Connors, Borromini's S. Ivo Alla Sapienza. The Spiral

Borromini's S.
Ivo alla Sapienza: The Spiral

Author(s): Joseph Connors
Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 138, No. 1123 (Oct., 1996), pp. 668-682
Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/887143
Accessed: 11-10-2018 01:59 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to The Burlington Magazine
This content downloaded from 79.13.211.241 on Thu, 11 Oct 2018 01:59:54 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
JOSEPH CONNORS
Borromini's S. Ivo alla Sapienza: the spiral*
BORROMINI'S S. Ivo alla Sapienza is not exactly an under- seashells in Borromini's personal collection has seemed to
interpreted building. Almost from the beginning, perhaps open a path towards an interpretation in the light of contem-
with a malicious nudge from Borromini himself, the plan was porary theories about nature, seen either through an alle-
interpreted as an image of the Barberini bee. The star of gorising Tridentine lens, best represented by the Jesuits
Solomon entered the picture with a print of 1720 and soon Kircher, Bartoli and Buonanni, or through what Krzysztof
made itself indispensable: it is invoked in a broad range of Pomian has called the 'culture of curiosity'.4
modern interpretations that revolve around the concept of The interpretation of the spiral which follows is based on
the Domus Sapientiae. The sapiential literature of the Old Tes- several new presuppositions. First, it tries to retrieve meaning
tament, especially the verses from Proverbs 9 inscribed on from the specific context of the Roman Sapienza, not ignor-
Borromini's presentation drawing, have been used to shed ing the general decline of the institution in the period under
light on the design, but so has Ripa's Iconologia, Prudentius's discussion or the challenges posed by rivals.5 Mere generali-
Psychomachia, Fludd's pansophistic writings, and the ora- ties about Christian education are not sufficient for a close
tions of Roman seminarians delivered on the feast of S. Ivo reading of the image. Secondly, it rejects the notion that an
(though in another church). architectural image can mean something only because it
looks like something else - such as an emblem, a cryptic dia-
But it is the exotic lantern and spiral (Figs.42, 44 and 57),
the feature that the architect insisted on calling the 'tempiettogram or an image of some previous building. At S. Ivo, I
sopra al tempio della Sapienza',' that has called down on itself
would like to propose that the spiral can be read like a sen-
much summer lightning. To some it has seemed a tower of tence, with each element being a word and the whole con-
Babel, inspired by Heemskerck's prints or by a spiral-shapedstruction designed to enunciate a meaning that was relevant
auto-maton, or more appropriately in this context an anti- and new. It was not simply a picture, and it was important
Babel, converted and redeemed to serve a Christian univer-that it could be climbed,' since out of a possible lived experi-
sity. Others have seen an image resembling Ripa's Philosophy, ence for a few it offered a symbol of vicarious experience for
or the pillar of the Church, or the papal tiara (spiralled formany.
easy maintenance), or Mount Purgatory in a particularly Finally, it is important to remember the dynamics of the
dynamic baroque form. Since the spiral clearly culminates in commission. The spiral was the creation of Innocent X Pam-
flames, explanations which include incandescence have an philj (1644-55), the second of the three popes who built S.
edge over all others. A guidebook of 1690 saw the flaming spi- Ivo. I will argue that it was not yet present in the design
ral as the Pharos of Alexandria, and several modern scholars approved by Urban VIII Barberini (1623-44), the pope who
have arrived independently at the same notion. Others havebegan the building. Furthermore, like the church of S.
seen in the flames the column of fire that guided the IsraelitesAgnese, it was an idea of the end of Innocent X's pontificate,
in the desert by night, or Ripa's Intellect, or the flames of thenot of the beginning. But, unlike S. Agnese, the spiral of S. Ivo
charity of the generous, fee-spurning medieval lawyer, Stcost very little. Urban VIII had spent about twelve thousand
Yves Hdlory de Kermartin, who took the church on consign-scudi on the bare structure of the church and cupola, and
ment, so to speak.2 Alexander VII Chigi (1655-67), the pope who finished S. Ivo
Some scholars, put off by the number and inconsistency of and added the Biblioteca Alessandrina, would spend over
the interpretations, have proposed that the spiral means twenty-five thousand. Innocent X's 'tempietto' cost only 1,600
scudi, including both structure and decoration, less than the
nothing at all, or is merely a virtuoso demonstration of the
amount that Alexander VII would later spend on the marble
mathematical culture of the times.3 Finally, the presence of
complementing A. ZUCCARI: 'Borromini tra religiositA borromaica e cultura scien-

*I am especially grateful to Elisabeth Kieven, Henry Millon, John Pinto and John
Beldon Scott; to Lucio Lume, Donato Tambl6 and Aldo Mastroianni of the Archiv-
tifica', ibid., pp.35-73. For a different approach, see K. POMIAN: 'La culture de la
io di Stato di Roma; to Richard B6sel and Veronika Birke of the Albertina in Vien- curiosit6', in Collectionneurs, amateurs et curieux. Paris, Venise: XVIe-XVIIIe siecle, Paris
na; and to my fellow climbers, Peter Rietbergen and Christoph Frommel. Research [1987], pp.61-80, and j. CONNORs: 'Virtuoso Architecture in Cassiano's Rome', in
was supported in 1986-87 by the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Acad- Cassiano Dal Pozzo's Paper Museum, [1992], II (Quaderni Puteani 3), pp.23-40.
emy in Rome, in 1994-95 by the National Endowment for the Humanities,"On andthe history of the Roman Sapienza as an educational institution see especially:
throughout by Columbia University, all of whom I thank. D. CHAMBERS: 'Studium Urbis and Gabella Studii: The University of Rome in the Fif-
teenth Century', in c. CLOUGH, ed.: Cultural Aspects of the Italian Renaissance: Essays in
'Rome, Archivio di Stato, Fondo UniversitA, vol. 113, fol.57r (hereafter citations from
this source are abbreviated in the following format: ASR U 113.57r). 'lI tempietto Honour
(cosi of Paul Oskar Kristeller, Manchester and New York [1976], pp.68-1 10; M.R. DI
SIMONE: La "Sapienza Romana" nel Settecento: Organizzazione universitaria e insegnamento del
lo chiamava il Cavaliere) che la sommittd della chiesa, cioe tutto quello, che sorge di sopra alla cup-
pola coperta dipiombo' (ASR U 109.194v). In November 1655 Borromini began a diritto
full- (Studi efonti per la storia dell'Universitd di Roma, 1), Rome [1980], pp. 15-67; and
sized wooden model for a large new lantern on S. Agnese, which he also called a
M. V6LKEL: 'Die Sapienza als Klient. Die r6mische Universitat unter dem Protek-
'tempietto' (G. EIMER: La Fabbrica di S. Agnese in Navona, Stockholm [1970-71], toratII,
der Barberini und Chigi', Quellen und Forschungen aus Italienischen Archiven und Bib-
pp.411-12). liotheken, Tuibingen [1990], pp.490-512. The university as a building type has been
2For a partial list list of interpretations of the spiral, see Appendix B, below. studied with interesting results by M. KIENE: 'Der Palazzo della Sapienza - Zur ital-
S . SINDING-LARSEN: 'Borromini's Sant'Ivo Spire: must a work of art mean some- ienischen Universitatsarchitektur des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts', R6misches Jahrbuch
thing?', Pratt Pamphlet No. 1, [n.d., c. 1989]. fiir Kunstgeschichte, 23/24 [1988], pp.219-7 1.
4s. MACIOCE: 'La "chiocciola" di S. Ivo alla Sapienza', in A. ZUCCARI and s. MACIOCE, '6P. PORTOGHESI: Borromini. Architettura come linguaggio, 2nd ed., Rome and Milan
eds.: Innocenzo X PamphiG. Arte e potere a Roma nell'etd barocca, Rome [1990], pp.75-96, [1990], p. 157.
668
THE SPIRAL OF S. IVO ALLA SAPIENZA
42. The cupola and spiral of S. Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome, by Francesco Borromini. 1642-60
what
floor.7' And yet it is the spiral that allows the
the cupola
small looked
cupola to like at the end o
make a mark on the Roman skyline. tificate. Alexander VII did not touch th
Four Borromini drawings of 1651-52 allow
change a reconstruc-
almost everything standing beneath
tion of the design at the time when therior of was
spiral the still
drum in and
for- the prospect on P
mation; then four prints or drawings the interior walls and the
of 1653-55 decorations
show us of the dome. But
7Costs can be only imperfectly gauged from the occasional estimated summary or
17,693.67 scudi, including the lantern. Another in U I 15.406r says that the estimat-
scandaglio preserved in the documents. A summary of 1661 says that the tempietto cost
ed costs of the east facade, the library and the completion of the stuccoes inside and
outside the church came to 18,923.76 scudi; the stuccoes alone were contracted at
1606.34 scudi, plus related expenses of 195.67 scudi for the north portico and 154.79
3700
scudi for the 'finimento del teatro' (i.e., the attic over the courtyard exedra), which we scudi. The highest estimate for costs incurred under Alexander VII is 25,349.12
know from other sources were all incurred under Innocent X (U 198.58r). The scudi,
same given in Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (hereafter abbreviated as BAV),
document implies that 11,983.90 scudi were spent on construction up to but Chigi not H.III.62, fol.205v, though Carlo Cartari reported in 1664 that Alexander VII
including the tempietto, which would mean the rustic shell of Urban VIII and thesaid
leadthat to date he had given 28,000 scudi to the Sapienza (ASR, Cartari-Febei,
roof. A summary in U 108.134r estimates costs up to 1656, that is, under Urban vol.80,
VIII fol.95r).
and Innocent X, as 14,066.58 scudi. Another summary in U 115.47v totals
669
although heraldry and even much of the basic structure

