for !ilan what Carlo !aderno did for Rome Although almost a generation younger than !aderno' his principal works' like !aderno"s' fall into the first three decades of the century Ricchino"s work has never been properly studied' but it would seem that' when one day the balance sheet can be drawn up' the pri&e for being the most imaginative and most richly endowed Italian architect of the early seventeenth century will go to Ricchino rather than !aderno 5eginning work under 5inago' he was sent by his patron' Cardinal $ederico 5orromeo' to Rome to finish his education After his return in ,.46 he submitted his first design for the fa7ade of the cathedral In ,.4- he was capomastro, a subordinate officer under Aurelio Tre&&i' who was Architect to the Cathedral in ,-A2 and ,.4F; - !uch later' between ,.6, and ,.62' Ricchino himself held this highest office to which a !ilanese architect could aspire In ,.4E he designed his first independent building' the church of / 8iuseppe' which was at once a masterpiece of the first rank The plan consists of an e0tremely simple combination of two 8reek; cross units The large congregational space is a 8reek cross with dwarfed arms and bevelled pillars which open into coretti above niches and are framed with three;(uarter columns+ four high arches carry the ring above which the dome rises The small s(uare sanctuary has low chapels instead of the cross arms *ot only does the same composite order unify the two spaces' but also the high arch between them seems to belong to the congregational room as well as to the sanctuary 5inago"s lesson of / Alessandro was not lost Ricchino employed here a similar method of welding together the two centrali&ed spaces' which disclose their ultimate derivation from 5ramante even after their thorough transformation This type of plan' the seventeenth;century version of a long native tradition' contained infinite possibilities' and it is impossible to indicate here its tremendous success /uffice it to say that the new fusion of simple centrali&ed units with all its conse(uences of spatial enrichment and scenic effects was constantly repeated and' mainly in *orthern Italy' revised and further developed+ but Ricchino had essentially solved the problem / 8iuseppe was finished in ,.,.+ the fa7ade' however' was not completed until ,.<A;64' although it was probably designed at a much earlier date It represents a new departure in two respects9 Ricchino attempted to give the fa7ade a unity hitherto unknown and at the same time to coordinate it with the entire structure of the church As regards the latter point' the problem had never been s(uarely faced 5y and large the 6 Italian church fa7ade was an e0ternal embellishment' designed for the view from the street and rather independent of the structure lying behind it Ricchino determined the height of the lower tier by the height of the s(uare body of the church and that of the upper tier by the octagonal superstructure+ at the same time' he carried the order of the fa7ade over into the rest of the structure' as far as it is visible from the street 3espite this significant integration of the "show; front" with the whole building' Ricchino could not achieve a proper dynamic relationship between inside and outside' a problem that was solved only by the architects of the High 5aro(ue As to the first point' the fa7ade of / 8iuseppe has no real precursors in !ilan or anywhere in the *orth #n the other hand' Ricchino was impressed by the fa7ade of / /usanna' but he replaced !aderno"s stepwise arrangement of enclosed bays by one in which the vertical links take prominence' in such a way that the whole front can and should be seen as composed of two high aedicules' one set into the other The result is very different from !aderno"s9 for instead of "reading"' as it were' the accretion of motifs in the fa7ade in a temporal process' his new "aedicule front" offers an instantaneous impression of unity in both dimensions It was the aedicule fa7ade that was to become the most popular type of church fa7ade during the 5aro(ue age $ate has dealt roughly with most of Ricchino"s buildings He was' above all' a builder of churches' and most of them have been destroyed+ many are only known through his designs+ some have been moderni&ed or rebuilt' while others were carried out by pupils >/ !aria alla %orta' e0ecuted by $rancesco Castelli and 8iuseppe ?uadrio= In addition' there was his interesting occasional work which needs' like the rest' further investigation In his later centrali&ed buildings he preferred the oval and' as far as can be :udged at present' he went through the whole gamut of possible designs #f the buildings that remain standing' five may cursorily be mentioned9 the large courtyard of the #spedale !aggiore >,.<-; FA=' impressive in si&e' but created in collaboration with 8 5 %essina' $abio !angone' and the painter 8 5 Crespi' and therefore less characteristic of him than the grand aedicule fa7ade of the monumental entrance to the Hospital+ the palaces Annoni >,.6,= and 3urini >designed ,.F2=' which look back by way of !eda"s %ala&&o 1isconti >,-A2= to 5assi"s %ala&&o /pinola+ the %ala&&o di 5rera >,.-,;2.=' built as a @esuit College' with the finest !ilanese courtyard which' having arches on double columns in two tiers' marks' after the severe phase' a return to Alessi"s %ala&&o !arino+ and finally' the fa7ade of the Collegio Elvetico' designed in ,.<E' a work of great vigour which has' moreover' the distinction of being an early' perhaps the earliest' concave pala&&o fa7ade of the 5aro(ue Bith Ricchino"s death we have already overstepped the chronological limits of this chapter *obody of his stature remained in !ilan to carry on the work he had so promisingly accomplished !ention has been made of the /anctuary at 1arese near !ilan which Cardinal $ederico 5orromeo had very much at heart The archi; tectural work began in ,.4F and was carried out through most of the century As one would e0pect' the fifteen chapels designed by 8iuseppe 5ernasconi from 1arese correspond to the severe classicism practised in !ilan at the beginning of the seventeenth century To the modern visitor there is a peculiar contrast between the classici&ing chastity of the archi; tecture and the popular realism of the tableaux vivants inside the chapels If anywhere' the lesson can here be learned that these are two complementary facets of counter;reformatory art In the 3uomo *uovo 5rescia has an early /eicento work of imposing dimensions 5ut :ust as so often in medieval times' the e0ecution of the pro:ect went beyond the resources of a small city After the competition of ,-A- the design by )antana >,-2,;,.<E= was finally chosen in ,.46 The ne0t year saw the laying of the foundation stone' but as late as ,E<E only the choir was roofed Until ,EF- there was a renewed period of activity due to the initiative of Cardinal Antonio !aria ?uerini The !ichelangeles(ue dome' however' was erected after ,2<, by )uigi Cagnola' who introduced changes in the original design To the names of the two able 5arnabite archi; tects Rosato Rosati and )oren&o 5inago' work; ing at the beginning of the /eicento' that of 8iovanni !agenta >I-.-;I.6-= must be added He was the strongest talent at 5ologna during the first (uarter of the century A man of great intellectual power' engineer' mathematician' and theoretician' he even became in ,.,< 8eneral of his #rder In ,.4- he designed on a vast scale the cathedral of / %ietro at 5ologna' accomplishing the difficult union with 3omenico Tibaldi"s choir >,-E-=' which he left untouched The design 7 differs from /t %eter"s and the great Roman congregational churches in the alternating high and low arches leading into the aisles Bith its brilliant light and the eighteenth;century coretti, added by Alfonso Torreggiani >,E.-=' the church looks much later than it is The e0ecution lay in the hands of $loriano Ambrosini and *icolo 3onati Bhile they changed to a certain e0tent !agenta"s pro:ect' the latter is fully responsible for the large church of / /alvatore' designed in ,.4- and erected by T !artelli between ,.,6 and ,.<6 Inspired by the large halls of Roman ther; mae' !agenta here monumentali&ed the *orth Italian tradition of using free;standing columns in the nave 5y virtue of this motif' the nave appears isolated from the domed area In addition' the large central chapels with arches rising to the whole height of the vaulting of the nave look like a transverse a0is and strengthen the impression that the nave is centred upon itself In fact' on entering the church one may well believe oneself to be in a 8reek;cross unit >without dome=' to which is added a second' domed unit Bhether one may or may not want to find in !agenta"s ambiguous design a )ate !annerist element' it is certain that he imaginatively transmuted *orth Italian conceptions Early 5aro(ue in its massiveness' / /alvatore was destined to e0ercise an important influence on the planning of longitudinal churches !agenta"s church of / %aolo' begun in ,.4.' shows that he was even capable of enlivening the traditional 8esG type' to which Roman architects of this period' did not really find an alternative 5y making space for confessionals with coretti above them between the high arches leading into the chapels' he created' more effectively than in the cathedral' a lively rhythm along the nave' reminiscent of 5orromini"s later handling of the same problem in / 8iovanni in )aterano %arma' flourishing under her $arnese princes' had in 8iovan 5attista Aleotti >,-F.;,.6.= and his pupil 8iovan 5attista !agnani >,-E,;,.-6= Early 5aro(ue architects The former' assisted by !agnani' built the impressively simple he0agon of / !aria del ?uartiere >,.4F;,A=' the e0terior of which is an early e0ample of the pagoda;like build;up of geometrical shapes taken up and developed later by 8uarino 8uarini >Chapter ,E' *ote ,<= Aleotti was for twenty;two years in the service of Alfonso d"Este at $errara' where he erected' among others' the imposing fa7ade of the University >,.,4=' together with Alessandro 5albi' the architect of the !adonna della 8hiara at Reggio Emilia >,-AE;,.,A=' a building dependent on the plan of /t %eter"s though less distinguished than the series of buildings mentioned above In $errara Aleotti also made his debut as an architect of theatres' an activity that was crowned by his Teatro $arnese' built at %arma between ,.,2 and ,.<2 The $arnese theatre' e0ceeding in si&e and magnificence any other before it' superbly blends %alladio"s and /camo&&i"s archaeological e0periments with the progressive tendencies evolved in $lorence
The wide;open' rectangular proscenium;arch together with the revolutionary U;shaped form of the auditorium contained the seeds of the spectacular development of the seventeenth;century theatre Heavily damaged during the last war' it has now been largely rebuilt 8enoa"s great period of architectural deve; lopment is the second half of the si0teenth century It was 8alea&&o Alessi who created the 8enoese pala&&o type along the /trada *uova >now 1ia 8aribaldi=' begun by him in ,--, 5ut to his contemporary Rocco )urago must be given pride of place for having recogni&ed the architectural potentialities which the steeply rising ground of 8enoa offered His %ala&&o 3oria Tursi in 1ia 8aribaldi >begun ,-.2= shows for the first time the long vista from the vestibule through the cortile to the staircase ascending at the far end 5artolomeo 5ianco >before ,-A4; ,.-E=' 8enoa"s greatest 5aro(ue architect' followed the lead of the %ala&&o 3oria Tursi His most accomplished structure is the present University' built as a @esuit College >planned ,.6o= along the 1ia 5albi >the street which he began in ,.4. and opened in ,.,2=+ it presents an ensemble of incomparable splendour $or the first time he unified architecturally the vestibule and courtyard' in spite of their different levels+ in the cortile he introduced two tiers of lofty ar; cades resting on twin columns+ and at the far end he carried the staircase' dividing twice' to the whole height of the building $ully aware of the coherence of the whole design' the eye of the beholder is easily led from level to level' four in all The e0terior contrasts with the earlier 8enoese pala&&o tradition by the relative sim; plicity of the design without' however' breaking away from the use of idiomatic 8enoese motifs Compared with the University' 5ianco"s %ala&&i 3ura&&o;%allavicini >1ia 5albi i' begun ,.,A= and 5albi;/enarega >1ia 5albi F' after ,.<4= are 8 almost an anticlima0 Bhile the latter was finished by %ier Antonio Corradi >,.,6;26=' the former was considerably altered in the course of the eighteenth century by Andrea Tagliafichi >,E<A; ,2,,=' who built the grand staircase Apart from the balconies and the cornices resting on large brackets' both palaces are entirely bare of decoration This is usually mentioned as characteristic of 5ianco"s austere manner It is' however' much more likely that these fronts were to be painted with illusionist architectural detail >such as window surrounds' niches' etc= and figures in keeping with a late si0teenth;century 8enoese fashion In contrast to the north of Italy' the contribution of Tuscan architects to the rise of 5aro(ue architecture is rather limited #ne is inclined to think that 5uontalenti"s ample and rich decorative manner might have formed a starting point for the emergence of a proper /eicento style Det Ammanati"s precise )ate !annerism and' perhaps to a larger e0tent' 3osio"s austere classicism corresponded more fully to the latent aspirations of the $lorentines It is hardly an overstatement to say that towards ,.44 an academic classici&ing reaction against 5uontalenti set in *evertheless' 5uontalenti"s decorative vocabulary was never entirely forgotten+ one finds it here' there' and everywhere till the late eighteenth century' and even architects outside $lorence were inspired by it Thus the $lorence of the early seventeenth century developed her own brand of a classici&ing !annerism' and this was by and large in keeping with the all;Italian position 5ut $lorence never had a !aderno or a Ricchino' a 5ianco or )onghena+ she remained to all intents and purposes anti;5aro(ue and hardly ever broke wholly with the tenets of the early seventeenth; century style The names of the main practitioners at the beginning of the seventeenth century are 8iovanni de" !edici >d ,.<,=' Cosimo I"s natural son' who supervised the large architectural undertakings during $erdinand I"s reign >,-2E; ,.4A=+ )odovico Cigoli >,--A;,.,6=' the painter >pp AE;2= and architect' !aderno"s unsuccessful competitor for /t %eter"s' the builder of the choir of / $elicita' of a number of palaces' and according to 5aldinucci also of the austere though unconventional courtyard of 5uontalenti"s %ala&&o *onfinito+ and 8iulio %arigi >,-E,;,.6-= and his son Alfonso >,.44;c ,.-.=' famous as theatrical designers of the !edici court' who imparted a scenographic (uality to the Isolotto and the theatre in the 5oboli gardens 8iulio e0erted a distinct influence on his pupil Callot and also on Agostino Tassi' whose scenic paintings reveal his early training $inally' !atteo *igetti >,-.4; ,.FA=' 5uontalenti"s pupil' must be added' whose stature as an architect has long been overestimated His contribution to the Cappella dei %rincipi is less original than has been believed' nor has he any share in the final design of / 8aetano' for which 8herardo /ilvani alone is responsible >p 6o,= His manner may best be :udged from his fa7ade of the Chiesa di #gnissanti >,.6-;E= Here' after forty years' he revived with certain ad:ustments the academic !annerism of 8iovanni de" !edici"s fa7ade of / /tefano dei Cavalieri at %isa >,-A6= In order to assess the sluggish path of the $lorentine development' one may compare the #gnissanti fa7ade with that of Ascanio 1itto&&i"s Chiesa del Corpus 3omini at Turin' where it can be seen how by ,.4E the theme of / /tefano was handled in a vigorously sculptural Early 5aro(ue manner 3uring the first half of the seventeenth century the erection of the huge octagonal funeral chapel >Cappella dei %rincipi= absorbed the interest and e0hausted the treasury of the !edici court )avishly incrusted with coloured marbles and precious stones' the chapel' lying on the main a0is of / )oren&o' was to offer a glittering viewpoint from the entrance of the church /ince the wall between the church and the chapel remained standing' this scenic effect' essentially 5aro(ue and wholly in keeping with the !edicean love of pageantry and the stage' was never obtained As early as ,-., Cosimo I had planned a funeral chapel' but it was only 8rand 3uke $erdinand I who brought the idea to fruition After a competition among the most distinguished $lorentine artists' 8iovanni de" !edici together with his collaborator' Alessandro %ieroni' and !atteo *igetti prepared the model which was revised by 5uontalenti >,.46;F= The latter was in charge of the building until his death in ,.42' when *igetti continued as clerk of works for the ne0t forty years If in spite of such activity the chapel remained a torso for a long time to come' it yet epitomi&es !edici ambition of the early seventeenth century In the interior the flat decorative (uality takes precedence over the structural organi&ation' and by Roman standards of the time the e0terior must have been 9 :udged as a shapeless pile Rather sober and dry in detail' the large drum and dome do not seem to tally with their substructure Bindows of different si&es and in different planes are s(uee&ed in between the massive and ill;articulated "but; tresses" There is' in fact' no end to the obvious incongruities which manifest a stubborn adherence to the outmoded principles of !annerism *aples saw in the last two decades of the si0teenth century a considerable intensification of architectural activity' due to the enthusiasm of two viceroys )acking native talents' architects had to be called from abroad 8iovan Antonio 3osio >d ,.4A= and 3omenico $ontana >d ,.4E= settled there for good The former left $lorence in ,-2A+ the latter' running into difficulties after /i0tus 1"s death' made *aples his home in ,-A<' where as "Royal Engineer" he found tasks on the largest scale' among them the construction of the Royal %alace >,.44;<= Thus $lorentine and Roman classicism were assimilated in the southern kingdom A new phase of *eapolitan architecture is linked to the name of $ra $rancesco 8rimaldi >,-F6;,.,6=' a Theatine monk who came from Calabria His first important building' / %aolo !aggiore >,-2,H6;,.46=' erected over the ancient temple of Castor and %ollu0' proves him an architect of uncommon ability In spite of certain provincialisms' the design of / %aolo has breadth and a sonorous (uality that may well be called Early 5aro(ue The wide nave with alternating high and low arches' opening respectively into domed and vaulted parts of the >later= aisles' is reminiscent of !agenta"s work in 5ologna and more imaginative than Roman church designs of the period In ,-2- 8rimaldi was called to Rome' where he had a share in the erection of / Andrea della 1alle He must have had the reputation of being the leading Theatine architect Among his post;Roman buildings' / !aria della /apien&a >begun ,.,F' with fa7ade by $an&ago= returns' more sophisticated' to the rhythmic articulation of / %aolo' while / !aria degli Angeli >,.44; ,4=' the Cappella del Tesoro' which ad:oins the cathedral and is itself the si&e of a church >,.42; after ,.,6=' and // Apostoli >planned c, ,.,4' e0ecuted ,.<.;6<= are all thoroughly Roman in character and succeed by their scale and the vigorous (uality of the design *e0t to 8rimaldi' 8iovan 8iacomo di Conforto >d ,.6,= and the 3ominican $ra *uvolo >8iuseppe 3on&elli= should be mentioned Conforto began under 3osio' was after the latter"s death architect of / !artino until ,.