San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Roma

Designed by Francesco Borromini, this white on white church, also called "The Carlino" is a small but breathtaking jewel of the high Baroque, and I think the loveliest place we visited, in Rome.

The first part of the structure that Borromini completed was the crypt, a miniature version of the church with a stunning spiral staircase. The structure of the church is based on the combination of two equilateral triangles, creating an elliptical structure that fits perfectly into the small plot of land at the corner of the four fountains, where the gods of the Tiber and the Arno guard the corners on which the church sits. Borromini cleverly incorporated false perspective, to make the entrance and the alters look deeper, and tall fluted columns that rise to the dome, making the structure look higher and more elegant. Because of the human scale of the church and Borromini's employment of the golden mean and the equilateral triangle, the church has a settled feeling of correct and beautiful proportion.

The adjoining cloister (pictured at the top) with its ambulatory, and the small enclosed garden for the order of Trinitarian Monks gives the church a unified and very intimate feeling. The Trinitarians are an order of 'shoeless' monks who were originally dedicated to the freeing of Christian slaves, but these days the monks take collection which they distribute freely and entirely to the local poor until it runs out, every week. We all made a donation to their work, as a thanks for our visit to their beautiful, peaceful church.

Although Borromini was given a place in the crypt, he was never to occupy it, as he died a suicide. Borromini never asked for payment for his work on The Carlino. It was both his first full scale project, and as he was planning the addition of the Bell Tower when he died, his last project. Borromini said that this was his best and favourite building. Many, many people love this church, and it is considered to be one of the purest and loveliest examples of Baroque architecture.


There is a very informative article on the church and its architecture, as well as the story of the competition between Borromini and his rival Bernini for the design of St Peter's, at this website:
http://www.mmdtkw.org/VCarlino2002.html