changed under this pope, the 'iconographic sentence' of the
spiral was put into a context that largely echoed and rein-
forced its meaning.
The Church under Urban VIII (1642-44)
In the terrible, war-torn years at the end of the Barberini

pontificate the basic structure of S. Ivo was finished in rustic
brickwork. On 9th September 1642 a contract was agreed
with the masons, and scarpellini were signed on inJune 1643.
The basic structure took a year to build and reached up to the
level of the drum. On 23rdJuly 1644, when Urban VIII lay
on his deathbed, the rector of the university thought it pru-
dent to buy locks and chains. The pope died on 29th July
1644. On 12th September, while the difficult conclave was
still in session, the masons signed a contract to finish the
vault. Three days later the election of Innocent X was
announced. The vault was finally finished in October, during
Innocent X's pontificate but not on his initiative."
43. View of the
What the church looked like at this Sapienza,
point can be seen in a
showing
the unfinished cupola
crude print of 1652 (Fig.43).' There are some inaccuracies:
ofS. Ivo. Etching,
the cupola never had columns between1652,thefrom
windows
j. VAN
or a scal-
loped cornice. But from the beginningMEURS:
it did have van
Afbeelding six power-
t'nieu Romen, Amster-
ful apses, as the print shows, which bulged out 'like the six
dam [1661] (Avery
petals of a rose'.'" These are Borromini's homage to the tem-
Library, New York)
ple of Minerva Medica and its late-antique progeny. The
print accurately shows a stepped vault divided into separate
gores, each rising to a central platform. altar were
But it not yet there;
is important to behind blank stret
note what is still missing, aside from ('petto') in this
the lantern andarea there were hollow shaft
spiral:
the 'contrqforti orbicolati' (six buttresses eventually to contain
that curl down spiral staircases." Fina
from the
chapel
lantern like ski slopes), and the 'porticelle' (six looked
arched rather different. It had doors
counter-
weights with balls on top, often comparedmunicating with theon
to the merlons flanking hexagonal
Michelangelo's Porta Pia). els, or at least on the south, since the rooms
Documents tell us that this vault, 'ofnot yet built. There
extraordinary work- was an arch above th
manship, with many separate curves, chapel;
requiring Alexander
an expensive VII later introduced a f
centring of a most unusual type', hadspectacular
to be torn lighting down andeffects over the alt
remainAlthough
rebuilt several times to please the architect. today." there
are no sketches of the interior at this early stage, it is possible
to say something about its appearance by The Church
working under
back from Innocent X (1652-53)
the changes introduced by Alexander VII. In general it was
more perforated and open than it is now. The raw shell thatwere
There Urban VIII left to his successor must
origi-
nally twelve niches in the upper levels of the walls corre- Villa. In his haste to
have looked like a ruin from Hadrian's
sponding to those on the lower level; callthethe Barberini
uppertonichesaccount forwere
their maladministration of
later immured. There were large portals state fundsat ground
during the War of level
Castro, Innocent X became
affording direct entrance from the two inside
embroiled a largercorridors;
political conflict with the Barberini's
Alexander VII walled them up to make new-found protector, Cardinal
the present tortuous Mazarin of France. In these
entrance routes through the sacristies. Over
years the
there was verydoors there
little incentive for the new pope to take
were large windows that offered a viewoverintothe patronage
the church of a church
fromwith strong Barberini associ-
ations and,
the piano nobile." The two choir balconies although hethe
flanking hoisted a painting of the Pamphilj
high
2The shafts were 7 or 7 1 palmi in diameter and rose 411 palmi from the piano nobile
"ASR U 198.87flT; M. DEL PIAZZO: Ragguagli borrominiani, Rome [1968], pp. 132ff., and
233fl. level up to the loggia scoperta. Alexander VII carved away the 'petto' of 'wall in front of
'F. I)E ROSSI: Ritratto di Roma moderna, Rome [ 1652], p.373; copied with a mild change each shaft to make two coretti, matching the coretto over the main entrance, in
of viewpoint in j. VAN MEUPRS: A/beelding van t'nieu Romen, Amsterdam [1661], p.539, 1658-60. But the upper reaches of these shafts still survive at the level of the loggia
'De Wysheit' (reproduced in IDE PIAZZO, op. cit. at note 8 above, pp.284f.); also pub- scoperta, where they are used as storage chambers. One is 7 palmi in diameter and the
other 71; both are shown on modern plans for electrical wiring.
lished in v. DEsEINE: Rome moderne, Premiere ville de i'Europe Avec toutes ses magnificences et
ses delices, Leiden [1713]1, II, p.334. 'These changes were first discoverd in E. CIRIEI.I.I and A. MARINO: II complesso della
0"'a muraglia per diJfuori ?Jbrmata con sei semicircoli a guisa d'una rosa di sei foglie', ASR U Sapienza: letlura critica dei documenti d'archivio e loro riscontro sul manufillo aifini della conser-
1 15.403r, cited in E. KIFVEN: Von Bernini bis Piranesi. Rimische Architekturzeichnungen des vazione, unpublished tesi di laurea, UniversitAi degli Studi di Roma, Facolth di Archi-
Barock, exh. cat., Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart [1993], p.74. tettura, 2 vols., 1981-82 (copy in Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome); the thesis is sum-
"Alexander VII closed these finestroni (ASR U 115.358r) but left small windows 51 marised in eidem: 'll complesso della Sapienza: le fasi del cantiere, gli interventi suc-
palmi wide which are still visible on the plan drawn in 1721 by Johann Conrad cessivi al Borromini, le manutenzioni', Ricerche di Storia dell'Arte, XX 11983],
Schlaun, now in Mdnster, specifically the 'Pianta superiore' of the set mentioned by pp.39-64. In Appendix A, below and elsewhere, I have always transcribed the doc-
uments from the originals in the ASR, Fondo UniversitA. ELISABETH KIEVEN, in a per-
KIENE (loc. cit. at note 5 above, p.254, note 163, with earlier bibliography). Later the
51 palmi windows were sealed entirely, but vestiges of them can still be seen today in ceptive analysis of the changes (op. cit. at note 10 above, pp.67fW), compares the
the two closets which are entered from the balcony-bridge at piano-nobile level. original appearance of the interior to the fagade of S. Maria dei Sette I)olori.
670
niece, Olimpiuccia Giustiniani, to Maffeo Ba