<6' and built' apart from the campanile of the Chiesa del Carmine >,.<<' finished by $ra *uvolo' ,.6,=' three )atin;cross churches >/ /evere al %endino' / Agostino degli /cal&i' ,.46;,4' and / Teresa' ,.4<;,<= A more fascinating figure is $ra *uvolo He began his career with / !aria di Costantinopoli >late si0teenth century=' where he faced the dome with ma:olica' thus inaugurating the characteristic *eapolitan type of colourful decoration His / !aria della /anita >,.4<;,6= has been mentioned + his / /ebastiano' with a very high dome' and / Carlo all"Arena >,.6,=' both elliptical' are uncommonly interesting and progressive These brief hints indicate that by the end of the first (uarter of the seventeenth century *aples had a flourishing school of architects 5y that time the great master of the ne0t generation' Cosimo $an&ago' was already working 5ut it was then that Rome asserted her ascendancy' and *aples as well as the cities of the *orth' which had contributed so much to the rise of the new style' were relegated once again to the role of provincial centres THE AGE OF THE HIGH BAROQUE circa 1625 circa 1675 CHAPTER 8 GIANLORENZO BERNINI 1598 - 1680 ARCHITECTURE 10 Ecclesiastical Buildings The year ,.<F is of particular importance in the history of 5aro(ue architecture+ it was then that 5ernini"s career as an architect began with the commissions for the fa7ade of / 5ibiana and the 5aldacchino in /t %eter"s It can hardly be denied that the little church of / 5ibiana opens a new chapter of the 5aro(ue in all three arts9 it harbours 5ernini"s first official religious statue and Cortona"s first important fresco cycle The design of the fa7ade is not divorced from tradition 5ut instead of developing further the type of Roman church fa7ade which had led to !aderno"s / /usanna' 5ernini placed a palace; like storey over an open loggia I essentially the principle of the fa7ade of /t %eter"s In some modest early seventeenth;century fa7ades of this type such as / /ebastiano the palace character is almost scrupulously preserved 5y comparison / 5ibiana shows an important new feature9 the central bay of the ground;floor arcades pro:ects slightly' and above it' framing a deep niche' is an impressive aedicule motif which breaks through the skyline of the ad:oining bays In this way the centre of the fa7ade has been given forceful emphasis It should be noticed that the cornice of the side;bays seems to run on under the pilasters of the aedicule and then to turn into the depth of the niche Thus the aedicule is superimposed over a smaller system' the continuity of which appears to be unbroken The interpenetration of small and large orders was a !annerist device' familiar to 5ernini not only from such buildings as !ichelangelo"s Capitoline palaces' but also from the church fa7ades of %alladio' an architect whose work he never ceased to study All the same' 5ernini"s first essay in architectural design constitutes a new' bold' and individualist departure which none of the architects who later used the palace type of church fa7ade dared to imitate The 5aldacchino in /t %eter"s >,.<F;66= gave 5ernini his first and at once greatest opportunity of displaying his unparalleled genius for combining an architectural structure with monu; mental sculpture It was a brilliant idea to repeat in the giant columns of the 5aldacchino the shape of the late anti(ue twisted columns which ; sanctified by age and their use in the old 5asilica of /t %eter"s ; were now to serve as aedicules above the balconies of the pillars of the dome Thus the twisted bron&e columns of the 5aldacchino find a fourfold echo' and not only give proof of the continuity of tradition' but by their giant si&e also e0press symbolically the change from the simplicity of the early Christians to the splendour of the counter;reformatory Church' implying the victory of Christianity over the pagan world !oreover' their shape helped to solve the formal problem inherent in the gigantic 5aldacchino Its si&e is carefully related to the architecture of the church+ but instead of creating a dangerous rivalry' the dark bron&e corkscrew columns establish a dramatic contrast to the straight fluted pilasters of the piers as well as to the other white marble structural members of the building $inally' and above all' only giant columns of this peculiar shape could be placed free into space without carrying a "normal" superstructure The columns are topped by four large angels behind which rise the huge scrolls of the crowning motif Their /;shaped lines appear like a buoyant continuation of the screw;like upward tendencies of the columns The scrolls meet under a vigorously curved entablature which is surmounted by the Cross above the golden orb Every part of this dynamic structure is ac; companied and supported by sculpture' and it may be noticed that with increasing distance from the ground the sculptural element is given ever greater freedom9 starting from the 5arberini coat of arms contained by the panels of the pedestals+ on to the laurel branches' creeping up the columns' with putti nestling in them+ and further to the angels who hold garlands like ropes' with which to keep ; so it seems ; the scrolls in position without effort In this area' high above the ground' sculpture in the round plays a vital part Here' in the open spaces between the scrolls' are the putti with the symbols of papal power' here are the energetically curved palm branches which give tension to the movement of the scrolls and' finally' the realistic 5arberini bees' fittingly the uppermost sculptural feature' which look as if they carry the orb Critics have often disapproved of the realistic hangings which :oin the columns instead of the traditional entablature 5ut it is precisely this unorthodo0 element which gives the 5aldacchino its particular meaning as a monumental canopy raised in all eternity over the tomb of /t %eter' reminiscent of the real canopy 11 held over the living pope when he is carried in state through the basilica 5ernini"s bold departure from the traditional form of baldacchinos ; in the past often temple; like architectural structures ; had an immediate and lasting effect Among the many repetitions and imitations may be mentioned those in / )oren&o at /pello' erected as early as ,.6<' in the cathedrals at Atri' $oligno' and Trent and' much later' those in the abbey church at /an 5enigno' %iedmont >,EE4;.= and in / Angelo at %erugia >,EE6' recently removed= !oreover' the derivations in Austria and 8ermany are legion+ and even in $rance the type was widely accepted after the well;known lighter version with si0 columns on a circular plan had been built over the high altar of the 1al;de;8race in %aris *ot until he was almost si0ty years old had 5ernini a chance of showing his skill as a de; signer of churches His three churches at Castelgandolfo and Ariccia and / Andrea al ?uirinale in Rome rose almost simultaneously In spite of their small si&e' they are of great importance not only for their intrinsic (ualities but also because of their e0traordinary influence !odern critics tend to misinterpret them by stressing their traditional rather than their revolu; tionary aspect Arguing from a purely aesthetic or pragmatic point of view' they tacitly imply that the same set of forms and motifs always e0presses the same meaning It is too often overlooked that the architecture of the past was a language of visual signs and symbols which architects used in a specific conte0t' and the same grammar of architectural forms may there; fore serve entirely different purposes and convey vastly different ideas This should be remembered during the following discussion 5ernini erected his three churches over the three most familiar centrali&ed plans' the 8reek cross' the circle' and the oval The earliest of them' the church at Castelgandolfo' built between ,.-2 and ,..,' is a simple 8reek cross' reminiscent of such perfect Renaissance churches as 8iuliano da /angallo"s !adonna delle Carceri at %rato And as in this latter church' the ratios are of utmost simplicity' the depth of the arms of the cross' for instance' being half their width 5ut compared with Renaissance churches the height has been considerably increased and the dome has been given absolute predominance The e0terior is very restrained' in keeping with the modest character of the papal summer retreat to which the church belongs $lat Tuscan double pilasters decorate the fa7ade' and only minor features reveal the late date' such as the heavy door pediment and' in the &one of the capitals' the uninterrupted moulding which links the front and the arms of the church Above the crossing rises the elegant ribbed dome which is evidently derived from that of /t %eter"s 5ut in contrast to the great model' the drum here consists of a low and unadorned cylinder' not unlike that of Raphael"s / Eligio degli #refici in Rome' and is moreover set off against the dome by the prominent ring of the cornice Every part of this building is clearly defined' absolutely lucid' and submitted to a classical discipline The same spirit of austerity prevails in the interior up to the sharply chiselled ring above the arches 5ut in the &one of the vaulting 5ernini abandoned his self;imposed moderation /pirited putti' supporting large medallions' are seated on the broken pediments over the windows of the drum These pediments' breaking into the dome' soften the division between drum and vault Realistic garlands form links between the putti' and the lively and fle0ible girdle thus created appears like a pointed reversal of the pure geometry of the ring under the drum This formal contrast between rigidity and freedom is paralleled by the antithesis between the monumental Roman lettering of the inscription' praising the virtues of /t Thomas of 1illanova to whom the church is dedicated' and the elo(uent reliefs which render eight important events of his life /ince the coffers seem to continue behind the reliefs' the latter appear to hover in the wide e0panse of the dome Bhenever 5ernini had previously decorated niches or semi;domes' he had followed the tradition' sanctioned by !ichelangelo' of using ribs and' in the neutral areas between them' decorative roundels In Castelgandolfo 5ernini retained the ribs and combined them with coffers The classical element of the coffers seems to indicate an evenly distributed thrust >%antheon=' while the "medieval"' buttress;like system of ribs divides the dome into active carriers and passive panels The union of these contrasting types of domical organi&ation was not 5ernini"s own invention He took up an idea first developed by %ietro da Cortona and' after thoroughly classici&ing it' employed it from Castelgandolfo onwards for all his later vaultings and domes It was this 5ernines(ue type of dome with ribs and 12 coffers all'antica that was followed on countless occasions after ,..4 by architects in Italy as well as the rest of Europe / Tomaso at Castelgandolfo is perhaps the least distinguished of 5ernini"s three churches in so far as the two others e0hibit his specific approach to architecture more fully The story of the new Ariccia dates back to <4 @uly ,..,' when Cardinal $lavio' 3on !ario' and 3on Agostini Chigi ac(uired the little township near Castelgandolfo from 8iulio /avelli' %rince of Albano Here stood the old palace of the /avelli /oon it was decided not only to moderni&e the palace' but also to erect a church opposite its entrance 5ernini was commissioned in ,..<' and two years later the church was finished Its basic form consists of a cylinder crowned by a hemispherical dome with a broad lantern An arched portico of pure' classical design is placed in front of the rotunda' counterbalanced at the far end by the sacristy which :uts out from the circle but is not perceived by the approaching visitor Here also are the two bell;towers of which only the tops are visible from the s(uare In order to understand 5ernini"s guiding idea' reference must be made to another pro:ect $rom ,.-E onwards 5ernini was engaged on plans for ridding the %antheon of later disfiguring additions+ he also intended to systemati&e the s(uare in front of the ancient building' but most of his ideas remained on paper
/urviving sketches show that he interpreted the e0terior of the "original" %antheon as the union of the two basic forms of vaulted cylinder and portico' and it is this combination of two simple geometric shapes' stripped of all accessories' that he reali&ed in the church at Ariccia /traight colonnades flank the church' and these' together with the portico and the walls' which grip like arms around the body of the church' enhance the cylindrical and monolithic (uality of the rotunda The interior too shows une0pected relations to the %antheon There are three chapels of e(ual si&e on each side' while the entrance and the altar niche are a fraction larger' so that an almost unnoticeable a0ial direction e0ists 5ut the impression prevails of eight consecutive niches separated by tall Corinthian pilasters' which carry the unbroken circle of the entablature As Andrea %alladio had done before in the little church at !aser' so here 5ernini reduced the design to the two fundamental forms of the cylinder and hemisphere' and' as in !aser' the Corinthian order is as high as the cylinder itself In contrast' however' to %alladio"s rhythmic alternation of open and closed bays' 5ernini gave an uninterrupted se(uence of openings The structural chastity of Ariccia was due to an attempt at recreating an imaginary %antheon of the venerable Republican era 5ernini believed that the ancient building had originally been one of heroic simplicity and grandeur !uch later' Carlo $ontana' who in about ,..4 worked as 5ernini"s assistant' published a reconstruction of the supposedly original %antheon which is remarkably close to the interior of Ariccia 5ut in the &one of the dome' which again shows the combination of coffers and ribs' we find a realistic decoration similar to that at Castelgandolfo9 stucco putti and angels sit on scrolls' holding free;hanging garlands which swing from rib to rib Bhat do these life;like figures signifyC The church is dedicated to the 1irgin >/ !aria dell"Assun&ione= and' according to the legend' re:oicing angels strew flowers on the day of her Assumption The celestial messengers are seated under the "dome of heaven" into which the ascending 1irgin will be received+ the mystery is adumbrated in the Assumption painted on the wall behind the altar /ince the :ubilant angels' superior beings who dwell in a &one inaccessible to the faithful' are treated with e0treme realism' they con:ure up full and breathing life Thus whenever he enters the church the worshipper participates in the "mystery in action" As in Castelgandolfo' the dedication of the church gives rise to a dramatic; historical interpretation+ the entire church is submitted to' and dominated by' this particular event' and the whole interior has become its stage 5y and large' the Renaissance church had been conceived as a monumental shrine' where man' separated from everyday life' was able to communicate with 8od In 5ernini"s churches' by contrast' the architecture is no more and no less than the setting for a stirring mystery revealed to the faithful by sculptural decoration In spite of their close formal links with Renaissance and ancient architecture' these churches have been given an entirely non;classical meaning #bviously' 5ernini saw no contradiction between classical architecture and 5aro(ue sculpture ; a contradiction usually emphasi&ed by modern critics who fail to understand the sub:ective and 13 particular (uality with which seemingly ob:ective and timeless classical forms have been endowed 5y far the most important of the three churches is / Andrea al ?uirinale' commis; sioned by Cardinal Camillo %amphili for the novices of the @esuit #rder 5uilding began simultaneously with the church at Castelgandolfo ; the foundation stone was laid on 6 *ovember ,.-2 ; but it took much longer to complete this richly decorated church Antonio Raggi"s stuccoes were carried out between ,..< and ,..-' while other parts of the decoration dragged on until ,.E4 The particular character of the site on which most of the convent was standing induced 5ernini to choose an oval ground;plan with the transverse a0is longer than the main a0is between entrance and altar This in itself was not without precedent There was $ornovo"s / !aria dell" Annun&iata at %arma >,-..=' and 5ernini himself had used the type much earlier in the little church in the old %ala&&o di %ropaganda $ide >,.6F' later replaced by 5orromini"s structure= Bhat is new in / Andrea' however' is that pilasters instead of open chapels stand at both ends of the transverse a0is As a result' the oval is closed at the most critical points where otherwise' from a viewpoint near the entrance' the eye would wander off from the main room into undefined subsidiary spaces 5ernini"s novel solution permits' indeed compels' the spectator"s glance to sweep round the uninterrupted se(uence of giant pilasters' crowned by the massive ring of the entablature' until it meets the columned aedicule in front of the altar recess And here' in the concave opening of the pediment' /t Andrew soars up to heaven on a cloud All the lines of the architecture culminate in' and converge upon' this piece of sculpture !ore arrestingly than in the other churches the beholder"s attention is absorbed by the dramatic event' which owes its suggestive power to the way in which it dominates the severe lines of the architecture Colour and light assist the miraculous ascen; sion 5elow' in the human sphere' the church glows with precious multicoloured dark marble Above' in the heavenly sphere of the dome' the colours are white and gold The oval space is evenly lit by windows between the ribs which cut deep into the coffered parts of the dome 5right light streams in from the lantern' in which sculptured cherubs" heads and the 3ove of the Holy 8host seem to await the ascending saint All the chapels are considerably darker than the congregational room' so that its uniformity is doubly assured In addition' there is a subtle differentiation in the lighting of the chapels9 the large ones flanking the transverse a0is have a diffused light' while the four subsidiary ones in the diagonal a0es are cast in deep shadow Thus the aedicule is ad:oined by dark areas which dramatically enhance the radiance of light in the altar chapel In / Andrea 5ernini solved the intractable problem of directions inherent in centrali&ed planning in a manner which only %alladio had attempted before the 5aro(ue age 5y means of the aedicule' which is an ingenious adaptation of the %alladian device of the columned screen ;a uni(ue occurrence in Rome ; he created a barrier against' as well as a vital link with' the altar chapel He thus preserved and even emphasi&ed the homogeneity of the oval form and' at the same time' succeeded in giving predominance to the altar Translated into psychological terms' the church has two spiritual centres9 the oval space' where the congregation participates in the miracle of the saint"s salvation+ and the carefully separated altar;recess' inaccessible to the laity' where the mystery is consummated Here the beholder sees like an apparition the band of angelic messengers bathed in visionary golden light bearing aloft the picture of the martyred saint' assured of his heavenly reward for faith unbroken by suffering It hardly seems necessary to reaffirm obser; vations made in the first part of this chapter9 here the whole church is sub:ect to a coherent literary theme which informs every part of it' including the ring of figures above the windows which consists of putti carrying