Francesco Borromini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini were archenemies, both were baroque masters and both were often commissioned projects right next to each other, for instance Borromini’s Sant'Agnese in Agone in the Piazza Navona is blocked by Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers and Bernini sculpted one of the figures with his hand outstretched to insinuate that Borromini’s building would collapse at any moment. Bernini had the advantage of being a sculptor as well as an architect, which meant he had a lot more projects around town than Borromini did, Borromini didn’t sculpt. And then also, Bernini got the coveted contract to do Saint Peter's Square which was about a big a deal as it sounds, so in the end it seems Bernini won. ⁣

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But there is something so elegant about Borromini’s work. For one, he often worked within small spaces, some of his churches are tiny, but his use of mathematical shapes and shadows and light is really mesmerizing. ⁣

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Here are two of his that I visited on this trip. Sant’Ivo is hidden away from the street by an enclosed courtyard. Sant’Agnese is right in the middle of Piazza Navona. The hand in the last picture is Bernini’s insult. ⁣