motion of Carlo Barberini to the Sacred Col
the return of Antonio Barberini from Paris."'
the spiral were begun in March 1652 and q
the iron superstructure was in place and gilde
October 1652. Immediately the dome began
became urgent to buttress it from both sides.
the loggia running along the north side of th
was still not even begun, had to be underta
possible. Foundations were dug inJuly 1653
slow, and two years later the loggia was still n
1655 Borromini, exasperated at the pace of
legal guarantee making himself and his heir
the safety of the cupola for fifteen years, but
loggia were promptly finished.2"
The most revealing documents from this ph
struction are not those of the masons but tho
They too tell of cracks and perils. In May
had to design a huge iron chain weighing 94
tain the hoop thrusts created at the base of th
great weight of the lantern. The bands of the
perfectly around the six apses of the drum, an
to refashion them again and again, 'accordin
of the architect, with great waste of time a
chain was not hidden and can still be seen at
pilaster bases. Borromini was an expert on t
44. The lantern and spiral of S. Ivo alla Sapienza, chains
Rome, which
by Francesco could make the most perilous
Borromini.
safe.2" All this leads us to suppose that if he h
great
arms over the university door in October 1644, weight of the
he made nolantern from the outset,
moves to continue the building." On the contrary, he weak-bury the chain inside the
have found a way to
ened the financial base of the Sapienza drum at the time
by abolishing of its construction. One has
the
that
Capitoline office of Riformatori dello Studio, the
and architect
also was improvising, trying to
by order-
berini dome from
ing the Capitoline authorities to finish the third palace on thecoming apart under the we
ambitions.
Campidoglio, an expensive undertaking that would last his
The resources."
entire pontificate and consume their slender smith's accounts also afford a glimps
The Consistorial Advocates, the elite corporation
man's life under a of
perfectionist architect. The
lawyers who controlled the all-important holds
legaltogether
faculty at the separate travertine block
the
Sapienza, made several motions to finish the church in the at the summit had t
the flaming crown
later 1640s, and to prevent damage from reforged in the August heat, and then beca
water infiltration
the liking
they covered the cupola with lead between December of the architect it had to be rehe
1648
circular fire
and January 1649."' Carlo Cartari, the lawyer whose entire lit in the courtyard. The six iron
career would be bound up with the Sapienza, commissioned
support the globe, each thirtypalmi long, were
again and again
some sort of perspectival drawing of the Sapienza from a cer- by four men working in th
tain Cavaliere Falcucci.'7 We have no idea of whatthe
matched it looked
template perfectly. The stanch
and cross
like, but perhaps it briefly charmed the pope, since were gilded in situ, all taking days o
he issued
a chirograph in April 1649 allowing theing heights. The
corporation to smith
bor- in the end did his wor
so, and
row eight thousand scudi to finish the church."' even
But though
still noth- he was the son of the
ing happened. started work on the church under the Barber
later
Innocent X turned to S. Ivo only in 1652, he was
after still complaining that Borrom
two-thirds
of his pontificate had already passed. This anticipates he
grudge and that by had
a not been paid."22
The lantern
year or so his final reconciliation with the Barberini in June was completely finished und
interior and
and July 1653, which included the marriage of his great- exterior, including the final t
.""Minuta
"1644.X.3: eight scudi 'pagati a M.ro PIgidio Tenaglini, indoratore di chirografo
e pittore, d'Innocenzo
per haver fatta un Xper la licenza di crearsi un deb
arme del PI? Innocentio per porla sopra la porta della Sapienza' per (ASR
lafabrica della chiesa, quale di poi non ebbe efetto'; the estimat
U 112.87).
scudi) was for lead to cover the cupola and stuccoes on the inte
o;(n. .;,i: 1Diario romano (1608 1670), ed. (;. RICCIOTTI, Rome [1958], pp.265, 271;
of contents
K. (aGOTHLEIN: 'D)er "Palazzo Nuovo" des Kapitols', Rimisches at fols.95ff.).
Jahrbuch fur Kunst-
geschichte, XXII (1985], pp.11 8i I'GIGLI, ed. cit. at note 15 above, pp.419- 20; I. VON PASTOR: T
"6DEL. PIAZZO, Op. Cit. at note 8 above, p. 133. XXX, London [1940], p.92; D. CHIOMENTI VASSAILI: Donna Olim
Seicento, Milan
"bid., p.149; A. PETRUCC:I: 'Carlo Cartari', Dizionario Biogrqfico de?li [1979],
Italiani,p.198.
XX
2'DEL PIAZZO,
[1977], pp.783 86. Louise Rice, who has read the extensive entriesop.
in cit.
Carloat note
Car-8 above, p. 151.
2F. informs
tari's Latin diary (ASR, Cartari-Febei, vols. 73-80), kindly BORROMINI: Opera,
me that on Rome
8th [1720-25], II, ch. xv, written i
chains in
April 1645 (vol.73, fbl.257) Cartari estimated that the 'cuppolino' ofthe
the vaults
church,ofasthe
it new Via Giulia wing of Palazzo F
was then envisaged, would cost 500 scudi to finish, less 22DEL
thanPIAZZO,
a third op. cit. atthe
of what note 8 above, pp. 147 48 and 236 -
below.
lantern and spiral eventually cost in 1652.
671
and decoratio
the spiral as th
on the earlies
-d-~
image on th
descending fro
tongues of fla
of the vault bu
so that it looke
the early nin
AOMJriDIIjc but the hole it
clete was plac
.1
look as thoug
zling theatrica
in a Sacro Mon
,; / o."~'h
The imagery
allusion to S. I
tecost (19th M
IT "" .
flc~t41
., 4 ,' / ? moved to the