garlands and martyrs" palms' and nude fishermen who handle nets' oars' shells' and reeds ; symbolic companions of the fisherman Andrew Through its specific conne0ion with sculpture' the architecture itself serves to make the dramatic concetto a vital e0perience $or the e0terior of / Andrea' 5ernini made use of the lesson he had learned from $rancesco da 1olterra"s / 8iacomo degli Incurabili In both churches the dome is enclosed in a cylindrical shell' and in both cases the thrust is taken up by large scrolls which fulfil the function of 8othic buttresses 5ut this is as far as the influence of / 8iacomo goes In the case of / Andrea' the scrolls rest upon the strong oval ring which 14 encases the chapels Its cornice seems to run on under the giant Corinthian pilasters of the fa7ade and sweeps forward into the semicircular portico where it is supported by two Ionic columns The portico' surmounted between scrolls by the free; standing %amphili coat of arms of e0uberant decorative design' is the only relieving note in an otherwise e0tremely austere fa7ade Det this airy porch must not simply be regarded as an e0hilarating feature inviting the passers;by to enter+ it is also a dynamic element of vital importance in the comple0 organi&ation of the building The aedicule motif framing the portico is taken up inside' on the same a0is' by the aedicule framing the altar recess 5ut there is a reversal in the direction of movement9 while in the e0terior the cornice over the oval body of the church seems to move towards the approaching visitor and to come to rest in the portico' the point nearest to him' in the interior the movement is in the opposite direction and is halted at the point farthest away from the entrance In addi; tion' the isolated altar;room answers in reverse to the pro:ecting portico' and this is e0pressive of their different functions' the latter inviting' the former e0cluding the faithful Thus outside and inside appear like "positive" and "negative" reali&ations of the same theme A word must be added about the two (uadrant walls forming the pia&&a They focus attention on the fa7ade 5ut more than this9 since they grip firmly into the ":ointsJ where the oval body of the church and the aedicule meet' their concave sweep reverses the conve0 ring of the oval and reinforces the dynamic (uality of the whole structure 8enetically speaking' the fa7ade of / Andrea is related to that of / 5ibiana It might almost be said that what 5ernini did was to isolate and monumentali&e the revolutionary central feature of / 5ibiana and to connect it with the motif of the portico with free;standing columns which %ietro da Cortona had first introduced in / !aria della %ace And yet this fa7ade is highly original In order to assess its novel character I may refer to the Early 5aro(ue fa7ade of / 8iacomo degli Incurabili Here the fa7ade is orthodo0' deriving from Roman )atin;cross churches' so that on entering this oval church one is aware that the e0terior and the interior are not co;ordinated In the case of / Andrea al ?uirinale nobody would e0pect to enter a )atin;cross church 5ernini suc; ceeded in e0pressing in the fa7ade the specific character of the church behind it9 e0terior and interior form an entirely homogeneous entity Secular Buildings 5ernini"s activity in the field of domestic architecture was neither e0tensive nor without adversity In the %ala&&o 5arberini' his earliest work' his contribution was confined to ad:ust; ments of Carlo !aderno"s design and to deco; rative features of the interior such as the door surrounds The fa7ade of the Collegio di %ropaganda $ide facing the %ia&&a di /pagna was an able moderni&ation of an old palace front >,.F<;F=' but he acted only as consulting architect His share in the design of the %ala&&o 3ucale at !odena and the e0ecution of the %ala&&o del ?uirinale ; a work of many brains and hands ; is relatively small A number of designs remained on paper' while some minor works survive9 the decoration of the %orta del %opolo on the side of the %ia&&a' occasioned by the entry into Rome of ?ueen Christina of /weden >,.--=+ additions to the hospital of / /pirito >,..F;.= of which at least a gateway in the 1ia %eniten&ieri close to the /(uare of /t %eter"s survives+ the renovation of the papal palace at Castelgandolfo >,..4=+ and finally an "industrial" work' the arsenal in the harbour of Civitavecchia >,.-2;.6=' consisting of three large halls of impressive austerity /etting all this aside' only three works of ma:or importance remain to claim our attention' each with an ill; starred history of its own' namely the %ala&&o )udovisi in %ia&&a !ontecitorio' the %ala&&o Chigi in %ia&&a // Apostoli' and the pro:ects for the )ouvre 5ernini designed the %ala&&o )udovisi' now %ala&&o di !ontecitorio' in ,.-4 for the family of %ope Innocent K In ,.--' at the %ope"s death' little was standing of the vast palace' and it was not until forty years later' in ,.AF' that Carlo $ontana resumed construction for Innocent KII Although $ontana introduced some rather pedantic academic features' 5ernini"s fa7ade was sufficiently advanced to prevent any flagrant distortion of his intentions
The entire length of twenty;five windows is subdivided into separate units of 6;.;E;.;6 bays which meet at obtuse angles so that the whole front looks as if it were erected over a conve0 plan /light pro:ections of 15 the units at either end and the centre are important vehicles of organi&ation Each unit is framed by giant pilasters comprising the two principal storeys' to which the ground floor with the naturalistic rock formations under the farthest pilasters and window sills serves as a base Apart from these attempts at articulation' the palace is essentially tied to the Roman tradition deriving from the %ala&&o $arnese In the summer of ,..F' not long before his :ourney to %aris' 5ernini designed the palace which Cardinal $lavio Chigi had purchased in ,.., from the Colonna family The volte;face here is hardly foreshadowed in the fa7ade of the %ala&&o )udovisi 5ernini placed a richly articulated central part of seven bays between simple rusticated receding wings of three bays each !ore decidedly than in the %ala&&o )udovisi' the ground floor functions as a base for the two upper storeys with their giant composite pilasters which stand so close that the window tabernacles of the piano nobile take up the entire open space This finely balanced fa7ade was disturbed in ,EF- when the palace was ac(uired by the #descalchi *icola /alvi and his assistant )uigi 1anvitelli doubled the central part' which now has si0teen pilasters instead of eight and two entrance doors instead of one The present front is much too long in relation to its height and' standing between asymmetrical wings' no longer bears witness to 5ernini"s immaculate sense of proportion and scale This' however' does not pre:udice the revolutionary importance of 5ernini"s design' which constitutes a decisive break with the traditional Roman palace front The older type' with no vertical articulation' has long rows of windows hori&ontally united by means of continuous string courses %recedents for the use of the colossal order in palace fa7ades e0isted In !ichelangelo"s Capitoline %alaces and %alladio"s %ala&&o 1almarana at 1icen&a the colossal order rises from the ground #n the other hand' a few buildings in Rome before 5ernini have a colossal order over the ground floor' and in *orthern Italy the type is not rare 5ut when all is said and done' such comparisons throw into relief rather than diminish 5ernini"s achievement The relation of the ground floor to the two upper tiers+ the fine gradation from simple window;frames to elaborate' heavy tabernacle frames in the piano nobile - deriving from the %ala&&o $arnese ; to the light and playful window surrounds of the second storey+ the rich composite order of the pilasters+ the powerful cornice with rhythmically arranged brackets crowned by an open balustrade which was meant to carry statuary+ the :u0taposition of the highly organi&ed central part with the rustic wings+ and' lastly' the strong accentuation of the entrance with its free;standing Tuscan columns' balcony and window above it' the whole unit being again dependent on the %ala&&o $arnese ; all this was here combined in a design of authentic nobility and grandeur 5ernini had found the formula for the aristocratic 5aro(ue palace And its immense influence e0tends far beyond the borders of Italy 5ernini"s third great enterprise' the )ouvre' turned out to be his saddest disappointment In the spring of ,..- )ouis KI1 invited him to come to %aris and suggest on the spot how to complete the great )ouvre carre of which the west and south wings and half of the north wing were standing The east wing with the main front was still to be built 8reat were the e0pectations on all sides when 5ernini arrived in %aris on < @une of that year 5ut his five months" stay there ended in dismal failure The reasons for it were many' personal as well as national And yet his pro:ects might possibly have been accepted had they answered the purpose for which they were made 5efore he travelled to $rance' he had already sent two different pro:ects to Colbert' in whose hands as "/urintendant des 5atiments" rested all proceedings connected with the )ouvre Although 5ernini always worked on the whole area of the carre, the focus of his design was' of course' the east fa7ade The first pro:ect of @une ,..F' contemporary with the design of the %ala&&o Chigi;#descalchi' is une0pected by any standards He created an open rectangle with two pro:ecting wings of four bays each' between which he placed a long colonnade consisting of a conve0 centre between two concave arms The conve0 part of the colonnade follows the shape of the oval vestibule' above which is a grand oval hall going through two storeys Its second storey with circular windows' articulated by double pilasters and decorated with $rench lilies standing out against the sky;line' rises above the uniform cornice of the whole front In this fa7ade 5ernini followed up the theme of the %ala&&o 5arberini' an arcaded centre framed by serene wings' and applied to it the theme of Roman church trades with a conve0 centre between 16 concave arms >/ !aria della %ace' / Andrea al ?uirinale= 5ut for the details of the colonnade he turned to the festive architecture of northern Italy and combined the colossal order of %alladio"s )oggia del Capitano at 1icen&a with the two;storeyed arcade of /ansovino"s )ibrary at 1enice The result was a palace design which has an entirely un;Roman airy (uality' and though it remained on paper it seems to have had considerable influence on the development of eighteenth;century structures The second pro:ect' dispatched from Rome in $ebruary ,..- and preserved in a drawing at /tockholm' has a giant order applied to the wall above a rusticated ground floor #ne may regard this as a novel application of the %ala&&o Chigi;#descalchi design' but for the wide sweep of the concave centre part 5ernini was probably indebted to an une0ecuted pro:ect by %ietro da Cortona for the %ia&&a Colonna in Rome The third pro:ect designed in %aris survives in the engravings by !arot which were carried out under 5ernini"s watchful eyes He now returned to the more conventional Roman pala&&o type' and in the process of re;designing the eas"t front he lost in originality what he gained in monumental appearance He was still faced with the typically Italian problem of harmoni&ing length and height in this front of prodigious e0tension+ he therefore subdivided the traditional block shape into five distinct units' thus developing the scheme first evolved in the %ala&&o !ontecitorio The central pro:ection showing the ideal ratio of ,9< >height to length' without the basement which was to disappear behind the moat= is emphasi&ed not only by its si&e of eleven bays but also by virtue of its decoration with giant half;columns This motif is taken up in the giant pilasters of the wings' while the receding sections have no orders at all $ollowing the e0ample of the %ala&&o $arnese' 5ernini retained much plain wall;space above the windows of the piano nobile as well as the traditional string course under the windows of the top storey Instead of arranging the order as a simple consecutive se(uence' he concen; trated four half;columns in the central area' a device to emphasi&e the entrance This palace was to rise like a powerful fortress from the "natural" rock+ this concept too was' in a way' anticipated in the %ala&&o di !ontecitorio 5ernini"s third east fa7ade was the answer to previous criticism voiced by Colbert 5ut in spite of vital changes from one pro:ect to the ne0t' 5ernini clung with the stubbornness only to be found in a genius averse to any compromise to all the features which he regarded as essential for a royal residence although they were contrary to $rench taste and traditions He retained the unifying cornice' the unbroken skyline' and the flat roof+ to him a fa7ade was a whole to which the parts were subordinated+ it could never be the agglomeration of different structural units to which the $rench were accustomed !oreover' in compliance with southern conceptions of decorum he insisted' in spite of Colbert"s repeated protests' on transferring the Ling"s suite from the (uiet south front' facing the river' to the east wing' the most stately but also the most noisy part of the building Among his other unacceptable proposals was the idea of surrounding the carre with arcades after the fashion of Italian courtyards+ such arcades were not only unsuitable in that they e0cluded the light from the rooms behind' but they also seemed aesthetically repulsive to the $rench $inally' he never abandoned the typically Italian staircases in the four corners of the cane, placed there in order not to interrupt the alignment of rooms' and their disposition as well as their enclosure by badly lit wells appeared contrary to common sense to the $rench' who had solved the problem of easy communication between vestibule' staircase hall' and living rooms Bhen 5ernini returned to Italy he had not given up hope that his plans would be carried out The $rench architects were bitterly anta; gonistic Colbert was irresolute' but the king had taken a liking to the great Italian and supported him Actually' the foundation stone of 5ernini"s )ouvre was laid three days before his departure from %aris 5ack in Rome' he worked out a new pro:ect' the fourth' in which he made the one concession of reducing the much critici&ed height of the piano nobile. In !ay ,... he sent his assistant' !attia de" Rossi' to %aris to supervise the e0ecution 5ut meanwhile the king"s interest had shifted to 1ersailles' and that was the signal for Colbert to abandon 5ernini"s plans 5y this decision %aris was saved the doubtful honour of having within its walls the most monumental Roman pala&&o ever designed /plendid though 5ernini"s pro:ect was' the enormous' austere pile would forever have stood out as an alien growth in the serene atmosphere of %aris In Rome' the cube of the %ala&&o $arnese' the ancestor of 5ernini"s design' may be 17 likened to the solo in a choir In %aris' 5ernini"s overpowering )ouvre would have no resonance9 it would have cast an almost sombre spell over the gaiety of the city The Piazza of St Peter's Bhile he was in %aris' 5ernini"s greatest work' the /(uare of /t %eter"s' was still rising 5ut by that time all the hurdles had been taken and' moreover' 5ernini had a reliable studio with a long and firmly established tradition to look after his interests His "office" supplied' of course' no more than physical help towards the accomplishment of one of the most comple0 enterprises in the history of Italian architecture 5ernini alone was responsible for this work which has always been universally admired' he alone had the genius and resourcefulness to find a way through a tangle of topographical and liturgical problems' and only his supreme authority in artistic matters backed by the unfailing support of %ope Ale0ander 1II could overcome intrigues and envious opposition and bring this task to a successful conclusion Among a vast number of issues to be considered' particular importance was attached to two ritual ones right from the start At Easter and on a few other occasions the pope blesses the people of Rome from the 5enediction )oggia above the central entrance to the church It is a blessing symbolically e0tended to the whole world9 it is given urbi et orbi. The pia&&a' therefore' had not only to hold the ma0imum number of people' while the )oggia had to be visible to as many as possible' but the form of the s(uare itself had to suggest the all;embracing character of the function Another ceremony to be taken into account was the papal blessing given to pilgrims from a window of the private papal apartment situated in 3omenico $ontana"s palace on the north side of the piazza. #ther hardly less vital considerations pertained to the papal palace Its old entrance in the north;west corner of the pia&&a could not be shifted and yet it had to be integrated into the architecture of the whole
