Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

Church of Saint Yves at La Sapienza Chiesa di Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (Italian)
Sant'Ivo, embraced by the wings of the Palazzo alla Sapienza
Basic information
Location	Rome, Italy
Geographic coordinates	41°53′54″N 12°28′28″E
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Year consecrated	1660
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Rectory Church
Leadership	Msgr. Agostino de Angelis
Website	Official website
Architectural description
Architect(s)	Francesco Borromini
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Baroque
Direction of façade	ENE
Groundbreaking	1642
Completed	1660
Specifications
Length	27 metres (89 ft)
Width	26 metres (85 ft)

The Church of Saint Yves at La Sapienza (Italian: Chiesa di Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome. The church is considered a masterpiece of Roman Baroque church architecture, built in 1642-1660 by the architect Francesco Borromini.

The lantern.

Interior view.

History

The church started out, around the 14th century, as a chapel of the palace of the University of Rome. The University is called La Sapienza, and the church is devoted to Saint Yves (patron saint of the jurists), giving the church its name. Borromini was forced to adapt his design to the already existing palace. He choose a plan resembling a star of David, and merged the facade of the church with the courtyard of the palace. The dome, with its corkscrew lantern, is remarkable in its novelty. The complex rhythms of the interior have a dazzling geometry to them. It is a rational architecture- intricate to view, but on paper the overlap of a circle on two superimposed equilateral triangles creates a basis for a hexagonal array of chapels and altar in a centralized church. The undulations, both concave and convex of the interiors, create a jarring yet stunning appeal. The decoration is a mixture of novel organic (six-winged cherubic heads) and geometric (stars). Rising along the base of three of the dome's pillars are the symbol of the papal Chigi family, the "six mountain beneath a star".

The main artwork of the interior is the altarpiece by Pietro da Cortona, portraying St. Yves.

Influence

The corkscrew lantern of the church is the direct inspiration for the also spiralling spire of Vor Frelsers Kirke in Copenhagen, Denmark.

References

• [1] diagrams of structure.
• Street View. The Church is the smaller "flower-like" dome in the center, between the massive Pantheon dome and Piazza Navona. It is located between Corso del Rinascimento and Via della Scrofa (east), closer to the latter street.

External links

Media related to Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Palazzo della Sapienza at Wikimedia Commons