before it displ
Leo and Fortu
saint and it co
sistorial Advo
the church. In
moving away
poor' toward
emphasised mi
Gallic firmam
vision of a dov
night.2'
The drawings
45. Projectf/r the lantern ofS. Ivo, by
cm. (Albertina, Vienna).
Four or possibly five drawings from the period just before
construction began in March 1652 show Borromini's super-
structure in its formative stages. The earliest of them is in the
Albertina, Vienna (Fig.45; see Appendix C, no.1), which I
date to the second half of 1651. It shows a large sketch plan
that clearly combines two structures, one on top of the other.
Both are climbable, though neither is anything like the final
spiral. The lantern proper has a scalloped cornice, Baalbek-
like, and triple clusters of columns on each pier, ideas that are
refined in the three sketches along the right edge of the sheet.
Two of the lantern piers are hollow and have tiny spiral stair-
cases inside; one of the sketches (top right) seems to have iron
rungs in this hollow instead of a spiral. In either case this
would be a tight climb. But on top of the lantern there is
drawn what looks like a second lantern, slightly smaller, with
2 C. DEL-FRATE: S. Maria delMonte sopra Varese, Varese [1933], pI. LXXII. The idea was
imitated by Guarini in the SS. Sindone in Turin.
2 Acta Sanctorum, ed. G. HENSCHENIO and D. PAPEBROCHIO, S.J., Antwerp [1685], IV,
p.541 (19th May). This key fact does not emerge from the standard modern source,
J. EVENOU and A.M. RAGGI: 'Ivo, Hdlory de Kermartin', Bibliotheca Sanctorum, Rome
[1966], VII, cols. 997-1002.
2P. CHEVET: Vita, e miracoli di S. Ivo, sacerdote e confessore, avvocato de'poveri, vedove & orfani,
Rome [1640], a work of stereotyped hagiography, seems to have been inspired by a
translation of relics to Rome in 1638. More interesting, though still more baroque,
are some of the orations delivered in honour of the saint in the church of S. Ivo alla
Scrofa, a group studied in J. BELDON SCOTT: 'S. Ivo alla Sapienza and Borromini's
Symbolic language', Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, XLI [1982],
pp.310-13. There are two ample collections of such works: ASR U 201, and BAV,
R.G.Miscell.M 1; see especially c.F. CECCARELLO: Lingua Ignea sive de S. Ivone Pauperum
Patrono Oratio, Rome [1638], A. RADICCHIO: Sydus Caeli Gallicani sive Oratio De S. Ivone
Pauperum Advocato, Rome [1640], and J. GRISENDIO: Thaumaturgus Gallicus sive de S.
Ivone, Rome [1641]. A good account of how a Breton cult in Rome became French
is in B. POCQUET DU HAUT-JUSSE: 'La compagnie de Saint-Yves des Bretons A Rome',
46. Plan of the Milanges d'archiologie et
spiral d'histoire de l'Ecole Franfaise
ofS. Ivo, de Rome, XXXVIIby
[1918-19], Fran
(Getty Resource pp.201-83.
Collection, Getty R
672
-~ 1. ?r
~jli"
;?:i?aa
-c-
??? *.~
?
:~c~
:2? 1. f ~,C,. :: ' '
r '?"" ?,?? .. '? .
ii i
\rr Ilij~ ??:?i~l? ?~c? ij~i
?? i ~ c ;;d)
r? b?'' ?. +?"
?r
i ??~
.. a )?
*?~
?A*
~u ~ r?
?, t ~t
?i r
?, I"f s
'.i 1 6 I~mrr ~a~ ~~-*7.~C~ej~?(

;:. .t
5;'
2 :e .. i
I-P- I---I
P~s:r -? r' ,
r
:r:
l"r
rl
'i
;~qriQ~ ' 't"
,,
4?~s~SJ" .~ j* -'Z?~ZL~PIW*T~~"~i;Ui~?~PI 1 *~, n.l
i r
'r7' .4? r 1, , r.
'5 3
:i Q
?ti ~116" 5?"? *
., t f
i3~1
i
-?-- c. r
lfz.If; I, ?~
?9
r
?-~
..
-c. C~
... r r
?( i~ ~ct " c ' 4~?t;LI
f?- ? 13' - ?-
??'2: ~ ..
*t
.. I ;% " "~ 3L
6 . r
.?
, ~b i' rVT; Z "1?f?:
"r3?
r~lF-~
~...
.,, .?i:. ` ?:?r. I
r hY1~? rfrr ~E, I
f i:'' .-t-.
le _j r, t~":lr Ilfl) , ?? 'kS
1. I~t.*-l?(?tr(n
/.L~rr?rJJ rt
I '' .. i
?- t ?: :rP ,k i; I':a~Y*%'PrJ~' "'
I"?4t :L iii ~~
.- iBi~
I ii ?;i'
it ";
dil'i
:.i j? ; ,? "5~, 1 :?lk*
L~?Zksl ''
* ??, c ?r ~r~e;*e ? ?, "I~~L n(~LL
: 'r?* '- e~ ?I,*?
1,.,..'~: C '
: I: -??)? i. .. u .. 'i r
~ Ift ~c;i
.. r.i.?
??
;r r
irt ~5 ''". ; I c ?~
I? /li i ,,
~i?'r
~F~? ??~ '2~~C~t~~" i: .?
'' =1
i.t '* *.~i
?
.~~i~1
`~"3~
i~n:s
v *~i
c.Ire??-z~rz
L
if: *l;tP~?
. r ;i, 'I?
.t
' v.'I~ ;'"".
~IQ 'L ?. rkl-.'
"Iri iv '9;?riiifr
C? ;I. :if
r
~'.tj:
,t
i,
tf
??t:
t ?. -J i ::*~
*? -~i ,~ C
.1,
"??* ~1. 'x
* ul
- . : I
i C rrr i ~*. ??
~?~i
~: *
i~ai;LJ L,,~.
47. Project for the buttresses of the dome ofS. Ivo, by Francesco Borromini. 1652.
j?l.rVISn*It"i~
~)Mt ?-?
Pencil,
24.4 by 20.9 cm. (Albertina, Vienna). II
i~Pe
L.,?.r Z.Lle C~C~S j.~ T4
I RI
rt-':lc.tr C~f1~ -?
r t ~:. urz ra
a generous spiral staircase encased inside it. What all this led ly ?;-
,e~s~
~" ;4:
to we do not know, but clearly the idea of ascent was para- ,?-
---
I~itC"; .,
mount. -cJIPI
rl,
"
?c?,~.,
By the next drawing (Fig.46; see Appendix C, no.2) the 1 I
famous spiral has already arrived. A working plan, black and 1', L-~s~
;P?~
1
. I 'C ir t-
"'-n L" r :i
smudged, it is not a pretty sight, but it would have been of 6r.
~'rx L " L"R9 I r ~U I ) _: ii
ii
? y *
considerable use to the masons who had to build this strange r,

"
:r C~;?;::
it
object. It is not a true spiral, such as a geometer might have ~~L~a~ao-~r ~slP??;v86~i~B~~r~R9k
drawn, but a false one constructed out of arcs of circles. The ii i;n:
"
curves of the top half of the drawing are semicircles generat-

1.
?~
;-s
ed from the real centre, while those of the bottom half are ?. ICC? 1 ~'3a -?FC~I*ls~-l~j(g?
I ?;D~f
~X.~~iWI*i:J-r
r
"~'z
iii
~r
semicircles generated from a centre that has been moved :$ ? a "-----~r~;~-c~:s...