The basilica itself re(uired an approach on the grandest scale in keeping with its prominence among the churches of the Catholic world In addition' covered ways of some kind were needed for processions and in particular for the solemn ceremonies of Corpus 3omini+ they were also necessary as protection against sun and rain' for pedestrians as well as for coaches 5ernini began in the summer of ,.-. with the design of a trape&oid pia&&a enclosed by the traditional type of palace fronts over round;headed arcades This scheme was soon abandoned for a variety of reasons' not the least because it was of paramount importance to achieve greatest monumentality with as little height as possible A pala&&o front with arcades would have been higher than the present colonnades without attaining e(ual grandeur /o by !arch ,.-E the first pro:ect was superseded by one with arcades of free;standing columns forming a large oval piazza; soon after' in the summer of the same year' 5ernini replaced the arcades by colonnades of free;standing columns with a straight entablature above the columns #nly such a colonnade was devoid of any associations with palace fronts and therefore complied with the ceremonial character of the s(uare more fully than an arcaded scheme with its reminiscences of domestic architecture #n ritualistic as well as artistic grounds the enclosure of the pia&&a had to be kept as low as possible A high enclosure would have interfered with the visibility of the papal blessing given from the palace window !oreover' a comparatively low one was also needed in order to "correct" the unsatisfactory impression made by the proportions of the fa7ade of /t %eter"s This re(uires a word of e0planation The substructures of !aderno"s towers' standing without the intended superstructures' look now as if they were parts of the fa7ade' and this accounts for its e0cessive length A number of attempts were made in the post; !aderno period to remedy this fault' before Urban 1III took the fateful decision in ,.6. of accepting 5ernini"s grand design of high towers of three tiers #f these only the southern one was built' but owing to technical difficulties and personal intrigues construction was interrupted in ,.F,' and finally in ,.F. the tower was al; together dismantled /ince the idea of erecting towers ever again over the present substructures had to be abandoned' 5ernini submitted during Innocent K"s pontificate new schemes for a radical solution of the old problem 5y entirely separating the towers from the fa7ade' he made them structurally safe' at the same time created a rich and varied grouping' and gave the fa7ade 18 itself carefully balanced proportions His proposals would have involved considerable structural changes and had therefore little chance of success Bhen engaged on the designs for the pia&&a' 5ernini was once again faced with the intractable problem of the fa7ade Although he also made an unsuccessful attempt at reviving !ichelangelo"s tetrastyle portico' which would have broken up the uniform "wall" of the fa7ade' he now had to use optical devices rather than structural changes as a means to rectify the appearance of the building He evoked the impression of greater height in the fa7ade by :oining to it his long and relatively low corridors which continue the order and skyline of the colonnades The heavy and massive 3oric columns of the colonnades and the high and by comparison slender Corinthian columns of the fa7ade form a deliberate contrast And 5ernini chose the unorthodo0 combination of 3oric columns with Ionic entablature no not only in order to unify the pia&&a hori&ontally but also to accentuate the vertical tendencies in the fa7ade $or topographical and other reasons 5ernini was forced to design the so;called piazza retta in front of the church The length and slant of the northern corridor' and implicitly the form of the piazza retta, were determined by the position of the old and venerable entrance to the palace Continuing the corridor' the new ceremonial staircase' the /cala Regia' begins at the level of the portico of the church Here the problems seemed overwhelming $or his new staircase he had to make use of the e0isting north wall and the old upper landing and return flight 5y placing a columnar order within the "tunnel" of the main flight and by ingeniously manipulating it' he counteracted the convergence of the walls towards the upper landing and created the impression of an ample and festive staircase There was no alternative to the piazza retta, and only beyond it was it possible to widen the s(uare The choice of the oval for the main pia&&a suggested itself by a variety of consider; ations Above all the ma:estic repose of the widely embracing arms of the colonnades was for 5ernini e0pressive of the dignity and gran; deur here re(uired !oreover' this form contained a specific concetto. 5ernini himself compared the colonnades to the motherly arms of the Church "which embrace Catholics to reinforce their belief' heretics to re;unite them with the Church' and agnostics to enlighten them with the true faith" Until the beginning of ,..E 5ernini intended to close the pia&&a at the far end opposite the basilica by a short arm continuing e0actly the architecture of the long arms This proves conclusively that for him the s(uare was a kind of forecourt to the church' comparable to an immensely e0tended atrium The "third arm" which was never built would have stressed a problem that cannot escape visitors to the pia&&a $rom a near viewpoint the drum of !ichel; angelo"s dome' designed for a centrali&ed build; ing' disappears behind !aderno"s long nave and even the visibility of the dome is affected )ike !aderno before him' 5ernini was well aware of the fact that no remedy to this problem could possibly be found In developing his scheme for the pia&&a' he therefore chose to disregard this matter altogether rather than to attempt an unsatisfactory compromise solution Early in ,..E construction of the pia&&a was far enough advanced to begin the "third arm" It was then that 5ernini decided to move the "third arm" from the perimeter of the oval back into the %ia&&a Rusticucci' the s(uare at one time e0isting at the west end of the 5orghi >that is' the two streets leading from the Tiber towards the church= He was led to this last;minute change of plan certainly less by any consideration for the visibility of the dome than by the idea of creating a modest ante;pia&&a to the oval 5y thus forming a kind of counterpart to the piazza retta, the whole design would have approached symmetry In addition' the visitor who entered the pia&&a under the "third arm" would have been able to embrace the entire perimeter of the oval It may be recalled that in centrali&ed buildings 5ernini demanded a deep entrance because e0perience shows ; so he told the /ieur de Chantelou ; that people' on entering a room' take a few steps forward and unless he made allowance for this they would not be able to embrace the shape in its entirety In / Andrea al ?uirinale he had given a practical e0position of this idea and he now intended to apply it once again to the design of the %ia&&a of /t %eter"s In both cases the beholder was to be enabled to let his glance sweep round the full oval of the enclosure' in the church to come to rest at the aedicule before the altar and in the pia&&a at the fa7ade of /t %eter"s /mall or large' interior or e0terior' a comprehensive and unimpaired view 19 of the whole structure belongs to 5ernini"s dynamic conception of architecture' which is e(ually far removed from the static approach of the Renaissance as from the scenic pursuits of northern Italy and the )ate 5aro(ue The "third arm"' this important link between the two long colonnades' remained on paper for ever' owing to the death of Ale0ander 1II in ,..E The recent pulling down of the spina >the houses between the 5orgo *uovo and 5orgo 1ecchio=' already contemplated by 5ernini"s pupil Carlo $ontana and' in his wake' by other eighteenth; and nineteenth;century architects' has created a wide roadway from the river to the pia&&aThis has solved one problem' and only one' namely that of a full view of the drum and dome from the distance+ may it be recalled that they were always visible in all their glory from the %onte / Angelo' in olden days the only access to the precincts of /t %eter"s To this fictitious gain has been sacrificed 5ernini"s idea of the enclosed pia&&a and' with no hope of redress' the scale between the access to the s(uare and the s(uare itself has been reversed $ormerly the narrow 5orgo streets opened into the wide e0panse of the pia&&a' a dramatic contrast which intensified the beholder"s surprise and feeling of elation The most ingenious' most revolutionary' and at the same time most influential feature of 5ernini"s pia&&a is the self;contained' free; standing colonnade Arcades with orders of the type familiar from the Colosseum' used on innumerable occasions from the fifteenth century onwards' always contain a suggestion of a pierced wall and conse(uently of flatness 5ernini"s isolated columns with straight en; tablature' by contrast' are immensely sculptural elements Bhen crossing the pia&&a' our ever; changing view of the columns standing four deep seems to reveal a forest of individual units+ and the unison of all these clearly defined statues(ue shapes produces a sensation of irresistible mass and power #ne e0periences almost physically that each column displaces or absorbs some of the infinitude of space' and this impression is strengthened by the glimpses of sky between the columns *o other Italian structure of the post; Renaissance period shows an e(ually deep affinity with 8reece It is our preconceived ideas about 5ernini that dim our vision and prevent us from seeing that this Hellenic (uality of the piazza could only be produced by the greatest 5aro(ue artist' who was a sculptor at heart As happens with most new and vital ideas' after initial sharp attacks the colonnades became of immense conse(uence for the further history of architecture E0amples of their influence from *aples to 8reenwich and )eningrad need not be enumerated The aftermath can be followed up for more than two and a half centuries CHAPTER 9 FRANCESCO BORROMINI 1599-1667 Among the great figures of the Roman High 5aro(ue the name of $rancesco 5orromini stands in a category of its own His architecture inaugurates a new departure Bhatever their innovations' 5ernini' Cortona' Rainaldi' )onghi and the rest never challenged the essence of the Renaissance tradition *ot so 5orromini' in spite of the many ways in which his work is linked to ancient and si0teenth;century architecture It was clearly felt by his contemporaries that he introduced a new and disturbing approach to old problems Bhen 5ernini talked in %aris about 5orromini' all agreed' according to the /ieur de Chantelou' that his architecture was e0travagant and in striking contrast to normal procedure+ whereas the design of a building' it was argued' usually depended on the proportions of the human body' 5orromini had broken with this tradition and erected fantastic >"chimerical"= structures In other words' these critics maintained that 5orromini had thrown overboard the classical anthropomorphic conception of architecture which since 5runelleschi"s days had been implicitly accepted This e0traordinary 20 man' who from all reports was mentally unbalanced and voluntarily ended his life in a fit of despair' came into his own remarkably late The son of the architect 8iovanni 3omenico Castelli' he was born in ,-AA at 5issone on the )ake of )ugano near the birthplace of his kinsman !aderno After a brief stay in !ilan' he seems to have arrived in Rome in about ,.<4 !uch as the artisans who for hundreds of years had travelled south from that part of Italy' he began as a stone;carver' and in this capacity spent more than a decade of his life working mainly in /t %eter"s on coats of arms' decorative putti' festoons' and balustrades His name is also connected with some of the finest wrought;iron railings in the basilica
!oreover' the aged !aderno' who recogni&ed the talent of his young relation' used him as an architectural draughtsman for /t %eter"s' the %ala&&o 5arberini' and the church and dome of / Andrea della 1alle 5orromini willingly submitted to the older man' and the lasting veneration in which he held him is revealed by the fact that in his will he e0pressed the wish to be buried in !aderno"s tomb After !aderno"s death in @anuary ,.<A a new situation arose 5ernini took over as Architect to /t %eter"s and the %ala&&o 5arberini' and 5orromini had to work under him 3ocuments permit 5orromini"s position to be defined9 between ,.6, and ,.66 he received substantial payments for full;scale drawings of the scrolls of the 5aldacchino and for the supervision of their e0ecution' and in ,.6, he was also officially functioning as "assistant to the architect" of the %ala&&o 5arberini The 5orromines(ue character of the scrolls as well as certain details in the pala&&o indicate that 5ernini conceded a notable freedom of action to his subordinate' and it would therefore appear that 5ernini rather than !aderno paved the way for 5orromini"s im; minent emergence as an architect in his own right 5ut their relationship had the making of a long;lasting conflict $ate brought two giants together whose characters were as different as were their approaches to architecture+ 5ernini ; man of the world' e0pansive and brilliant ;like his Renaissance peers regarded painting and sculpture as ade(uate preparation for architecture+ 5orromini ; neurotic and recluse ;came to architecture as a trained specialist' a builder and first;rate technician Almost e0act contemporaries' the one was already immensely successful' the first artist in Rome' entrusted with most enviable commissions' while the other still lacked official recognition at the age of thirty 5ernini' of course' used 5orromini"s e0pert knowledge to the full He had no reason for professional :ealousy' from which' incidentally' he always remained free $or 5orromini' however' these years must have been a degrading e0perience which always rankled with him' and when in ,.F- the affair of 5ernini"s towers of /t %eter"s led to a crisis' it was he who came forward as 5ernini"s most dangerous critic and adversary His guns were directed against technical inefficiency' the very point where ; he knew ; 5ernini was most vulnerable At present it does not seem possible to sepa; rate with any degree of finality 5orromini"s active contribution to the %ala&&o 5arberini His personal manner is evident' above all' in the top; floor window of the recessed bay ad:oining the arcaded centre The derivation from !aderno"s windows in the attic of the fa7ade of /t %eter"s is obvious' but the undulating "ears" with festoons fastened to them as well as the segmental capping with endings turned outward at an angle of F- degrees are characteristic of 5orromini"s dynamic interpretation of detail Here that %romethean force which imparts an unaccountable tension to every shape and form is already noticeable #riginal drawings for the doors of the great hall help to assess the relationship between 5orromini and 5ernini There was certainly a give and take on both sides' but on the whole it would appear that 5orromini"s new interpretation of the architectural detail made a strong impression on 5ernini who' at this phase and for a short while later' tried to reconcile his own anthropomorphic with 5orromini"s "bi&arre" interpretation of architecture Although the work on the %ala&&o 5arberini dragged on until ,.62' the ma:or part was finished in ,.66 $rom then on the two men parted for good It was then that 5orromini set out on his own S. Carlo alle Quattro ontane His opportunity came in ,.6F' when the %ro; curator 8eneral of the /panish 3iscalced Trinitarians commissioned him to build the monastery of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane' a 21 couple of hundred yards from the %ala&&o 5arberini 5orromini first built the dormitory' the refectory >now sacristy=' and the cloisters'
and the layout proved him a master in the rational e0ploitation of the scanty potentialities of the small and irregularly cut site In ,.62 the foundation stone of the little church itself was laid E0cept for the fa7ade' it was finished in !ay ,.F, and consecrated in ,.F. *e0t to Cortona"s // !artina e )uca' which went up during the very same years' it must be regarded as one of the "incunabula" of the Roman High 5aro(ue and deserves the closest attention The cloisters' a structure of admirable sim; plicity' contain features which anticipate the basic "orchestration" in the church' such as the ring of rhythmically arranged' immensely effec; tive columns forming an elongated octagon' the uniform cornice binding together the columns' and the replacement of corners by conve0 curvatures which prevent caesuras in the con; tinuity of movement A number of pro:ects in the Albertina' 1ienna' have always been ; as we now know incorrectly ; referred to the planning of the church ever since E Hempel published them in IA<F The geometric conception of the final pro:ect is a diamond pattern of two e(uilateral triangles with a common base along the transverse a0is of the building+ the undulating perimeter of the plan follows this rhomboid geometry with great precision It is of the greatest importance to reali&e that in / Carlo and in later buildings 5orromini founded his designs on geometric units 5y abnegating the classical principle of planning in terms of modules' ie in terms of the multipli; cation and division of a basic arithmetical unit >usually the diameter of the column=' 5orromini renounced' indeed' a central position of anthropomorphic architecture In order to make clearer the difference of procedure' one might state' perhaps too pointedly' that in the one case the overall plan and its divisions are evolved by adding module to module' and in the other by dividing a coherent geometric configuration into geometric sub;units 5orromini"s geometric approach to planning was essentially medieval' and one wonders how much of the old mason"s tradition had reached him before he went to Rome $or hundreds of years )ombardy had been the cradle of Italian masons' and it is (uite possible that in the masons" yards medieval building practices were handed on from generation to generation 5orromini"s stubborn adherence to the rule of triangulation seems to support the point In 5orromini"s plan of / Carlo e0traordinary importance is given to the sculptural element of the columns They are grouped in fours with larger intervals on the longitudinal and transverse a0es Bhile the triads of undulating bays in the diagonals are unified by the wall treatment ; niches and continuous mouldings ;the dark gilt; framed pictures in the main a0es seem to create effective caesuras Thus' starting from the entrance bay' a rhythm of the following order e0ists9 AMbcbMA" bcbMAM etc 5ut this is clearly not the whole truth A different rhythm is created by the high arches and the segmental pediments above the pictures These elements seem to tie together each group of three bays in the main a0es The reading' again from the entrance bay' would therefore be9 bAb cMbA"bMcMbAbM etc Bhere then are the real caesuras in this buildingC In the overlapping triads of bays there is certainly a suggestion of !annerist comple0ity However' instead of strengthening the inherent situation of conflict' as the !annerists would have done' 5orromini counteracted it by two devices9 first' the powerful entablature serves' in spite of its movement' as a firm hori&ontal barrier which the eye follows easily and uninterruptedly all round the perimeter of the church+ and secondly' the columns themselves' which by their very nature have no direction' may be seen as a continuous accentuation of the undulating walls It is pre; cisely the predominant bulk of the columns inside the small area of this church that helps to unify its comple0 shape The overlapping triads may be regarded as the "background rhythm" which makes for the never;tiring richness and fascination of the disposition+ or' to use a simile' they may be likened to the warp and woof of the wall te0ture In musical terms the arrangement may be compared to the structure of a fugue Bhat kind of dome could be erected over the undulating body of the churchC To place the vault directly on to it in accordance with the method known from circular and oval plans >%antheon type= would have been a possibility which 5orromini' however' e0cluded at this stage of his development Instead he inserted a transitional area with pendentives which allowed him to design an oval dome of unbroken curvilinear shape He used' in other words' the 22 transitional device necessary in plans with s(uare or rectangular crossings The four bays under the pendentives >"c"= fulfil' therefore' the function of piers in the crossings of 8reek;cross plans And' in actual fact' in the &one of the pendentives 5orromini incorporated an interesting reference to the cross;arms The shallow transverse niches as well as the deeper entrance and altar recesses are decorated with coffers which diminish rapidly in si&e' not only suggesting' theoretically' a depth greater than the actual one' but also containing an illusionist hint at the arms of the 8reek cross Det this sophisticated device was meant to be conceptually rather than visually effective Above the pendentives is the firm ring on which the oval dome rests The dome itself is decorated with a ma&e of deeply incised coffers of octagonal' he0agonal' and cross shapes They produce an e0citing honeycomb impression' and the crystalline sharpness of these simple geometric forms is as far removed from the classical type of coffers in 5ernini"s buildings as from the smooth and curvilinear ones in those by Cortona The coffers decrease considerably in si&e towards the lantern' so that here again an illusionist device has been incorporated into the design )ight streams in not only from above through the lantern but also from below through windows in the fillings of the coffers' partly hidden from view behind the sharply chiselled ornamental ring of styli&ed leaves which crowns the cornice The idea of these windows can be traced back to a similar' but typically !annerist' arrangement in an oval church published by /erlio in his $ifth 5ook Thus the dome in its shining whiteness and its even light without deep shadows seems to hover immaterially above the massive and compact forms of the space in which the beholder moves 5orromini reconciled in this church three different structural types9 the undulating lower &one' the pedigree of which points back to such late anti(ue plans as the domed hall of the %ia&&a d"#ro in Hadrian"s 1illa near Tivoli+ the intermediate &one of the pendentives deriving from the 8reek;cross plan+ and the oval dome which' according to tradition' should rise over a plan of the same shape *owadays it is difficult to appreciate fully the audacity and freedom in manipulating three generically different struc; tures in such a way that they appear merged into an infinitely suggestive whole Bith this bold step 5orromini opened up entirely new vistas which were further e0plored later in the century in %iedmont and northern Europe rather than in Rome The e0traordinary character of 5orromini"s creation was immediately recogni&ed Upon the completion of the church the %rocurator 8eneral wrote that "in the opinion of everybody nothing similar with regard to artistic merit' caprice' e0cellence and singularity can be found anywhere in the world This is testified by members of different nations who' on their arrival in Rome' try to procure plans of the church Be have been asked for them by 8er; mans' $lemings' $renchmen' Italians' /paniards and even Indians" The report also contains an adroit characteri&ation of the buildings9 "Everything" ; it says ; "is arranged in such manner that one part supplements the other and that the spectator is stimulated to let his eye wander about ceaselessly" The fa7ade was not erected during the early building period It was 5orromini"s last work' begun in ,..