Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

At the end of a long Renaissance courtyard in the heart of Rome rises one of the strangest and most inventive domes of the Baroque: a dome crowned by a corkscrew lantern that twists upward in a spiral, finished with a cross. This is Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, built by Francesco Borromini between 1642 and 1660 as the church of the old University of Rome, and it shows his genius for turning geometry into movement.

Borromini based the plan on a six-pointed star formed by two overlapping triangles, a figure associated with Solomon and therefore with wisdom - fitting for a university chapel, since Sapienza means wisdom. Inside, the rotunda is shaped as a triangle with its corners clipped, alternating with semicircles, so that curves and sharp edges are used in equal measure and the walls seem to swell and contract. Stars, angel heads and heraldic motifs climb the dome, and daylight falls from the perforated lantern through an oculus. The concave lower facade fits neatly into the end of the existing courtyard by Giacomo della Porta instead of breaking it.

The church is dedicated to Saint Ivo, patron saint of lawyers, and its decoration records the popes who paid for it: the bees of the Barberini family of Urban VIII appear on the lantern, while the mountains and star of the Chigi family appear inside. The church was consecrated in 1660. The main altar, designed by Giovanni Battista Contini, dates from 1684, and its altarpiece was begun by Pietro da Cortona and completed after his death by Giovanni Ventura Borghesi. The Palazzo della Sapienza, which once housed the university, is now home to the State Archives of Rome.

Getting there

Sant'Ivo stands on Corso del Rinascimento in central Rome, close to Piazza Navona. The nearest airport is Ciampino Airport (CIA), about 15 km away; Rome's main airport is Fiumicino.