:Ip"~-~IC1~jy
about 1 palmi up and to the left. The inscriptions both on this

(r
j : ii *- r'
I , y? ;*
i?
*.??
F ill.
drawing and the one that follows show Borromini's concern * ia t~s i r ?r-,:at:
??
not for Cartesian geometry but for optical illusion, I'inganno

dell'occhio; they deal with the problem of how to make each
rrrk? F?~C~aAB~:i~B~ ~"~Y~i~i~A,:?" r
turn of the spiral appear to rise by an equal amount.
?t-;
j .~p
One of Borromini's most famous and elaborate drawings
48. Project for the spiral of S. Ivo, section,
(Fig.48; Appendix C, no.3), shows the spiral on the brink Pencil,
of 90.4 by 37.1 cm. (Albertina, Vien
construction, an organism in rapid growth. It began as a sec-
tion but has one strange feature. A true section that cuts
the
through the windows should show a pier on the inside crown were then stretched into
of the
that
lantern, while this drawing shows a full window frame lifts the ball, dove and cross to
in that
The
position; possibly this departure from convention was ball, for example, was redraw
meant
the fever
to make the sheet more useful as a presentation drawing. In was upon Borromini, and
drawing
any case the upper reaches show a spiral wound around a was very strong. He drew
heavy
fluted column which is topped by a flaming laurel wreath and pencil lines to show the full r
is
an iron crown." Borromini nudged the wreath upwards two these final touches that give the d
or three times in the course of his revisions. The iron ribs of
parent quality, like an X-radiograp
Cartari-Febei,
'"At this early stage it resembled the crown Borromini vol.76,
designed fol.
for the17, which I know
belltowers of thank
polino'
St Peter's in the summer of 1645; see iH. THELEN: 70 was begun
disegni and that the
di Francesco masons dalle
Borromini say that it
collezioni dell'Albertina di Vienna, exh. cat.,tatem
Gabinetto Nazionale
Ecclesiae delle
sive sacelli Stampe,
stud#s Rome
Urbis, incoepta fui
dixerunifabri murarij, erit altitudinispalmorum 60. Boro
[ 1958], p. 19, no. 35, pl. V Antedating both of these was the brightly painted crown
on top of the belltower of the Westerkerck in byAmsterdam,
the time Fig.48 was drawn
representing the
the masonry parts
'Keyser-
lijcke Stadts-wapen-kroon', published by H. DE a KEYSER:
height of 82 palmi, not
Architectura counting
moderna, the iron super
Amster-
dam [16311, pp.16 17, with engraving. Cartari, in a diary entry of 1652 (ASR,
673
-... .-,
?~ .?ry i.: i!7~:~'i;?k~`~~:

t ' ? ,:: 3~t%%k~Fi~p~aill~%Br~~?;,1;P$IYt~BBRIILa ?,
p;*l
?1 r"MVik-j~t;~l'X
?? ; i**i
i"i~ i.
C ii? t,. rl-
...--i;-~ ,. ~iir
?, rib
i?
???
i~ ii:?i..*'1?:r ?? ;~?
12
i:
, ??e
? , L: '' ?t.
a
\ 'i"
i
c
;r
~n ~t -- ? 4:; i'
t "",
;ii? ??
i?
f' r r '?
i
j ...n
~FTj ? t `
I c r ~t ~,
.I Ir i c
ic~/k' *cr L~~?,,.~FCIOI

r r7?~MFm~Rb*~t~LYI. ? -i? C1 ?? ~?,'~ 3e '?
1? I -t~
~~c? .J
' . v a
r "r 4
,7.
?~. I'~; ??
i ? ~- c-
r
??-4 ?,t 8 6 r~-~ ~.6"3.; ~*
?(
.?R
/1 i
I .?
?J
I
c~. ??
%?
'' ,4 c,?.. ?t~';

' C?' 1?' ri
??i?- tZ, r ;;
r t
?i l ... . ;, ' ?!
i. 'I * 3 re
+-~ ,r .a ? ? -t ~
?r~ . a~~
iii
In ~ 'A
:Ir
. - ?L, ~u~ :~tS t - ~p
\r r
tJn
i-r 1*
3 t\\~~C~
Cr .J -Ir :~ijii:? tr
i13i?:J;t
jC?~-~.~-??-~ 1:%,,
?~.u
i..~..?.,r
-rr~ ' ~~ i'ri
.p.:x r
LI
'"'b .? r
ii:V ; z
A!
''
~~: a
4? ?:
"~?~-t.; -3-
?."t~:;; i
,I
?i J- ;?I
i j? .., .
r.
r?i! 1 't?r~
ST-;P
a I~ : ? ' : :"':Z ~ ~~?:* 111'
.i i;
r ii ;;
rljr' ' r
:I
'I .i . :
i ii
~:" ~
rC ?I:i ':E
.;r
* .. ,i ?
..
.........
?I;??-??
? :rt?
i
?~
?'e
";
r "i i' I??~ G
- ' ?1 '01. ".
: : I?risi:
g *r1?
,,;, 'fh'
*,...1.
??. -a:( fI,
Irj~l
i! r,
~~lij'
?
r,
rl: r
., ;,
ir?
1 :
49. Plan of the cupola

35.5 by 29.5 cm. (Alb
The next draw

other features
spiral. The
50. Elevation and Pam
section ofthe
Innocent X.
Pencil, 70 by The
46.1 cm. (Alber
'little gates', wh 4
II
as counterweig t J;i-?t,,
-s~?~
thrusts still see

according to C:
the it
*~.; ~, ?:: ,1Et_:~x~n: a
slope' buttresse
would be Borro
one that gives
'-4 ;b~
'ij
th
The whole syst
.r-
??
:i
:r.i
albeit one that

:P
`I
no.5). It shows t
tiny well for c
stepped vault is
correlated with
shown between
slope buttresse
seem Pamphilj,
placed too far o
still experimen
thicken the pila
the date around
are arranged in
VII in 1659-60,
cave wings ske
frames the cup
of Chigi date, t
been drawn lat
must remain unc
With the poss
preparatory
51. Elevation of G. Della Portav exedra in the dra
Sapienza, by Francesco Righi.
four further
1653-55. Pencil, 61 by 46.2 cm. (Albertina, Vienna).
674
?? ?~?' t: c :
~asr~: .?i ?
It tZ I
.?t
': LI
?? ?~~?;?? ?-- ?I--?

