San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (German: St. Charles at the Four Fountains ) is a church on the summit of the Quirinal in Rome. From the Romans it is affectionately known as San Carlino. Your nickname she owes the four wells at the corners of the intersection of Via Quirinale and Via delle Quattro Fontane, on which it stands. Guide gladly highlight the fact that the small building would fit into one of the crossing piers of St Peter's.

San Carlino: Facade

San Carlino: Facade

The church was built from 1638 to 1677 and is considered a masterpiece by Francesco Borromini ( 1599-1667 ). It is dedicated to 1610 canonized Milan Cardinal Carlo Borromeo and Church reformer and of the Holy Trinity. It serves as the church of the Spanish Trinitarians, whose convent, Convento della Santissima Trinita, also built Borromini. The complex has been completely restored for the 400th birthday of Borromini in 1999.

Architectural History

Francesco Borromini, who had previously worked for Gian Lorenzo Bernini, received his first contract with San Carlo. As the construction was not completed at his death, 30 years later, one can say that it was his life's work. Borromini offered the Trinitarians on his fee to forego if he would get for it during construction free hand. Nevertheless, the construction was due to lack of funding repeatedly stalled.

1634-1635 Borromini built the south wing of the monastery with a kitchen and refectory on the ground floor. In developed with a spiral staircase two upper floors the cells of the monks are. In the third floor, the library is finally accommodated.

1635-1637 Borromini built the cloister and the Bautrakt on the Via Quirinale, where the chapter house is located. However, the facade facing the street, he completed only along with his nephew Bernardo Castelli in 1662.

From 1638 Borromini dedicated the church with crypt and sacristy. The interior of the church was completed already in 1641, the stucco works, however, were not completed until 1650. On October 16, 1646 Church of Cardinal Ulderico Carpegna, a conveyor Borromini was consecrated. However, the construction of the facade retired, also for financial reasons back and was finally in 1667 suddenly interrupted by the death of Borromini. Bernardo Castelli 1670 began the construction of the bell tower and from 1674 to 1677 he was able to complete the upper level of the facade according to the plans of his uncle. With the formation of the central sculpture of Carlo Borromeo by Antonio Raggi, the building was finally completed in 1682.

1705, the Order could acquire an adjacent property and thus instruct Alessandro Sperone 1710 with the extension of the monastery. The original refectory was thereby converted into the sacristy.

Facade

The richly structured, curved facade shows the figure of Saint Carlo Borromeo between two angels and the Holy Order of St John of Matha and San Felice di Valois. It is divided vertically by a broad horizontal architrave divided into two and a double order of columns. The rhythmic game with convex and concave shapes was groundbreaking for the baroque architecture. The convex forms are received by the bell tower and the lantern of the dome is outstanding. The Painted in a large oval on the gable fresco of the Holy Trinity by Pietro Giarguzzi has disappeared today.

Interior

The all-white interior is considered the first major work of Roman High Baroque. The architectural structure is complicated and becomes apparent only after prolonged viewing. At an elongate ellipse two semicircular apses and two semi-oval are added to accommodate the three altars and the entrance portal. This structured by niche wall structure are presented sixteen powerful full columns, which are let to one part in shallow niches and contribute to the continuous architrave, which receives the plan again and make the room look together. About four pendentives warped rises along the oval dome with the small octagonal lantern. The coffers of the dome shell is designed as a play of geometric shapes, interlocking in the hexagons, octagons and crosses. The rest of stucco decoration is of the highest artistic quality. The church is accompanied by two tiny hexagonal side chapels. A spiral staircase leads to the lower church, in which a more imaginatively designed chapel Borromini is located. In it, actually the tomb of Francesco Borromini was even provided. However, since he committed suicide, a funeral was rejected. His final resting place he found in the grave of his uncle Carlo Maderno in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.

Next to the church is the exquisite two-storey cloister which houses the subject of church and facade in a very reduced form. Behind it is the multi-storey cross bar of the convent building, in the upper floor, the library is set up.

In the former refectory, now the sacristy, there is a ganzfiguriges image of St. Carlo Borromeo, which was created in 1611 by Orazio Borgianni.

Copy

In Gubbio in Umbria alle Quattro Fontane, an identical church of Santa Maria del Prato was built according to the plans for San Carlo 1662; it was the only time that Borromini allows use later to become a design.

Commemorating the 400th anniversary of Borromini a wooden model was established in 1999 under the leadership of Mario Botta in Lugano erected showing the original scale of the cut by San Carlo. In 2003, the reduction was.

Pictures

Interior

Crypt

Borromini's portrait in the sacristy

Swell

• Claudio Rendina: " Le Chiese di Roma ", Newton & Compton Editori, Roma 2007, ISBN 978-88-541-0931-5.
• Francesca Maria D' Agnelli: " San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane ," Tiferno Grafica, Città di Castello, 2007 ISBN 88-731-1467-9.