Languages of Baroque / Baroque architectural rhetoric and urban structures

The theatrical nature of the Baroque is reflected in the works of Bernini, Cortona and Guarini, but in Borromini’s architecture a unified whole is conceived without the need for the metric division of bays and ships.

The theatrical nature of the Baroque is reflected in the works of Bernini, Cortona and Guarini, but in Borromini’s architecture a unified whole is conceived without the need for the metric division of bays and ships. Undisputable is the influence of Vignola’s design for Il Gesù, because it set a pattern for Jesuit churches until the end of the 18th century. Many famous German architects, like Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt or Johann Balthasar Neumann, spent time in Rome to be educated in the Italian tradition. Furthermore, their own and their pupils’ influence can be seen in the architecture throughout the lands of the Austrian Monarchy.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza1642–60 caRome, Latium, ItalyBorromini's work on Sant'Ivo was a long-term undertaking: the building structure was erected in 1650 but the decorative elements were not complete until 1660 under Pope Alexander VII.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza1642–60 caRome, Latium, ItalyTo the concave façade Borromini opposed the convexity of the dome drum consisting of a low stepped pyramid, whose strong pressure to the outside is plastically defined by pilasters overlapping the corners.
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza1642–60 caRome, Latium, ItalyThe lantern with its twin columns repeats the pattern of centrifugal forces and resolves the innovative invention of the spiral crowning culminating in an iron crown, an orb and a cross.
Church of Santa Maria della Pace1656–57Rome, Latium, ItalyThe façade is one of the most perfect examples of Baroque theatricality applied to urban planning: a semi-circular portico links up with the sides, like two theatrical wings.
San Salvatore, Chiesa del Santissimo SalvatoreStarted in 1605, the church was completed in 1623 by different architectsBologna, Emilia-Romagna, ItalyThe church, with some new ideas, bears a typical Counter-Reformation plan, referencing the Roman Jesuit church of the Gesù.
Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Saviour "in der Wies" ("in the meadow")1745–49: chancel and priory building;1750–54: lay church;1756/57: side altars and organSteingaden-Wies, Upper Bavaria, GermanyThe Pilgrimage Church of the Premonstratensian Abbey Steingaden was created by Dominikus Zimmermann with support of his brother, Johann Baptist. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1983.
Zelená Hora, Church of St. John of Nepomuk1719–1722Zelená Hora, Moravia, Czech RepublicThe expansive intertwining shapes and movement of light provide striking dynamism. Here, V. Vejmluva established a "spiritual mausoleum" for John of Nepomuk, a saint canonised in 1729, and whose cult became one of the most widespread in Central Europe.
Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene1759–1765Sela by Sisak, North-West Croatia, CroatiaThe most representative Croatian church with an oval plan located in the manor of the Zagreb diocese in Sela kod Siska. The special value of this Late Baroque church with characteristic features of the Rococo style is evident in the shaping of the convex façade flanked by two bell towers with concave sides.