,??r? - ?~
yr .. *?~ ~ t
i?; .: .( .. i ?.' ?'
?t?
'' ?F ~'"/1
r . r i'
.??;*C"?.?
I 81?, r? : I
;?i~ ~r~? ? r i
;?rJx~
?"1 3
":? ." "~? *,

L
I: r
'?' C ??- . r, ,
.
a? c
?;.?
i ` ~e;d 1
`1 ' r,
~*
?t
?~`T
1. ?--
?
: 1
H
:( Jz
,, i' ...II'
,??-.
'?.; ?rr?L~h?5":f
Y3: i?r' r
?.
9 '''~' ??
..
I , It~c~.3
??
~p?ll?, c.
i -. J
?f :
??
"
r- ?:
??
Ii?.
j~L- --r^--?--?? ? __
?.C i
!til ?
g:, C--.
tz
c,
I ?
~~~-Yn ?I?ll~i~Q~1?1 1?ff 53. View ofS. Ivo, by Domenico Barritre. 1659-60. Etching, 36 by 25 cm. (British
cli: r?;tle4il~LL II Itlf~i~C~t II ? I U _ - !IIIQi I;
Library, London).
Ir
?j :s.?-
r
i r I., P.
CL'~WIBl~ic;~ -' 4?"" ~a~-,~Ylt 1MCI~III"B Y??~ -Ifil?T?'~_ 1III'??;~? ' t~W'I ?b,, ~FpY j
,,
??-. .i~l~" (Fig.53). In the Berlin drawing Barriere shows the spiral in all
a
-??
s its glory, with jewels, torches and fantastic metal finial. But it
is the bottom half of the sheet that is of greatest importance,
since it shows the Barberini drum before the many changes
52. View of the cupola ofS. Ivo, attributed to Domenico Barriere. 1653-55. Pen and
light brown wash over pencil, 31.5 by 18.6 cm. (Kunstbibliothek, Berlin). wrought upon it by Alexander VII. Unhappy with the heavy,
Minerva-Medica look of the drum, wanting something more
1653-55. The first of these is by Borromini's assistant, refined and 'regal', Alexander VII had Borromini transform
Francesco Righi. Righi drew two large elevations of the exe- the double pilasters into triple pilaster clusters, while taking
dra and the superstructure (Figs.50 and 51; Appendix C, away the frames on the surface of the apses and adding a pair
no.6), which can be joined together to form a single grand of lithe pilasters around each window. All this showed
elevation over a metre high. The spiral is shown as a plain Alexander VII's daintier taste; the heavy, powerful apses the
parapet without jewels, though at a later moment two pearls Barberini had built were simply not to his liking.27
were added along the left edge, a token of the rich encrusta- There is one small detail that shows these changes in a nut-
tion to come. shell. It is to be found at the base of each pilaster of the much-
A striking drawing in Berlin (Fig.52; Appendix C, no.7) doctored drum. Here we can still see the original sturdy
shows the cupola in exaggerated perspective, typical ofa vedu- pilaster of the first construction campaign, a citation from
ta. It is more likely to be by Borromini's printmaker, Domeni- late antiquity. It was covered over by the chain of 1652, insert-
co Barriere, than by Borromini himself, though details such ed when the Barberini dome began to split under the weight
as the dove added in pencil at the summit of the cupola may of the Pamphilj lantern. Finally the chain itself was covered
be autograph and thus testify to a certain amount of collabo- over by Alexander VII's slender pilaster, when the drum was
ration. In any case, the perspective of the drawing is identical subjected to Chigi refinements in 1659-60. These seemingly
to the series of views of S. Ivo done by Barriere in 1658-60, random superpositions show something of the curse, but also
working with material supplied directly by Borromini the stimulus, that every conclave posed for the architect.28
27The documentation fobr these changes is to be found in ASR UI 115.403r-v, and the Domenico Barrikre and published by s. GIANNINI: Opera del Caval. Francesco Boromino,
relationship of the Berlin drawing to them was again pointed out to me by Elisabeth
Kieven. Rome [1720], I, pl. III. The print shows the lower storey of Sixtus V's facade cov-
ered with a veneer of large blocks of fictive rustication. The old central door is elim-
"Other minor work carried out for Innocent X includes the attic storey on Della inated, and in its place there are two new portals at the end of the long corridors;
Porta's exedra, with four oval windows (though the stars that fill them date from the each has a window above it with caryatid-herms. Sixtus V's campanile on the north
next pontificate); and the two round platforms on top of this attic on which Alexan-
end of the facade is completed with a second storey made up of eight freestanding
der VII later placed huge Chigi monti. Borromini also prepared a design for a newcolumns holding a baldachin-like finial with Pamphilj ball and dove; the whole thing
west fagade for Innocent X. It was not carried out, but was later engraved by is repeated on the south for symmetry.
675
Aside from the Berlin drawing, there are two other images
that show the drum before Alexander VII's changes. Bar-
rikre's first known print after any Borromini building is a
small allegorical frontispiece published in 1653 with an ora-
tion in honour of S. Ivo produced by a young protege of Car-
dinal Marzio Ginetti (Fig.55; Appendix C, no.8). According
1. ~ ~ , ? ?2"t "' I IL to the allegory, the student is supposed to pass through the
Temple of Merit to get to the Temple of Honour. The former
is a conventional little shrine, but the latter is S. Ivo, with the
ii,,.. , .?
spiral shown in reverse. It gives every appearance of having
;-? 4? been added at the last minute to a nearly finished copper-
plate. The drum is still pre-Chigi, just as on the Berlin draw-
iJ?2 i L~ ing.
,;i. : The last image we have before Alexander VII's changes is

a strange drawing done in 1656 by the Swedish military
ii ! *:~ architect, Erik Dahlberg, who added the cryptic and proba-
bly unflattering inscription, 'Sapientia Babilonia' (Fig.54;
Appendix C, no.9).
The Ascent
The spiral of S. Ivo was in former times one of the great

climbs of Rome. The roof of the Pantheon and the copper
ball on top of the lantern of St Peter's, neither much visited
now, were on the established routes for adventurous visitors
to the city.' The lantern on Giacomo Del Duca's dome of S.
Maria di Loreto, built in 1573-77, is not a lantern at all but
a belvedere; it was designed for the view, and has no connex-
ion whatsoever to the dark internal lantern hidden between
the two shells of the cupola." As soon as S. Ivo was finished it
54. View qofthe cupola joinedIvo,
qofS. the ranks by
of such Erikj6nson
buildings. The first two descriptions
Dahlberg
(Kungliga Bibliotcket, Stockholm).
of the spiral in guidebooks are unequivocal about the possi-
bilities of ascent. In 1660-63 Fioravante Martinelli described
--2
the lantern as follows:
un tempietto, o torre, cinta di loggia incoronata a chiocciola, et in essa

una commoda scala per salire sin alla Croce, la quale viene nascosta
~-~l~---Nm-m
agli occhi de reguardanti dall'ornamento che a guisa di corona, cinge
detta loggia per tutta la chiocciola."
./ .. . ,* 1 ZZF jr-
And an anonymous but well-informed French guidebook

of 1677 calls it:
,Now,
cette piramide autour de laquelle est une couronne tournee en viz qui
