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.
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

1642–60 ca
Rome, Latium, Italy
Francesco Borromini
Borrominis work on SantIvo 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.