This Day in History: If it Ain't Baroque

Today is the 409th anniversary of the birth of the Italian Baroque architect Francisco Borromini (September 25, 1599).

While Kim and I were in Rome this past May, we had the opportunity to visit a couple of Borromini's buildings, and I must say I was quite pleased.  Generally, I am a bit turned off by Baroque architecture as I find that it is simply too much of too much.  But Borromini's work, though intricate, possessed a sort of elegant simplicity which really spoke to me.  His work did not reek of the overwrought detailing so prevalent in much Baroque architecture.

Borromini's small church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (or San Carlino, 1634-1637) was one of my favorite churches that we visited in Rome.  (Please keep in mind there are a lot of churches to visit in Rome!) The church's white, oval-shaped dome is stunning, really, with its complex coffering pattern of simple geometries. And the dome's skylit lantern and several small windows provide more than enough light on a sunny day (of which there seem to be many in Rome) to fill the lightly-colored space with a beautiful, clean light.  The beautiful chapel also serves as a quiet respite at the corner of a narrow, busy crossroads, while its intimate scale and beautiful architecture made it feel to me like one of the most sacred spaces I have ever been in.