- and completed in ,..E' though the sculptural decoration was not finished until ,.2< Although 5orromini"s whole career as an architect lies between the building of the church and of the fa7ade' the discussion of the latter cannot be separated from that of the former The system of articulation' combining a small and a giant order' derives from !ichelangelo"s Capitoline %alaces and the fa7ade of /t %eter"s where 5orromini had started work as a scarpellino almost fifty years before 5ut he employed this !ichelangeles(ue system in an entirely new way 5y repeating it in two tiers of almost e(ual importance' he acted against the spirit in which the system had been invented' namely to unify a front throughout its whole height !oreover' this determined repetition was devised to serve a specific' highly original concept+ in spite of the coherent articulation' the upper tier embodies an almost complete reversal of the lower one The fa7ade consists of three bays+ below' the two concave outside bays and the conve0 centre bay are tied together by the strong' unbroken' undulating entablature+ above' the three bays are concave and the entablature is deployed in three separate segments In addition' the oval medallion carried by angels and capped by the onion;shaped crowning element nullifies the effect of the entablature as a hori&ontal barrier 5elow' the small columns of the outside bays frame a wall with small oval windows and 23 serve as support for niches with statues+ above' the small columns frame niches and support enclosed wall panels ;in other words' the open and closed parts have been reversed The opening of the door in the central bay is answered above by the "sculptural" and pro:ecting element of the oval "bo0" in which the conve0 movement of the fa7ade is echoed $inally' instead of the niche with the figure of /t Charles' the upper tier has a medal; lion loosely attached to the wall The principle underlying the design is that of diversity and even polarity inside a unifying theme' and it will be noticed that the same principle ties the fa7ade to the interior of the church $or the fa7ade is clearly a different reali&ation of the triad of bays which is used for the "instrumentali&ation" of the interior The compactness of this fa7ade' with its mini; mum of wall;space' closely set with columns' sculpture' and plastic decoration where the eye is nowhere allowed to rest for long' is typical of the High 5aro(ue 5orromini also included a visionary element' characteristic of his late style Above the entrance there are herms ending in very large' lively cherubs" heads' whose wings form a protecting arch for the figure of /t Charles 5orromeo in the niche In other parts of the fa7ade' too' realistic lies an element of unrest or even conflict 5ut it must be said at once that the comple0ities inherent in he0agonal or star; he0agonal planning were skilfully avoided by 5orromini His method was no less than revolutionary Instead of creating' in accordance with tradition' a he0agonal main space with lower satellite spaces placed in the angles of the triangles' he encompassed the perimeter with an uninterrupted se(uence of giant pilasters impelling the spectator to register the unity and homogeneity of the entire area of the church This sensation is powerfully supported by the sharply defined crowning entablature which reveals the star form of the ground;plan in all its clarity The basic approach is' therefore' close to that in / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane+ and once again a sophisticated "background;rhythm" constantly stimulates the beholder"s curiosity Each recess is articulated by three bays' two identical small ones framing a large one >"A C A" and "A" 5 AJ= 5ut these alternating triads ; e(ual in value though entirely different in spatial deployment ; are not treated as separate or separable entities' for the two small bays across each corner >A A" or A" A= are so much alike that they counteract any tendency to perceiving real caesuras !oreover' two other overlapping rhythms are also implied The continuous string courses at half;height are interrupted by the central bay of the semicircular altar recess >C=' while the continuous string course under the capitals is not carried on across the conve0 bays >5= Thus two alternative groups of five bays may be seen as "super;units"' either A A" 5 A" A or A" A C A A" It may therefore be said that the articulation contains three interlocking themes with the intervals placed at any of the three possible points9 the large round;headed bays "C"' the conve0 bays "5"' or at the angles between the small bays "A AJ In contrast to / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane' the dome caps the body of the church without a transitional structural feature It continues' in fact' the star shape of the plan' each segment opening at its base into a large window !oreover' the vertical lines of the pilasters are carried on in the gilded mouldings of the dome which repeat and accentuate the tripartite division into bays below In spite of the strong hori&ontal barrier of the entablature' the vertical tendencies have a terrific momentum As the variously shaped sectors of the dome ascend' contrasts are gradually reduced until the move; ment comes to rest under the lantern in the pure form of the circle' which is decorated with twelve large stars In this reduction of multi; plicity to unity' of differentiation and variety to the simplicity of the circle' consists a good deal of the fascination of this church 8eometrical succinctness and ine0haustible imagination' technical skill and religious symbolism have rarely found such a reconciliation #ne can trace the movement downward from the chastity of forms in the heavenly &one to the increasing comple0ity of the earthly &one The decorative elements of the dome ; the vertical rows of stars' the papal coat of arms above alternating windows' the cherubs under the lantern ; have a fantastic' unreal' and e0citing (uality and speak at the same time a clear emblematical language In continuing the shape of the ground;plan into the vaulting 5orromini accepted the principle normally applied to circular and oval churches Det neither for the particular form of the dome nor for the decoration was there a contemporary precedent In one way or another the customary type of the 5aro(ue dome followed the e0ample set by !ichelangelo"s dome of /t %eter"s In none 24 of the great Roman domes was the vaulted surface broken up into differently shaped units 5ut 5orromini had classical anti(uity on his side+ he had surely studied such buildings as the /erapeum of Hadrian"s 1illa near Tivoli The dome of / Ivo found no se(uel in Rome Again it was in %iedmont that 5orromini"s ideas fell on fertile ground The e0terior of / Ivo presented an unusual task' since the main entrance had to be placed at the far end of 8iacomo della %orta"s courtyard 5orromini used %orta"s hemicycle with closed arcades in two tiers for the fa7ade of the church+ above it towers one of the strangest domes ever invented In principle 5orromini followed the *orth Italian tradition of encasing the dome rather than e0hibiting its rising curve as had been customary in central Italy since 5runelleschi"s dome of $lorence Cathedral He handled this tradition' however' in a new and entirely personal manner His domed structure consists of four different parts9 first' a high' he0agonal drum of immense weight which counters by its conve0 pro:ection the concave recession of the church fa7ade on the cortile. The division of each of the si0 e(ual conve0 sectors into two small bays and a large one prepares for the triads in the recesses of the interior At the points where two conve0 sectors meet the order is strengthened+ this enhances the impression of vitality and tension /econdly' above the drum is a stepped pyramid' divided by buttress;like ribs which transfer the thrust on to the reinforced meeting;point of two sectors of the drum+ thirdly' the pyramid is crowned by a lantern with double columns and concave recessions between them The similarity to the little temple at 5aalbek cannot be overlooked and has' indeed' often been stressed Above these three &ones ; which in spite of their entirely different character are welded together by the strong structural "conductors" ; rises a fourth element' the spiral' monolithic and sculptural' not corresponding to any interior feature or continuing directly the e0ternal movement Det it seems to bind together the several fields of energy which' united' soar up in a spatial movement along the spiral and are released into the lofty iron cusp It is futile to speculate on the e0act prototypes for the spiral feature 5orromini may have developed impressions of imperial Roman columns or may have had some une0pected knowledge of a &iggurat' the 5abylonian;Assyrian temple towers of which a late derivation survives in the great mos(ue at /amtirra In any case' it can hardly be doubted that this element has an emblematic meaning' the precise nature of which has not yet been rediscovered / Ivo must be regarded as 5orromini"s masterpiece' where his style reached its &enith and where he played all the registers at his command 5y comparison' his earlier and later buildings' ecclesiastical as well as domestic' often suffer through the fact that they are either unfinished or that he was inhibited by com; ple0ities of site and the necessity to comply with e0isting structures In contrast to 5ernini' who conceived archi; tecture as the stage for a dramatic event e0; pressed through sculpture' the drama in / Ivo is inherent in the dynamic architectural conception itself9 in the way that the motifs unfold' e0pand' and contract+ in the way that movement surges upwards and comes to rest Ever since 5aldinucci"s days it has been maintained that there is an affinity to 8othic structures in 5orromini"s work There is certainly truth in the observation His interest in the cathedral at !ilan is well known' and the system of buttresses in / Ivo proves that he found inspiration in the northern medieval rather than the contemporary Roman tradition Remarkably medieval features may be noticed in his detail' such as the angular intersection of mouldings over the doors inside / Ivo or the pedestal of the holy water stoup in the #ratory of / $ilippo *eri Even more interesting is his partiality for the s(uinch' so common in the Romanes(ue and 8othic architecture of northern Italy before the 5y&antine pendentive replaced it in the age of the Renaissance 5ut he used the s(uinch as a transitional element between the wall and the vault only in minor structures' such as the old sacristy of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane' or in certain rooms of the %ala&&o $alconieri and of the Collegio di %ropaganda $ide His resuscitation of the s(uinch was again to find a se(uel in %iedmont rather than Rome S. !io"anni in #aterano$ S. Agnese$ S. Andrea delle ratte$ and Minor Ecclesiastical %or&s Bhile / Ivo was in course of construction three large works were entrusted to 5orromini9 25 the reconstruction of / 8iovanni in )aterano' the continuation of Rainaldi"s / Agnese in %ia&&a *avona' and the e0terior of / Andrea delle $ratte A thorough restoration of / 8iovanni had become necessary since the Early Christian basilica was in danger of collapse 5orromini"s work was begun in !ay ,.F. and finished by #ctober ,.FA' in time for the Holy Dear His task was e0tremely difficult because Innocent K insisted on preserving the venerable basilica How could one produce a modern 5aro(ue building under these circumstancesC 5orromini solved his problem by encasing two consecutive columns of the old church inside one broad pillar' by framing each pillar with a colossal order of pilasters throughout the whole height of the nave' and by placing a tabernacle niche of coloured marble for statuary into the face of each pillar where originally an opening between two columns had been The alternation of pillars and open arches created a basic rhythm well known since 5ramante"s and even Alberti"s days 5orromini' however' not only carried it across the corners of the entrance wall' thereby transforming the nave into an enclosed space' but introduced another rhythm which reverses the primary one The spectator perceives simultaneously the continuous se(uence of the high bays of the pillars and the low arches >A b A b A= as well as that of the low tabernacles and the high arches >a 5 a 5 a = !oreover' this second rhythm has an important chromatic and spatial (uality' for the cream;coloured arches ; "openings" of the wall ; are contrasted by the dark;coloured tabernacles' which break through the plane of the wall and pro:ect into the nave It has recently been ascertained that 5orromini intended to vault the nave The present arrangement' which preserved 3aniele da 1olterra"s heavy wooden ceiling >,-.F;E<=' must be regarded as provisional' but after the Holy Dear there was no hope of continuing this costly enterprise The articulation of the nave would have found its logical continuation in the vault' which always formed an integral part of 5orro; mini"s structures If the e0ecution of his scheme thus remained a fragment' he was yet given ample scope for displaying his skill as a deco; rator The naturalistic palm branches in the sunken panels of the pilasters of the aisles' the lively floral ornament of the oval frames in the clerestory' the putti and cherubim forming part of the architectural design as in )ate 8othic churches' and' above all' the re;arrangement in the new aisles during Ale0ander 1II"s pontificate of the old tombs and monuments of popes' cardinals' and bishops ; all this shows an ine0haustible wealth of original ideas and an uninhibited imagination Although contem; poraries regarded the settings of these monu; ments as a veritable storehouse of capriccios' they are far from unsuitable for the purpose for which they were designed ; on the contrary' each of the venerable relics of the past is placed into its own kind of treasure;chest' beautifully adapted to its peculiar character It is typical of 5orromini"s manner that in these decorations realistic features and floral and vegetable motifs of dewy freshness merge with the sharp and crystalline architectural forms If in / 8iovanni in )aterano 5orromini had to renounce completion of his design' the handicap in / Agnese in %ia&&a *avona was of a different nature %ope Innocent K wanted to turn the s(uare on which his family palace was situated into the grandest in Rome+ it was to be dominated by the new church of / Agnese to replace an older one close to the palace Carlo Rainaldi' in collaboration with his father 8irolamo' had been commissioned to build the new structure' the foundation stone of which was laid on ,- August ,.-< The Rainaldis designed a 8reek;cross plan with short arms and pillars of the crossing with broad bevels which were opened into large niches framed by recessed columns Bhile the idea of the pillars with niches derived from /t %eter"s' the model for the recessed columns was Cortona"s // !artina e )uca The building went up in accordance with this design' but soon criticism was voiced' particularly as regards the planned staircase' which e0tended too far into the piazza. A crisis became unavoidable' the Rainaldis were dismissed' and on E August ,.-6 5orromini was appointed in their place To all intents and purposes he had to continue building in accordance with the Rainaldi plan' for the pillars of the crossing were standing to the height of the niches Det by seemingly minor alterations he changed the character of the de; sign Above all' he abolished the recesses pre; pared for the columns and bevelled the pillars so that the columns look as if they were detached from the wall 5y this device the beholder is made to believe that the pillars and the cross arms have almost e(ual width The crossing' 26 therefore' appears to the eye as a regular octagon+ this is accentuated by the sculptural element of the all but free;standing columns Colour contrasts sustain this impression' for the body of the church is white >with the e0ception of the high altar=' while the columns are of red marble !oreover' an intense verticalism is suggested by virtue of the pro:ecting entablature above the columns' unifying the arch with the supporting columns+ and the high attic above the entablature' which appears under the crossing like a pedestal to the arch'
