Francesco Borromini

Lore & Background

Borromini began his career as a stonemason, the son of a stonemason, and studied architecture in Milan before moving to Rome in 1619. He worked for his distant relative Carlo Maderno at St. Peter's and the Palazzo Barberini. After Maderno's death in 1629, he continued on the palace under Bernini's direction. He changed his name from Castelli to Borromini, derived from his mother's family and possibly out of regard for St Charles Borromeo.

His first major independent commission came in 1634: the church, cloister, and monastic buildings of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (San Carlino) on the Quirinal Hill, designed for the Spanish Trinitarians. The church, completed between 1638 and 1641 and dedicated in 1646, is considered an exemplary masterpiece of Roman Baroque architecture, despite its remarkably small size. Borromini devised the complex ground plan from interlocking geometrical configurations, with interior walls that appear to weave in and out.

He also designed the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Oratorio dei Filippini) from 1637, though his relations with the Oratorians were often fraught, leading to his replacement in 1652. From 1640 to 1650 he worked on Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, with its distinctive dome and cochlear steeple. He was involved in Sant'Agnese in Agone, where his design intentions were changed by succeeding architects, resulting in a mix of approaches.

Reader's Guide

Borromini's career was constrained by his personality: melancholic and quick-tempered, he withdrew from certain jobs and died by suicide in 1667. Unlike Bernini, he did not easily adopt the role of courtier. His work was idiosyncratic, and his subsequent influence was not widespread, though it appears in the Piedmontese works of Guarino Guarini and, fused with Bernini and Cortona's modes, in late Baroque Northern European architecture. Later critics such as Francesco Milizia and Sir John Soane were particularly critical of his work. From the late nineteenth century onward, interest revived and his architecture became appreciated for its inventiveness. He seems to have had a sound understanding of structures, perhaps surpassing Bernini and Cortona, who were principally trained in other visual arts. He was a self-taught scholar who amassed a large library by the end of his life.

Did You Know?

• Borromini changed his name from Castelli to Borromini, derived from his mother's family and possibly out of regard for St Charles Borromeo.
• San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane is so small that the whole building would fit into one of the dome piers of Saint Peter's.
• Borromini's soft lead drawings are particularly distinctive.
• He died by suicide in 1667.