meinejusqu 'au sommetforme un escalier qui semble convier ceux qui
se rendent illustres par les lettres djv monterpour les conduirejusqu'au
sommet de la gloire dont tout ce dome est un symbole.''2
I
This is not simply metaphorical ascent. The earliest veduta of

S. Ivo, drawn by Lievin Cruyl in 1664, shows two little men
standing at the base of the lantern and one who is halfway up
the spiral (Fig.56).'"
ILL.,
O-Z
We can follow the route up the spiral with the aid of the
construction documents, illuminated here and there by the
sketches of Gilles-Marie Oppenord (1672-1742), who made
' I br
frf "IJ. CONNORS and .. RICE: Specchio di Roma barocca, Rome 11991], p).210.
30 S. BENEDETTI: Giacomo Del Duca e l'architettura del Cinquecento, Rome [1972 73],
pp.115 31.
"3F. MARTINELLI: Roma ornata dall'architettura, pittura e scoltura, Rome, Biblioteca
Casanatense, MS 4984, (1660 63); C. D'ONOFRIO, ed. Roma nel Seicento, Florence
[1969], p.217.
2:CONNORs and RICE, op. cit. at note 29 above, p.84.
55. Allegory of the "Amsterdam,
Temples of Rikjsmuseum,
Merit n. A. 589, datedand
February 1664,Honour,
first published in ii. by D
Etching, 18 by 12.5 cm. from A. BIANCARIO: Ivonianu
EGGER: Romische Veduten, Vienna [1931], II, p.40 and pl. 97 (reversed); see also B.
Ivone Pauperumr Patrono Oratio,
JATTA: Rome
Lievin Cruyl e la sua opera grqfica. [1653].
Un artistaf iammingo nell'Italia del Seicento, Rome (Biblio
cana, Rome). and Brussels [1992], p. 118, cat. no.35.
676
S r7?
ks (~ ,~b*
C NS1.
A U
*F~ F?
57. The cupola and spiral of S. Ivo, photographed before the removal
of the south buttress.
II Y l ?!I
13-
x~U@LLt T j II
56(. View of'lhe cupola q'S Ivo from Piazza S. Euslachio, by Lievin Cruyl. 1664. Pen and
~1hh ;I
ink, 38.3 by 48.5 cm. (Rijksprentenkabinct, Amsterdam).
the climb during his years in Rome in 1692-99."" There were

/ ti~
any number of staircases in the Barberini church to get to the
level of the loggia scoperla but no provision for rising higher
than that. It was Innocent X who provided the means of
ascent to the uppermost reaches. At first he built some sort of
spiral along the side of the drum but this was soon rebuilt in
the form of two flying buttresses which also served as bridges
from the side wings to the roof of the cupola. A sketch by
Oppenord shows the bridge on the north; the one on the i. H
south is still visible on old photographs (Fig.57).") The stepped

roof allowed ascent to the base of the lantern. " Inside one of
the piers of the lantern there is a tiny well, 31 palmi wide, with
thirty-seven iron rungs.37 These got the visitor to a chamber,
ten palmi high and ten palmi wide, hollowed out of the mass of
the spiral. It was a room 'where climbers can stop and rest
before they go out to complete the walk', and Oppenord
shows a number of people doing just that (Fig.58).3"
Then came the time to summon up one's courage and ven-
ture outside. The curving path led between ridges of the
58. Section t
and ink, 26.
'"laine Evans I)ee

the is
northprep
sid
ovcrviews of hardest
()ppnord'spartcar
Kunstbibliot/hek ..The balustr
Berlin,
Marie', Macmillan
was En(yc
never bui
pp.324- 27; the
andcl. buttress-
CONNOR
MING; and s. quarter turn
S(:,ii'rzIE, eds.:
am-Rhein around pp.
[1996], the 59
la
"1Fol.37r of point.
the sketchbo
If this
DEE, loc. cit. tresses
at note would
34 ab
71 . Albcrtina 7There
509 are
(Fig.49)37
la, antedating thethe flying c
'47ferri b
late nineteenth or
."'Berlin,early
Kun t
67
crown, a twisting parapet studded with giant jewels and i, j?

pearls. After three and a half turns one had to duck back
rI wide and
inside the structure, into a manhole three palmi
about nine palmi high (Fig.58). Standing in this well the hardy
visitor could pull himself up into the fiery travertine crown at
the top, a not uncomfortable perch, where splendid views
awaited. Unlike many modern interpreters Oppenord saw
not only the flames but what was burning, a wreath made up
of laurel leaves and berries and wrapped in a ribbon; the lam-
bent flames draw together in groups of three.
To put the experience into words, it was an ascent along a
bejewelled path, one might say an ennobled path, to a laurel
crown, which must be the laurea or doctorate that was the cul-
mination of a university education. In this case it was a flam-
ing laurea, and the triplet flames make one think of an
j4
inspiration that is numinous or divine.
The laurea, and the battle over who had the right to confer . ?
it, is a key to the social history of the Sapienza in the seven-

teenth century."' The Sapienza claimed the exclusive right to
confer the degree in two fields, law and medicine, and ii
the
A
non-exclusive right to confer it in other fields, such as theolo-

gy. The ius doctorandi rested on two foundations, the auctoritas
transmitted from the pope at the time of the foundation of the
university, and the universality of teaching at the Sapienza,
which was, at least in theory, a studium generale in which all sub-
jects were taught. The doctorate was especially important in
legal education. Ever since the days of Sixtus V the lawyers
controlled the Sapienza. The Consistorial Advocates had
purchased the right to choose the rector in perpetuity from
their own ranks, and they controlled nominations
59. to the legal
Project
1650-51. P
faculty."' Most of the students aspired to careers in the papal
bureaucracy and chose the legal curriculum. The laurea was
a guarantee of a safe career. The ma
But it was also a source of income for the than
faculty. Confer- th
ral of the degree was an occasion of greatabounde
ceremony, greater
still when a rich candidate rose above theineffect
forma comune and
chose theforma nobile or theforma principesca, Troubles
degrees of pomp
that have their analogy in the degrees ofaward Roman citizenship a p
so famously described by Montaigne.4' Above in all thetheir
laurea
represented passage to a higher social plane. ited The medieval in 1
concept of the nobilitas doctorum, which learn
had guaranteed tha
exemption from certain taxes and immunity Thefrom the death mos
penalty, had lost its historical base but stillJesuit
lent an aura to the d
whole corporation of doctors, raising them above
phenome the com-
mon level. Naturally such sudden changes in status did not
and even
come about without considerable outlay, 'consult
both in fixed fees
and in presents to one's fellow doctors. For,
Iflike the cavalierato
only t
that it in so many ways resembles, the laurea was stalked by
Collegio
Christia
venality and the general inflation ofhonours. Critics said that
not five graduates in a hundred were worth versity
their salt; the rest
were 'solum doctorati et non Doctores'."2 torates a
:1)DI pp.219-41;
SIMONE, loc. cit. M
a
"On the taigne,
Consistorialtr.
AdD
di Rome, at
Rome Padua ca
[1601],
Rome pp.