increases the vertical movement It will now be seen that the octagonal space ; also echoed in the design of the floor ; is encompassed by the coherent rhythm of the alternating low bays of the pillars framed by pilasters and the high "bays" of the cross;arms framed by the columns 5y giving the cross;arms a length much greater than that intended by Rainaldi' 5orromini created a pi(uant tension between them and the central area Thus a characteristically 5orromines(ue structure was erected over Rainaldi"s traditional plan *or did the latter envisage a building of e0ceptionally high and slender design 5orromini further amplified the vertical tendencies by incorporating into his design an e0traordinarily high drum and an elevated curve for the dome ; which obviously adds to the importance of the area under the crossing Rainaldi' by contrast' had planned to blend a low drum with a broad' rather unwieldy dome In spite of the difficulties which 5orromini had to face in the interior' he accomplished an almost incredible transformation of Rainaldi"s pro:ect In the handling of the e0terior he was less handicapped The little that was standing of Rainaldi"s fa7ade was pulled down 5y abandoning the vestibule planned by the latter' he could set the fa7ade further back from the s(uare and design it over a concave plan In Rainaldi"s pro:ect the insipid crowning features at both ends of the fa7ade were entirely overshadowed by the weight of the dome 5orromini e0tended the width of the fa7ade into the area of the ad:oining palaces' thus creating space for freely rising towers of impressive height 5ut he was prevented from completing the e0ecution of his design After Innocent K"s death on E @anuary ,.--' building activity stopped /oon difficulties arose between 5orromini and %rince Camillo %amphili' and two years later Carlo Rainaldi in turn replaced 5or; romini Assisted by 8iovanni !aria 5aratta and Antonio del 8rande' Carlo proceeded to alter those parts which had not been finished9 the interior decoration' the lantern of the dome' the towers' and the fa7ade above the entablature The high attic over the fa7ade' the triangular pediment in the centre' and certain simplifications in the design of the towers are contrary to 5orromini"s intentions 5ut' strangely enough' the e0terior looks more 5orromines(ue than the interior $or in the interior the rich gilt stuccoes' the large marble reliefs ; a veritable school of Roman High 5aro(ue sculpture ; 8aulli"s and 8iro $erri"s frescoes in the pendentives and dome9 all this tends to conceal the 5orromines(ue (uality of the structure Completion dragged on for many years The towers went up in ,...+ interior stuccoes were still being paid for in ,.E4' and the frescoes of the dome were not finished until the end of the century In defiance of the limitations imposed upon 5orromini' / Agnese occupies a uni(ue position in the history of 5aro(ue architecture The church must be regarded as the High 5aro(ue revision of the centrali&ed plan for /t %eter"s The dome of / Agnese has a distinct place in a long line of domes dependent on !ichelangelo"s creation >= $rom the late si0teenth century onwards may be observed a progressive reduction of mass and weight' a heightening of the drum at the e0pense of the vault' and a growing elegance of the sky;line All this reached a kind of finality in the dome of / Agnese !oreover' from a viewpoint opposite the entrance the dome seems to form part of the fa7ade' dominates it' and is firmly connected with it' since the double columns at both sides of the entrance are continued in the pilasters of the drum and the ribs of the vault Circumstances prevented the dome of /t %eter"s from appearing between two framing towers The idea found fulfilment in / Agnese+ here dome and towers form a grand unit' perfectly balanced in scale *ever before had it been possible for a beholder to view at a glance such a rich and varied group of towers and dome while at the same time e0periencing the spell of the intense spatial suggestions9 he feels himself drawn into the cavity of the fa7ade' above which looms the concave mass of the drum *obody can overlook the fact that 5orromini' although he employed 27 the traditional grammar of motifs' repeated here the spatial reversal of the fa7ade of / Ivo %robably in the same year' ,.-6' in which he took over / Agnese from Rainaldi' 5orromini was commissioned by the !archese %aolo 5ufalo to finish the church of / Andrea delle $ratte which 8aspare 8uerra had begun in ,.4- Although 5orromini was engaged on this work until ,..-' he had to abandon it in a fragmentary state The transept' dome' and choir which he added to the conventional interior reveal little of his personal style !uch more important is his contribution to the unfinished e0terior It is his e0traordinary dome and tower' designed to be seen as one descends from 1ia Capo le Case' that give the otherwise insignificant church a uni(ue distinction /imilar to / Ivo' the curve of the dome is encompassed by a drum;like casing 5ut here four widely pro:ecting buttresses :ut out dia; gonally from the actual body of the "drum" In this way four e(ual faces are created' each consisting of a large conve0 bay of the "drum" and narrower concave bays of the buttresses The plan of each face is therefore similar to the lower tier of the fa7ade of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane #nce again 5orromini worked with spatial evolutions of rhythmic triads' and once again a monumental order of composite columns placed at the salient points ensures the unbroken coherence of the design This e0traordinary structure was to be crowned by a lantern ;which unfortunately remained on paper ; with concave recesses above the conve0 walls underneath Bithout this lantern the spatial intentions embodied in 5orromini"s design cannot be fully gauged The tower' rising in the north;east corner ne0t to the choir' was conceived as a deliberate contrast to the dome Its three tiers form com; pletely separate units Bhile the lowest is solid and s(uare with diagonally;pro:ecting columned corners' the second is open and circular and follows the model of ancient monopteral temples 5y topping this feature with a disproportionately heavy balustrade the circular movement is given an emphatic' compelling (uality In the third tier the circular form is broken up into double herms with deep concave recesses between them ; a new and more intensely modelled version of the lantern of / Ivo Bhile full;blooded cherubs function as caryatids' their wings enfold the stems of the herms At this late stage of his development 5orromini liked to soften the precise lines of architecture by the swelling forms of sculpture' and the cherub;herm' an invention of his far removed from any classical models' fascinated him in this conte0t The uppermost element of the tower consists of four inverted scrolls of beautiful elasticity+ on them a crown with sharply pointed spikes balances precariously9 the whole a triumph of comple0 spatial relationships and a bi&arre concetto by which the top of the tower is wedded to the sky and the air Thus the fle0ible but homogeneous massive bulk of the dome is a foil for the small scale of the tower with its emphasis on minute detail >capitals of the monopterosN= and its radical division into contrasting shapes Among 5orromini"s lesser ecclesiastical works two churches may be singled out for special con; sideration9 / !aria dei /ette 3olori and the Church of the Collegio di %ropaganda $ide In both cases the church lies at right angles to the fa7ade' and both churches are erected over simple rectangular plans with bevelled or rounded corners / !aria dei /ette 3olori was begun in ,.F<6 and left unfinished in ,.F.
The e0terior is an impressive mass of raw bricks and only the rather weak portal was e0ecuted in stone' but not from 5orromini"s design The interior is articulated by an imposing se(uence of columns arranged in triads between the larger intervals of the two main a0es' which are bridged by arches rising from the uninterrupted cornice In spite of the difference in plan' / !aria dei /ette 3olori is in a sense a simplified version of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane
5ut above the cornice the comparison does not hold Here there is a low clerestory and a coved vault divided by ribs' linking a pair of columns across the room This arrangement contained potentialities which were later further developed in the church of the %ropaganda $ide In ,.F. 5orromini was appointed architect to the Collegio di %ropaganda $ide 5ut it was not until ,..< that the church behind the west front of the palace was in course of construction Two years later it was finished' with the e0ception of the decoration At first 5orromini planned to preserve the oval church built by 5ernini in ,.6F Bhen it was decided to enlarge it' he significantly preferred the simple hall type in analogy to / !aria dei /ette 3olori and the even earlier #ratory of /t %hilip *eri 5ut the changes in design are e(ually illuminating The clerestory of / !aria dei /ette 3olori was similar to that of the #ratory 5y contrast' the church of the 28 %ropaganda $ide embodies a radical revision of those earlier structures The articulation consists here of a krge and small order' derived from the Capitoline palaces The large pilasters accentuate the division of the perimeter of the church into alternating wide and narrow bays' while the cornice of the large order and the entablature of the small order on which the windows rest function as elements unifying the entire space hori&ontally 3ifferent from / !aria dei /ette 3olori' the verticalism of the large order is continued through the isolated pieces of the entablature into the coved vaulting and is taken up by the ribs' which link the centres of the long walls with the four corners diagonally across the ceiling Thus an unbroken system closely ties together all parts of the building in all directions The coherent "skeleton";structure has become all; important ; hardly any walls remain between the tall pilastersN ; and to it even the dome has been sacrificed The oval pro:ect' which would have re(uired a dome' could not have embodied a similar system *o post;Renaissance building in Italy had come so close to 8othic structural principles $or thirty years 5orromini had been groping in this direction The church of the %ropaganda $ide was' indeed' a new and e0citing solution' and its compelling simplicity and logic fittingly conclude 5orromini"s activity in the field of ecclesiastical architecture The 'rator( of St Phili) *eri The brethren of the Congregation of /t %hilip *eri had for a considerable time planned to build an oratory ne0t to their church of / !aria in 1allicella In con:unction with this idea' plans ripened to include in the building programme a refectory' a sacristy' living (uarters for the members of the Congregation' and a large library This considerable programme was'"in fact' not very different from that of a large monastery The Congregation finally opened a competition which 5orromini won in !ay ,.6E against' among others' %aolo !aruscelli' the architect of the Congregation 5orromini re; placed him forthwith and held the office for the ne0t thirteen years 5uilding activity was rapid9 in ,.F4 the oratory was in use+ in ,.F, the refectory was finished' between ,.F< and ,.F6 the library above the oratory was built and between ,.FF and ,.-4 the north;west front with the clock;tower overlooking the %ia&&a dell"#rologio Thus the building of the oratory coincided with that of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane 5ut although the work for the #ratorians was infinitely more important than that of the little church' as regards compactness and vitality the former cannot compete with the latter This verdict does not' of course' refer to the brilliant fa7ade of the oratory' nor do we overlook the fact that many new and ingenious ideas were brought to fruition in the buildings of the monastery !aruscelli' before 5orromini' had already solved an intricate problem9 he had designed a coherent layout for the whole area with long a0es and a clear and logical disposition of the sacristy and the courtyards 5orromini accepted the essentials of this plan' which also included the placing of the oratory itself in the western >left= half of the main wing !any refinements were introduced there by 5orromini' but it must suffice to mention that' contrary to !aruscelli"s intentions' he created for the eye' rather than in actual fact' a central a0is to the entire front between / !aria in 1allicella and the 1ia de" $ilippini The organi&ation of this front is entirely independent of the dispositions behind it The central entrance does not lead straight into the oratory which lies at right angles to it and e0tends beyond the elaborate part of the fa7ade' nor is the plan of the whole area symmetrical in depth' as a glance at the fa7ade might suggest Although the fa7ade is reminiscent of that of a church' its rows of domestic windows seem to contradict this impression This somewhat hybrid character indicates that 5orromini deliberately designed it as an "overture" for the oratory as much as for the whole monastery 5y re(uest of the Congregation the fa7ade was not faced in stone so that it would not compete with the ad:oining church of / !aria in 1allicella 5orromini' therefore' developed a new and e0tremely subtle brick techni(ue of classical ancestry' a techni(ue which allowed for finest gradations and absolute precision of detail The main portion of the fa7ade consists of five bays' closely set with pilasters' arranged over a con; cave plan 5ut the central bay of the lower tier is curved outward' while that of the upper tier opens into a niche of considerable depth Crowning the fa7ade rises the mighty pediment which' for the first time' combines curvilinear 29 and angular movement The segmental part answers the rising line of the cornice above the bays' which are attached like wings to the main body of the fa7ade' and the change of movement' comparable to an interrupted /;curve' echoes' as it were' the contrasting spatial movement of the central bays in the elevation The form of the pediment is further conditioned by the vertical tendencies in the fa7ade #nce that has been noticed' one will also find it compellingly logical that the important centre and the accompanying bays are not capped by a uniform pediment The latter' in addition to suggesting a differentiated triple rhythm' also pulls together the three inner bays' which are segregated from the outer bays by a slight pro:ection and an additional half; pilaster Bithout breaking up the unity of the five bays' a triad of bays is yet singled out' and the pediment reinforces the indications contained in the fa7ade itself The treatment of detail further enriches the comple0ities of the general arrangement Attention may be drawn to the niches below' which cast deep shadows and give the wall depth and volume+ to the windows above them' which with their pediments press energetically against the frie&e of the entablature+ and to the windows of the second tier' which have ample space over and under them The interior of the oratory' carefully adapted to the needs of the Congregation' is articulated by half;columns on the altar wall and a compli; cated rhythm of pilasters along the other three walls !ichelangelo"s Capitoline palaces evi; dently gave rise to the use of the giant order of pilasters in the two courtyards It is worth re; calling that %alladio had introduced a giant order in the cortile of the %ala&&o %orto;Colleoni at 1icen&a >,--<=+ but' although 5orromini"s simple and great forms seem superficially close to %alladio"s classicism' the ultimate intentions of the two masters are utterly different %alladio is always concerned with intrinsically plastic architectural members in their own right' while 5orromini stresses the integral character of a coherent dynamic system Thus in 5orromini"s courtyards the large pilasters would appear to screen an uninterrupted se(uence of buttresses This interpretation is supported by the treatment of the corners Renaissance architects had more often than not evaded facing s(uarely a problem which was inherent in the use of the classical grammar of forms The half;pilasters' (uarter;pilasters' and other e0pedients' which abruptly break the continuity of articulation in the corners of Renaissance buildings' must be regarded as naive compromise solutions !annerist architects who fully understood the problem not infre(uently carried on the wall decoration across the corners' thereby neutrali&ing the latter and at the same time producing a deliberate ambiguity between the uninterrupted decoration and the change in the direction of the walls 5orromini abolished the cause for compromise or ambiguity by eliminating the corners themselves 5y rounding them off' he made the unity of the space; enclosing structural elements' and implicitly of the space itself' apparent In the two courtyards of the $ilippini he applied to an e0ternal space the same principle that %alladio had used in a comparatively embryonic manner in the interior of the Redentore This new solution soon became the property of the whole of Europe In contrast to the elaborate south fa7ade' 5orromini used very simple motifs for the long western and northern fronts of the convent9 band; like string courses divide the storeys and large hori&ontal and vertical grooves replace the cornices and corners $rom then on this type of design became generally accepted for utilitarian purposes in cases where no elaborate decoration was re(uired +omestic Buildings 5etween about ,.6- and the end of his career 5orromini had a hand in a great number of domestic buildings of importance' though it must be said that no palace was entirely carried out by him At the beginning stands his work in the %ala&&o /pada' where he was responsible for the erection of the garden wall' for various decorative parts inside the palace and' above all' for the well;known illusionist colonnade which appears to be very long' but is' in fact' e0tremely short The idea seems to be derived from the stage >Teatro #limpico= 5ut one should not forget that it also had a respectable Renaissance pedigree 5ramante applied the same illusionist principle to his choir of / !aria presso / /atiro at !ilan' which must have belonged to 5orromini"s earliest impressions The concept of the /pada colonnade is' therefore' neither 30 characteristically 5aro(ue nor is it of more than marginal interest in 5orromini"s work To over; emphasi&e its significance' as is often done by those who regard the 5aro(ue mainly as a style concerned with optical illusion' leads entirely astray 5etween ,.F. and ,.FA followed the work for the %ala&&o $alconieri' where 5orromini e0tended a mid;si0teenth;century front from seven to eleven bays
