Overview
Small in size, immense in architectural quality and importance in the history of the arts: the church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza designed by Francesco Borromini is considered one of the highest and most original expressions of Roman Baroque, and a reference point for generations of architects. Built between 1643 and 1660, the year of its consecration, the church is inserted into the structure of the Palazzo della Sapienza, closing off the view of the central courtyard at the end opposite the entrance. Borromini, who was appointed architect of La Sapienza in 1632, had to work in a restricted and quadrangular space that had already been defined by his predecessors. He radically transformed it by designing a church with a mixtilinear central plan, as fascinating as it is complex in its geometry. The plan of the church of Sant'Ivo is essentially a six-pointed star formed by two intersecting triangles, a double symbol of the Trinity; in the centre, the intersection of the triangles forms a hexagon.
The walls are surmounted by an entablature with alternating concave, straight and convex sides, on which rests a six-segment dome with clear and bright ornamentation, anticipating the Rococo style. The floor is also the work of Borromini, who invented a design with black and white marble inlays. On the altar is a large altarpiece dedicated to St. Ivo Hélory, a work by Pietro da Cortona that remained unfinished when the master died in 1669 and was completed by his pupils. On the outside, the dome is enveloped by a lantern tower with convex sides, which, seen from the palace courtyard, contrasts with the concave exedra below. It is crowned by a stepped roof and a spiral lantern which, with its upward thrust, has become the icon of the entire Sapienza building.