He framed the fa7ade with huge herms ending in falcons" heads' an emblematic conceit which had no precedent He added new wings on the rear facing the river and provided decoration for porch and vestibule 5ut his most signal contribution is the twelve ceilings with their elaborate floral ornament' and' overlooking the courtyard' the %alladian loggia' e(ually remarkable for its derivation and for its deviation from %alladio"s 5asilica at 1icen&a The U;shaped river front' dominated by the loggia' gives proof of the versatility of 5orromini"s e0traordinary genius His problem consisted in welding old and new parts together into a new unit of a specifically 5orromines(ue character He solved it by progressively increasing the height of the four storeys in defiance of long established rules and by reversing the traditional gradation of the orders The ground floor is subdivided by simple broad bands+ in the ne0t storey the same motif is given stronger relief+ the third storey has Ionic pilasters+ and above these are the recessed columns of the loggia Thus instead of diminishing from the ground floor upwards' the wall divisions grow in importance and plasticity #nly in the conte0t of the whole fa7ade is the unconventional and anti;classical (uality of the loggia motif fully revealed 5etween ,.F. and ,.FE 5orromini helped in an advisory capacity the aged 8irolamo Rainaldi' whom Innocent K had commissioned to build the e0tensive %ala&&o %amphili in %ia&&a *avona 5orromini had a tangible influence on the design' although his own plan was not accepted for e0ecution He alone was' however' responsible for the decoration of the large salone and the building of the gallery to the right of / Agnese' on a site which originally formed part of the %ala&&o !ellini Inside the gallery' to which %ietro da Cortona contributed the frescoes from the Aeneid, are to be found some of the most characteristic and brilliant door surrounds of 5orromini"s later style #f his designs for the palace of Count Ambrogio Carpegna near the $ontana Trevi very little was e0ecuted' but a series of daring plans survive which anticipate the eighteenth;century development of the Italian pala&&o 5orromini took up all the ma:or problems where they were left in the %ala&&o 5arberini and carried them much further' such as the a0ial alignment of the various parts of the building' the conne0ion of a grand vestibule with the staircase hall' and the merging of vestibule and oval courtyard The latest drawing of the series shows two flights of stairs ascending along the perimeter of the oval courtyard and meeting on a common landing ; a bold idea' heretofore unknown in Italy' which was taken up and e0ecuted by 8uarini in the %ala&&o Carignano at Turin 5etween ,.-A and ,.., 5orromini was con; cerned with the systemati&ation of two libraries' the 5iblioteca Angelica ad:oining %ia&&a / Agostino and the 5iblioteca Alessandrina in the north wing of the /apien&a #f the plans for the former hardly anything was carried out' but the latter survives as 5orromini had designed it The great hall of the library is three storeys high' and the book;cases form a constituent part of the architecture This was a new and important idea' which he had not yet conceived when he built the library above the #ratory of /t %hilip *eri about twenty years earlier It was precisely this new conception which made the 5iblioteca Alessandrina the prototype of the great eighteenth;century libraries The Collegia di Pro)aganda ide 5orromini"s last great palace' surpassing any; thing he did in that class with the e0ception of the convent of the #ratorians' was the Collegio di %ropaganda $ide His activity for the @esuits spread over the long period of twenty;one years' from his appointment as architect in ,.F. to his death in ,..E At that time the @esuits were at the &enith of their power' and a centre in keeping with the world;wide importance of the #rder was an urgent re(uirement They owned the vast site between 1ia Capo le Case' 1ia 3ue !acelli' and %ia&&a di /pagna' which' though large enough for all their needs' was so badly cut that no regular architectural development was possible !oreover' some fairly recent buildings were 31 already standing' among them 5ernini"s moderni&ation of the old fa7ade facing %ia&&a di /pagna and his oval church which was' however' as we have seen' replaced by 5orromini As early as E !ay ,.FE 5orromini submitted a development plan for the whole site+ but little happened in the course of the ne0t thirteen years It is known that 5orromini gave the main fa7ade in front of the church its final shape in ,..<' and the other much simpler fa7ades also show characteristics of his latest manner The e0ecution of the ma:or part of the palace would therefore seem to have taken place in the last years of his life %art of the palace was reserved for administrative purposes' another large part contained the cells for the alumni 5ut very little of 5orromini"s interior arrangement and decoration survives+ in fact' apart from the church' only one original room seems to have been preserved All the more important are the fa7ades The most elaborate portion rises in the narrow 1ia di %ropaganda where its oppressive weight pro; duces an almost nightmarish effect 5orromini"s problem was here similar to that of the oratory' for the fa7ade was to serve the dual purpose of church and palace #nce again the long a0is of the church lies parallel with the street and e0tends beyond the highly decorated part of the fa7ade' but in contrast to the oratory this front has a definite' though entirely unusual' palace character Its seven bays are articulated by a giant order of pilasters which rise from the ground to the sharply;pro:ecting cornice Everything here is unorthodo09 the capitals are reduced to a few parallel grooves' the cornice is without a frie&e' and the pro:ecting pair of brackets over the capitals seem to belong to the latter rather than to the cornice The central bay recedes over a segmental plan' and the contrast between the straight lines of the fa7ade and the inward curve is surprising and alarming *o less startling is the :u0taposition of the austere lower tier and the piano nobile with its e0tremely rich window decoration The windows rise without transition from the energetically drawn string course and seem to be compressed into the narrow space between the giant pilasters It is here that the active life in the wall itself is revealed All the window frames curve inwards with the e0ception of the central one which' being conve0' reverses the concave shape of the whole bay The movement of the window frames is not dictated simply by a desire for pictures(ue variety but consists like a fugue of theme' answer' and variations The theme is given in the door and window pediments of the central bay+ the identical windows of the first' third' fifth' and seventh bays are variations of the door motif while the identical second and si0th windows answer the central window' also spatially In the windows of the attic above the cornice the theme of the piano nobile is repeated in another key9 the first' third' fifth' and seventh windows are simpler variations of the second and si0th below' and the windows in the even bays of the attic vary those in the uneven ones underneath $inally' in the undulating pediment of the fourth attic window the two movements are reconciled 5y such means 5orromini created a pala&&o front which has neither precursors nor successors In the south;western and southern fa7ades only the ground;floor arrangement and the division of the storeys was continued' which assured the unity of the entire design #therwise 5orromini contrasted these fronts with the intensely articulated main fa7ade There is no division into bays by orders' nor are the windows decorated 5ut their se(uence is interrupted at regular intervals by strong vertical accentuations At these points 5orromini united the main and me&&anine windows of the piano nobile under one large frame' creating a window which goes through the entire height of the tier The boldly pro:ecting angular pediment seems to cut into the string course of the ne0t storey' where the framework of the window with its gently curved pediment and concave recession shows a characteristic reversal of mood A comparison of the fa7ades of the #ratory and the Collegio illustrates the deep change between 5orromini"s early and late style 8one is a mass of detail' gone the subtle gradations of wall surface and mouldings and the almost :oyful display of a great variety of motifs However' the impression of mass and weight has grown immensely+ the windows now seem to dig them; selves into the depth of the wall And yet the basic approach hardly differed To summari&e 5orromini"s life;long endea; vour' it may be said that he never tired in his attempt to mould space and mass by means of the evolution and transformation of key motifs He subordinated each structure down to the minutest detail to a dominating geometrical concept' which led him away from the Renaissance 32 method of planning in terms of mass and modules towards an emphasis on the func; tionally' dynamically' and rhythmically decisive "skeleton" This brought him close to the struc; tural principles of the 8othic style and enabled him' at the same time' to incorporate into his work what suited his purpose9 !annerist features of the immediate past' many ideas from !ichelangelo"s architecture and that of Hel; lenism' both e(ually admired by him' and even severely classical elements which he found in %alladio 5eing an Italian' 5orromini could not deny altogether the anthropomorphic basis of architecture This becomes increasingly apparent during his advancing years from the stress he laid on the blending of architecture and sculpture *evertheless' the antagonism between him and 5ernini remained unbridgeable It was in 5ernini"s circle that he was reproached for having destroyed the accepted conventions of good architecture CHAPTER 10 PIETRO DA CORTONA 1596-1669 I*TR#3UCTI#* The genius of %ietro 5errettini' usually called %ietro da Cortona' was second only to that of 5ernini )ike him he was architect' painter' decorator' and designer of tombs and sculpture although not a sculptor himself His achieve; ments in all these fields must be ranked among the most outstanding of the seventeenth century 5ernini and 5orromini have been given back the position of eminence which is their due *ot so Cortona Bhen this book first appeared in ,A-2 no critical modern biography had been devoted to him+ 8 5rigand"s work has now at least partially satisfied this need To be sure' Cortona"s is the third name of the great trio of Roman High 5aro(ue artists' and his work represents a new and entirely personal aspect of the style An almost e0act contemporary of 5ernini and 5orromini' he was born at Cortona on , *ovember ,-A. of a family of artisans He probably studied under his father' a stonemason' before being apprenticed to the undistinguished $lorentine painter Andrea Cornmodi' with whom he went to Rome in ,.,< or ,.,6 He stayed on after Commodi"s return to $lorence in ,.,F and changed over to the studio of the e(ually unimportant $lorentine painter 5accio Ciarpi According to his biographer %asseri he studied Raphael and the anti(ue with great devotion during these years+ while this is' of course' true of every seventeenth;century artist' in Cortona"s case such training has more than usual relevance since he could not profit very much from his teachers His copy of Raphael"s alatea impressed !arcello /acchetti so much that he took to the young artist who' from ,.<6 onwards' belonged to the /acchetti household It was in the service of the /acchetti family that Cortona gave early proof of his genius as painter and architect In the %ala&&o /acchetti he also met the Cavaliere !arino' fresh from %aris' and Cardinal $rancesco 5arberini' Urban 1III"s nephew' who became his lifelong patron+ through him he obtained his early important commission as a fresco painter in 33 / 5ibiana At the same time he was taken on by Cassiano del %o&&o' the learned secretary to Cardinal $rancesco 5arberini' who employed in these years a number of young and promising artists for his collection of copies of all the remains of anti(uity Thus Cortona was over twenty;si0 years old when his contact with the "right" circle carried him (uickly to success and prominence As to his early development' relatively little has so far come to light !ore discoveries will be made in the future' but it will remain a fact of some significance that' whereas we can follow the unfolding of 5ernini"s talent year by year from his precocious beginnings' in Cortona we are almost suddenly faced with a distinctly individual manner in painting and' even more astonishingly' in architecture' though his training in this field can have been only rather superficial $rom about the mid twenties his career can be fully gauged $rom then until his death he had large architectural and pictorial commissions simultaneously in hand ; he being the only seventeenth;century artist capable of such a tour de force. 3uring the ,.64s' with // !artina e )uca rising and the 5arberini ceiling in progress' he reached the &enith of his artistic power and fame' and his colleagues acknowledged his distinction by electing him principe of the Accademia di /an )uca for four years >,.6F;2= 5etween ,.F, and ,.FE he stayed in $lorence painting and decorating four rooms of the %ala&&o %itti' but the architectural pro:ects of this period remained on paper 5ack in Rome' his most e0tensive fresco commission' the decoration of the Chiesa *uova' occupied him intermittently for almost twenty years 3uring one of the intervals he painted the gallery of the %ala&&o %amphili in %ia&&a *avona >,.-,;F=+ the erection of the fa7ade of / !aria della %ace is contemporaneous with the frescoes in the apse of the Chiesa *uova' that of the fa7ade of / !aria in 1ia )ata with the frescoes of the pendentives' that of the dome of / Carlo al Corso follows three years after the frescoes of the nave Even if it were correct' as has more than once been maintained' that the (uality of his late frescoes shows a marked decline' the same is certainly not true of his late architectural works In any case' his architectural and pictorial conceptions show a parallel development' away from the e0uberant style of the ,.64s towards a sober' relatively classici&ing idiom to which he aspired more and more from the ,.-4- onwards ARCHITECTURE The Earl( %or&s 5efore he began the church of // !artina e )uca' Cortona e0ecuted the so;called 1illa del %igneto near Rome for the /acchetti and possibly also the villa at Castel $usano' now Chigi property The latter was built and decorated between ,.<. and ,.64 It is a simple three; storeyed structure measuring E4 by -< feet' rather rustic in appearance' crowned with a tower and protected by four fortress;like corner pro:ections The type of the building follows a long; established tradition' but the interest here lies in the pictorial decoration rather than in the architecture The 1illa del %igneto on the other hand commands particular attention because of its architecture Unfortunately little survives to bear witness to its original splendour *or is anything certain known about its date and building history The patron was either Cardinal 8iulio or !archese !arcello /acchetti+ the former received the purple in ,.<.' the latter died in ,.6. >not ,.<A= There is' therefore' room for the commission during the decade ,.<.;6. $or stylistic reasons a date not earlier than the late twenties seems indicated The ground floor of the building with its symmetrical arrangement of rooms reveals a thorough study of %alladio"s plans' but the idea of the monumental niche in the central structure' which is raised high above the low wings' derives from the 5elvedere in the 1atican It is even possible that Cortona was impressed at that early date by the ruins of the classical temple at %raeneste >%alestrina= near Rome' of which he undertook a reconstruction in ,.6. In any case' the large screened niches of the side fronts ; a motif which has no pedigree in post;Renaissance architecture ; can hardly have been conceived without the study of plans of Roman baths Bhile the arrangement of terraces with fountains and grottoes is reminiscent of earlier villas such as the 1illa Aldobrandini at $rascati' the complicated system of staircases with sham flights recalls 5uontalenti"s $lorentine !annerism If one can draw conclusions from the ground;plan' essentially !annerist must also 34 have been the contrast between the austere entrance front and the over;decorated garden front' a contrast well known from buildings like the 1illa !edici on the %incio Although small in si&e and derived from a variety of sources' the building was a landmark in the development of the 5aro(ue villa The magnificent silhouette' the grand staircases built up in tiers so as to emphasi&e the dominating central feature' and above all the advancing and receding curves which tie together staircase' terrace' and building ; all this was taken up and further developed by succeeding generations of architects It is an indication of Cortona"s growing repu; tation that on !aderno"s death in ,.<A he took part in the planning of the %ala&&o 5arberini His pro:ect seems to have found the pope"s approval' but the high cost prevented its acceptance Although 5ernini was appointed architect of the palace' Cortona was not altogether e0cluded The theatre ad:oining the north;west corner of the palace was built to his design It would be a matter of absorbing interest to know something about Cortona"s pro:ect for the palace In earlier editions of this book I illustrated the plan of a palace which I had come across on the )ondon art market in the ,A64s and which I immediately diagnosed as by Cortona"s hand In ,A.A I discussed this plan at considerable length before a group of specialists' and the critical tenor of my colleagues induced me to remove the illustration from this edition 5ut since I still believe in the correctness of my original conclusions' some remarks about that plan are in place It represents only the ground floor containing a web of octagonal rooms >apparently meant to be used as store;rooms=' the walls of which were to serve as substructures to the rooms above
In spite of the obvious difficulties of location' the colossal dimensions of the plan make it almost certain that it refers to the %ala&&o 5arberini Cortona wanted to return to the traditional Roman block; shape+ his design is a s(uare of <2- by <2- feet as against the <.< feet of the present fa7ade Even the scanty evidence of this plan reveals four rather e0citing features9 the palace would have had bevelled corners framed by columns+ the main a0es open into large rectangular vestibules articulated by columns+ two vestibules give direct access to the ad:oining staircase halls+ finally' the double columns of the courtyard would have been carried on across the corners in an unbroken se(uence The idea of integrating vestibule and staircase hall' hardly possible without aknow; ledge of $rench designs' was new for Italy Also the principal staircase with two opposite flights ascending from the main landing has no parallel in Rome at this time !oreover' the arrangement of the courtyard anticipates 5orromini"s in the nearby monastery of / Carlo alle ?uattro $ontane' while the plan of the vestibules was taken up by 5orromini in / !aria dei /ette 3olori and the church of the %ropaganda $ide The most astonishing element' however' is the kind of structural grid system that controls every dimension of the plan In ,.66 Cortona won his first recognition as a designer of festival decoration9 for the ?uarantore of that year he transformed the interior of the church of / )oren&o in 3amaso into a rich colonnaded setting with niches and gilded statues of saints Cortona was a born "decorator"' and it is therefore all the more to be regretted that none of his occasional works seems to have come down to us in drawings or engravings It was not until his thirty;eighth year' the year of his election as !rincipe of the Academy of /t )uke' that he received his first big architectural commission He had hardly begun painting the great /alone of the 5arberini %alace when the reconstruction of the church of // !artina e )uca at the foot of the Capitol fell to him This work re(uires an analysis SS. Martina e #uca In @uly ,.6F Cortona was granted permission to rebuild' at his own cost and according to his plans' the crypt of the church of the Academy of /t )uke' in order to provide a tomb for himself 3uring the e0cavations' in #ctober of that year' the body of / !artina was discovered This brought an entirely new situation Cardinal $rancesco 5arberini took charge of the under; taking and in @anuary ,.6- ordered the re; building of the entire church 5y about ,.FF the new church was vaulted' and its completion in ,.-4 is recorded in an inscription in the interior Cortona chose a 8reek;cross design with apsidal endings The longitudinal a0is is slightly longer than the transverse a0is
This difference in the length of the arms' significant though it seems in the plan' is hardly perceptible to the visitor who enters the church His first sensation is that of the complete breaking up of the unified 35 wall surface' and his attention is entirely absorbed by it 5ut this is not simply a painterly arrangement' designed to seduce and da&&le the eye' as many would have it who want to interpret the 5aro(ue as nothing more than a theatrical and pictures(ue style The wall so often no more than an inert division between inside and outside has here tremendous plasticity' while the interplay of wall and orders is carried through with a rigorous logic The wall itself has been "sliced up" into three alternating planes The innermost plane' that nearest to the beholder' recurs in the segmental ends of the four arms' that is' at those important points where altars are placed and the eye re(uires a clear and solid boundary The plane furthest away appears in the ad:oining bays behind screening columns The intermediate plane is established in the bays ne0t to the crossing /imilarly varied is the arrangement of the order9 the pilasters occupy a plane before the columns' and the columns under the dome and in the apses are differently related to the wall 5ut all round the church pilasters and columns are homogeneous members of the same Ionic order The overwhelming impression of unity in spite of the "in" and "out" movement of the wall and the variety in the placing of the order makes a uniform "reading" of the centrali&ed plan not only logically possible but visually imperative Thus Cortona solved the problem of a0ial direction inherent in centrali&ed planning by means entirely different from those employed by 5ernini It is also characteristic that at this period Cortona' unlike 5ernini' re:ected the use of colour The church is entirely white' a neutrality which seems essential for the full impact of this richly laden' immensely plastic disposition of wall and order 5y contrast to the severe forms of the archi; tecture below' the vaultings of the apses above the entablature are copiously decorated The entire surface is plastically moulded and hardly an inch of the confining wall is allowed to appear And yet the idea of working with varying wall planes is transposed into the concept of using overlapping decorative elements The windows between the ribs are framed by stilted arches+ over these arches a second frame of disproportionately large consoles is laid which support broken segmental pediments /imilarly' the system of ribs in the dome is superimposed upon the coffers It is now apparent that the use here of what would previously have been considered two mutually e0clusive methods of dome articulation is characteristic of Cortona"s style in this church Be have seen that this idea was soon taken up by seventeenth; and eighteenth;century architects 3espite the new plastic;dynamic interpretation of the old 8reek;cross plan' Cortona"s style is deeply rooted in the Tuscan tradition Even such a motif as the free;standing columns which screen the recessed walls in the arms of the cross is typically $lorentine Its origin' of course' is Roman' but in anti(uity the columns screen off deep chapels from the main space >%antheon= Bhen this motif was applied in the 5aptistery of $lorence' the walls were brought up close behind the columns' whereby the latter lost their specifically space;defining (uality It is this $lorentine version with its obvious ambiguity that attracted !annerist $lorentine architects >!ichelangelo' Ammanati' etc=' and it is this version of the classical motif that was revived by Cortona /imilar solutions recur in some of his other structures' most prominently on the drum of the dome of / Carlo al Corso' one of his latest works >,..2=' where the screening columns correspond closely to those inside // !artina e )uca An analysis of the decoration of // !artina e )uca supplies most striking evidence of Cortona"s $lorentine roots In spite of the wealth of decoration in the upper parts of the church' figure sculpture is almost entirely e0cluded and indeed never plays a conspicuous part in Cortona"s architecture His decoration combine9+ two different trends of $lorentine !annerism9 the hard and angular forms of the Ammanati;3osio idiom with the smooth' soft' and almost voluptuous elements derived from 5uontalenti It is the merging of these two traditions that gives the detail of Cortona"s work its specific flavour $lorentine !annerism' however' does not provide the whole answer to the problem of Cortona"s style as a decorator' for the vigorous plasticity and the compact crowding of a great variety of different motifs ;such as in the panels of the vaultings of the apses ; denote not only a Roman and 5aro(ue' but above all a highly personal transformation of his source material This style of decoration was first evolved by Cortona not in his architecture but in his painting He translated into three;dimensional form the lush density of pictorial decoration to be found in the /alone of the %ala&&o 5arberini The 36 similarity between painted and plastic decoration is e0tremely close' even in details $or instance' the combination of heads in shells and rich octa; gonal coffers above the windows of the apses' so striking a feature of the decoration of // !artina e )uca' also appears at nodal points of the painted system of the 5arberini ceiling 5ut' having pointed out the close conne0ion between his architectural and painted decoration' one must emphasi&e once again that in his built architecture Cortona eliminates the figure ele; ments which form so integral a part of his painted architecture *o stronger contrast to 5ernini"s conception of architecture could be imagined $or 5ernini the very meaning of his classically conceived architecture was epito; mi&ed in realistic sculpture /uch sculpture would have obscured the wealth and comple0ity of Cortona"s work His decorative effervescence reaches its culmination in // !artina e )uca with the entirely unprecedented' wildly undulating forms of the dome coffering The very personal design of these coffers found no imitators' and it was only after 5ernini had restored Cortona"s coffers to their classical shape that their use in combination with a ribbed vault was generally accepted The undulation of Cortona"s coffers is coun; tered by the severe angularity of the pediments of the windows in the drum which intrude into the &one of the dome #n the e0terior of the dome a similar phenomenon can be observed Here the austere window frames of the drum are topped by a se(uence of soft' curved decorative forms at the base of the vaulting' and these forms are taken up in the lantern by scrolls of distinctly !annerist derivation The e0terior of the dome is also highly original in that the drum and the foot of the vaulting are emphasi&ed at the e0pense of the curved silhouette of the dome itself Bith this Cortona anticipates a development which' though differently e0pressed' was to come into its own in the second half of the century The fa7ade of // !artina e )uca represents another break with tradition The two;storeyed main body of the fa7ade is gently curved' following the precedent of the 1illa /acchetti >though the curve is here inwards= /trongly pro:ecting piers faced with double pilasters seem to have compressed the wall between them' so that the curvature appears to be the result of a permanently active s(uee&e At precisely this period 5orromini designed his concave fa7ade for the #ratory of /t %hilip *eri In view of their differences of approach' however' the two architects may have arrived independently at designing these curved fronts The peculiarity of the fa7ade of // !artina e )uca lies not only in its curvature but also in that the orders have no framing function and do not divide the curved wall into clearly denned bays In the lower tier' the columns seem to have been pressed into the soft and almost doughy mass of the wall' while in the upper tier sharply cut pilasters stand before the wall in clear relief This principle of contrasting soft and hard features' which occurred in other parts of the building' is reversed in the pro:ecting central bays9 in the upper tier framing columns are sunk into the wall' whereas in the lower tier rigid pilaster;like formations top the door It would be easy to describe at much greater length the almost incredibly rich variations on the same theme' but it must suffice to note that specifically $lorentine !annerist traits are very strong in the subtle reversal of architectural motifs and in the overlapping and interpenetration of elements as well as in the use of decorative features This is true despite the carefully framed realistic palm and flower panels !oreover' the type of the fa7ade with two e(ually developed storeys and strongly emphasi&ed framing features has its roots in the $lorentine rather than in the Roman tradition
?uite unlike any earlier church fa7ade' this prepares the beholder for an understanding of the internal structure' for the wall treatment and articulation of the interior are here unfolded in a different key Cortona thinks in terms of the pliability of the plastic mass of walls9 it is through this that he achieves the dynamic co; ordination of e0terior and interior To him belongs the honour of having erected the first of the great' highly personal and entirely homo; geneous churches of the High 5aro(ue S. Maria della Pace$ S. Maria in ,ia #ata$ Pro-ects$ and Minor %or&s Cortona"s further development as an architect shows the progressive e0clusion of !annerist elements and a turning towards Roman sim; plicity' grandeur' and massiveness even though the basic tendencies of his approach to archi; tecture remain unchanged This is apparent in his moderni&ation of / !aria della %ace' carried out between ,.-. and ,.-E
The new fa7ade' placed 37 in front of the ?uattrocento church' together with the systemati&ation of the small pia&&a is of much greater importance than the changes in the interior Although regularly laid;out pia&&as had a long tradition in Italy' Cortona"s design inaugurates a new departure' for he applied the e0perience of the theatre to town;planning9 the church appears like the stage' the pia&&a like the auditorium' and the flanking houses like the bo0es It is the logical corollary of such a conception that the approaches from the side of the church are through a kind of stage doors' which hide the roads for the view from the pia&&a The conve0 upper tier of the fa7ade' firmly framed by pro:ecting piers' repeats the motif of the fa7ade of // !artina e )uca 5ut in the scheme of / !aria della %ace this tier represents only a middle field between the boldly pro:ecting semicircular portico and the large concave wings which grip like arms round the front' in a &one much farther removed from the spectator The interplay of conve0 and concave forms in the same building' foreshadowed in a modest way in Cortona"s 1illa /acchetti' is a typically Roman High 5aro(ue theme which also fascinated 5orromini and 5ernini / !aria della %ace contains many influential ideas The portico is one of Cortona"s most fertile inventions 5y pro:ecting far into the small piazza and absorbing much space there' a powerful plastic and at the same time chroma; tically effective motif is created that mediates between outside and inside 5ernini incorporated it into the fa7ade of / Andrea al ?uirinale' and it recurs constantly in subse(uent European architecture The detail of the portico' too' had immediate repercussions As early as ,.-E 5ernini made an intermediary pro:ect with double columns for the colonnades of /t %eter"s + and his final choice of a 3oric order with Ionic entablature was here anticipated by Cortona The crowning feature of the fa7ade of / !aria della %ace is a large triangular pediment encasing a segmental one /uch devices had been used for more than a hundred years from !ichelangelo"s 5iblioteca )auren&iana onwards Bith the e0ception' however' of !artino )onghi"s fa7ade of // 1incen&o et Anastasio the motif does not occur in Rome at this particular time Encased pediments are a regular feature of the *orth Italian type of the aedicule fa7ade' and to a certain e0tent Cortona must have been influenced by it 5ut he goes essentially his own way by working with a pliable wall and by employing once again architectural orders as an invigorating rather than a space >or bay= defining motif !oreover' the "screw;head" shape of the segmental pediment which breaks through the entablature so as to create room for Ale0ander 1II"s coat of arms adds to the unorthodo0 and even eccentric (uality of the fa7ade
In his ne0t work' the fa7ade of / !aria in 1ia )ata' built between ,.-2 and ,..<' Cortona carried simplification and monumentality a decisive step further The classici&ing tendencies already apparent in the sober 3oric of / !aria della %ace are strengthened' while the comple0ity of // !artina e )uca seems to have been reduced to the crystalline clarity of a few great motifs It is obvious that the alignment of the street did not warrant a curved fa7ade *evertheless' there are conne0ions between Cortona"s early and late work+ for' like // !artina e )uca' the fa7ade of / !aria in 1ia )ata consists of two full storeys' but' reversing the earlier system' the central portion is wide open and is flanked by receding bays instead of pro:ecting piers The main part' which opens below into a portico and above into a loggia' is unified by a large triangular pediment into which' as at / !aria della %ace' a segmental feature has been inserted Here' however' it is not a second smaller pediment' but an arch connecting the two halves of the broken straight entablature The motif is well known from Hellenistic and Roman Imperial architecture >Termessus' 5aalbek' /palato' / )oren&o in !ilan= and' although it was used in a somewhat different form in medieval as well as Renaissance buildings >eg Alberti"s / /ebastiano at !antua=' it is here so close to the late classical prototypes that it must have been derived from them rather than from later sources
Bhile thus the classical pedigree of the motif must be acknowledged' neither Cortona"s Tuscan origin nor the continuity of his style is obscured The design of the interior of the portico is proof of this Bith its coffered barrel vault carried by two rows of columns' one of which screens the wall of the church' it clearly reveals its derivation from the vestibule of the sacristy in / /pirito at $lorence >8iuliano da /angallo and Cronaca' begun ,F2A= 5ut in contrast to the ?uattrocento model' the wall screened by the columns seems to run on behind the apsidal endings' and so does the barrel vault 38 Cortona thus produces the illusion that the apses have been placed in a larger room' the e0tent of which is hidden from the beholder #nly the cornice provides a structural link between the columns and the niches of the apses The comparison of Cortona"s solution with that of / /pirito is e0traordinarily illuminating' for the "naive" Renaissance architect ignored the fact that a screen of columns placed in front of an inside wall must produce an awkward problem at the corners Cortona' by contrast' being heir to the analytical awareness gained in the !annerist period' was able to segregate' as it were' the constituent elements of the Renaissance structure and reassemble them in a new synthesis Unlike !annerist architects' who insisted on e0posing the ambiguity inherent in many Renaissance buildings' he set out to resolve any prevarication by a radical procedure9 each of the three component parts the screen of columns' the apses' and the barrel vault has its own fully defined structural raison d'etre. There is hardly a more revealing e0ample in the history of architecture of the different approaches to a closely related task by a Renaissance and a 5aro(ue architect 5ut only a master of Cortona"s perspicacity and calibre could produce this result+ it is rooted in his old love for superimpositions >to wit' the vaults of the apses upon the barrel vault=' and even he himself would not have been capable of such penetrating analysis at the period of // !artina e )uca' a time when he had not entirely freed himself from !annerism Cortona"s ma:or late architectural work is the dome of / Carlo al Corso' which has been mentioned Its drum shows a brilliant' and in this place uni(ue' version of the motif of screening columns /tructurally' the buttresses faced with pilasters and the ad:oining columns form a unit >ie9 bab M bab M bab M =' but aesthetically the rhythm of the buttresses predominates and seems accompanied by that of the open' screened bays >ie9 aMbbMaMb bMaM = A comparison of this dome with that of // !artina e )uca makes amply clear the long road Cortona had travelled in the course of a generation' from comple0ity tinged by !annerism to serene classical magnificence /imilar (ualities may be found in two minor works of the latest period' the Cappella 8avotti in / *icolo da Tolentino' begun in ,..2' and the altar of /t $rancis Kavier in the 8esG' e0ecuted after the master"s death Bhat would have been one of Cortona"s most important ecclesiastical works' the Chiesa *uova >/ $iren&e= at $lorence' remained a pro:ect At the end of ,.F- his model was finished 5ut as early as @anuary ,.F. there seem to have been dissensions' for Cortona writes to his friend and patron Cassiano del %o&&o that he was never lucky in matters concerning architecture The affair dragged on until late in ,...' when his plans were finally shelved A number of drawings' now in the Uffi&i' permit us to get at least a fair idea of Cortona"s intentions E(ually' all his ma:or pro:ects for secular buildings remained une0ecuted' while the 1illa del %igneto and the house which he built for himself late in life in the 1ia della %edacchia no longer e0ist Three of his grand pro:ects should be men; tioned' namely the plans for the alterations and additions to the %ala&&o %itti at $lorence' the designs for a %ala&&o Chigi in the %ia&&a Colonna' Rome' and the plans for the )ouvre As regards the )ouvre' he competed with 5ernini' who again superseded him as he had thirtyfive years before in the work at the %ala&&o 5arberini Cortona"s )ouvre pro:ect has recently been traced It always was in the Cabinet des 3essins of the )ouvre' but remained unrecogni&ed because it makes important concessions to $rench taste and is the least "cortones(ue" of his architectural designs The biased 8iro $erri was certainly not correct when he maintained that 5ernini had plagiari&ed his competitor"s plan The moderni&ation of the fa7ade of the %ala&&o %itti was planned between ,.F, and ,.FE' when Cortona painted his ceilings inside the palace His most notable contribution' however' would have been a theatre in the garden' for which several sketches are preserved It was to rise high above curves and colonnaded terraces on the a0is of the palace and would have formed a monumental unit with the courtyard It is in these designs that Cortona"s preoccupation with the ruins of %raeneste makes itself more clearly felt than in any of his other pro:ects He incorporated into his designs freestanding colonnades and a lofty "belvedere"' corresponding by and large to his reconstruction of the classical ruins made in ,.6. for Cardinal $rancesco 5arberini and first published in /uare&"s work on the ruins of %alestrina in ,.-- The prints probably influenced 5ernini in his choice of colonnades for the /(uare of /t %eter"s !oreover' the freestanding belvedere as a focusing point on 39 high ground was fre(uently used in northern Europe' particularly for gardens If in such cases architects were no longer aware of the debt owed to Cortona"s reconstruction of %raeneste' on occasion its direct influence can yet be traced An impressive e0ample is the eighteenth;century Castello at 1illadeati in %iedmont with its se(uence of terraces and its crowning colonnaded belvedere Cortona himself drew on his reconstruction for the designs of the %ala&&o Chigi' which Ale0ander 1II wanted to have erected when he planned to transform the %ia&&a Colonna' on which the older family palace was situated' into the first s(uare in Rome The most brilliant of the pro:ects' preserved in the 1atican )ibrary' shows' for the first time' a powerful giant order of columns screening a concave wall above a rusticated ground floor from which the waters of the $ontana Trevi were to emerge The repercussions of this design can still be felt in 5ouchardon"s $ontaine de 8renelle in %aris >,E6A;F-= Cortona once wrote despondently that he regarded architecture only as a pastime Can we believe himC It seems impossible to say whether he was primarily painter or architect As a painter his real gift lay in the effective manipulation of large;scale ensembles which are inseparable from their settings #ne cannot' therefore' think of the painter without the architect in the same person The study of Cortona as a painter should not be divorced from the study of Cortona as a decorator of interiors 40