[1656]; I. 160-64.
HORTEN
torialis Arte
Aulae Libera
Advocatoru
of the
College
Ein of Advo
Beitrag
Dizionario diKunstgesch
erudizione s
[1840-79], 12DI
III, SIMONE
pp.5 -15
critique "ASR
of U
their 77
str
c.1623-28, in BAV,
44H. Va
BERTR
"G. BONDINI:[ Del
1961], pp.
significa
aperto, Berkeley
dell'anello, della an
c
nelle 4j.
universita,O MALL
Rom
Studiis Generalibus', Stu
678
cates counter-attacked with a lawsuit enjoining theJesuits to

IMPROBVM ' A-%rSVM .... desist, and on their urging the medical faculty at the Sapien-
za did the same. The case went back and forth for three years,
with the Jesuits claiming that they had been giving the laurea
EN
for 130 years and that many popes and cardinals were on
,~ ,N their list of graduates. But finally a papal commission found
t-0 for the Sapienza, upholding the exclusivity of their right to
confer the laurea in law and medicine."
The flaming laurea was set up over the spiral ofS. Ivo in the
summer of 1652, and may have been designed as early as the
second half of 1651. In 1650-51 theJesuits were also experi-
menting with ideas for the cupola and lantern of their own
college church, S. Ignazio. Drawings by Orazio Grassi show
!'i ? ~ ~ xP a new cupola with a single-shell dome sunk down into the
drum. This was a typical Lombard tiburio, and when Borro-
i i 77'
mini saw the drawing he said it reminded him of S. Carlino
and S. Ivo. One of Grassi's projects shows an obelisk raised
over the lantern and supporting the Jesuit symbol, an IHS in
a sunburst (Fig.59)."47 The obelisk was fifty palmi high, nearly
twice as tall as the little obelisk of S. Macuto that stood right
next to the fagade of S. Ignazio."
firacio T-i t -
Grassi seems to have borrowed this striking image from a
S, ?t
-e I'uarts
t Y -J-hr'
l itta I m is a iu tur
print in a book by his fellow Jesuit, Christoph Scheiner, the
other great anti-Galilean of the Society. It appeared in
Scheiner's Rosa Orsina of 1626-30, a treatise on sunspots
(Fig.60).49 On the bottom the print shows two Jesuits observ-
ing an image of the sun cast on a sheet of paper by compos-
ite refraction, the method Scheiner claimed to have used as
early as 1612, when his rivalry with Galileo began. On the
top it shows other means of observation: a helioscope to look
directly at the sun, a telescope to look at it through clouds,
and reflection of its image onto a plane surface. But the
biggest instruments are a pair of monumental obelisks, one
focusing the sun's rays through a lens, the other through a
hole in
60. Observations of sunspots, by Daniel Widman. Etching, in the top of the ball;
c. SCHEINER: RosathisOrsina
latter also carries the IHS in a
Bracciano [1626-30]. (New York Public Library).
sunburst. Solar imagery was much in vogue at this time
among the Jesuits, and of course obelisks had been raised to
the height of
for it between 1581 and 1626. The dynamic fashion by Athanasius
pedagogy of the Kircher, then riding the
Jesuits emptied the classrooms of the other
crest institutions
of his glory with the publication ofof his book on the Pam-
learning in Rome. The numbers tell their own
philj obelisk."5 Butstory: there
Grassi's precise source still seems to be the
were two thousand students at the Collegio Romano in
print of his fellow-astronomer the
Scheiner.
For the successful
period we are considering, while enrolment at the pedagogues
Sapienza at the Collegio Romano,
varied between 100 and 140. Grassi conjured up the image of solid Egyptian wisdom in the
The Sapienza could never hope to compete in numbers service
of ofJesuit glory. For the threatened lawyers and doctors
at the Sapienza, Borromini raised the laurea high on the sky-
students, but it did try to preserve its monopoly over the lau-
line, and showed how it could be reached along an ennobled
rea in law. The Consistorial Advocates repeatedly protested
path. It does not seem possible to say who fired the first shot,
that the Jesuits had been conceded the right to confer the lau-
only that the competition existed - at least on paper, since the
rea only in theology. The conflict built up over time and came
to a head at the end of the century when, in 1695, theJesuitsJesuits of course never managed to build the cupola of S.
Ignazio. When Alexander VII finished S. Ivo many new
reinforced their claim to give the laurea in law by appointing
themes were introduced into the imagery of the church, but
a distinguished jurist to their faculty. The Consistorial Advo-
")DI SIMONE, loc. cit. at note 5 above, pp. 18-23 and 47-67; the case against the right Phaenomeno Varius, Bracciano [1626-30], p. 150. On Scheiner see A. FAVARO: 'Oppos-
of the Collegio Romano to consider itself a university is made in D. GALESI: Tractatus itori di Galileo. III. Christoforo Scheiner', Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere
de restitutionibus in integrum concedendis, Rome [1675], pp. 102-04. The lawsuit of the ed arti [1918], LXXVIII, 2, pp.1-107; W.R. SHEA: 'Galileo, Scheiner, and the Inter-
medical faculty against the Collegio Romano is documented in ASR U 4. pretation of Sunspots', Isis, LXI [1970], pp.498-519; idem: 'Christoph Scheiner',
7R. BOSEL: Jesuitenarchitektur in Italien 1540-1773, Teil I: Die Baudenkmiiler der rdimischen Dictionary of Scientfic Biography, New York [1975], XII, pp. 151-52; and P. REDONDI:
und der neapolitanishen Ordensprovinz, Vienna [1985], pp. 198-99 and 208, fig. 138. The Galileo Heretic, Princeton [1987], pp.234-35.
drawing with the obelisk is in BAV, Vat.lat. 11257, fol. 117r, with a copy by Borromi- ""Imago primi saeculi Societatis Iesu a provincia Flandro-Belgica eiusdem Societatis repraesentata,
ni or his workshop in Vienna (Albertina, It. AZ Rom 495). Strangely enough, in his Antwerp [1640], especially the frontispiece, where there are seven solar emblems,
critique of Grassi's project, undated but c. 1651, Borromini not only does not men- and another on p.45. See M. FUMAROLI: 'Baroque et classicisme: L'Imago Primi Saeculi
tion the obelisk, but advises the Jesuits to adopt a cupola without any lantern at all, Societatis Jesu (1640) et ses adversaires', in L'icole du silence. Le sentiment des images au
like the Cappella del Tesoro in Naples. XVIIe siecle, Paris [1994], pp. 343-65. On A. KIRCHER: Obeliscus Pamphilius, Rome
":C. D'ONOFRIO: Gli obelischi di Roma, 2nd ed., Rome [1967], fig. 2. [1650], see E. IVERSEN: Obelisks in Exile, Copenhagen [1968], I, pp.85-92.
..C. SCHEINER, s.J.: Rosa ursina Sive Sol ex admirando facularum & macularum suarum
679
b; '~f1P r rrl ii! '6~~ t tt~ c-- --e
??~~--?x? ""-U~
t~iiii~e~?;a7"~: .^~f~ ~ZD*- ?6 ?I ~uv~-
~~
1
~;ICU~P j
Ilk
r(-
d
'*I
ilic~So
?,
rc----?-
i E ;?
I i,
r\
~k'~.
' ,A/
61. Soutlhast portal ofl'th Sapienza, I)y Francesco Borromini. 1664 65.
62. Sketches of ornaments from the Sapienza, by Gilles-Maric ppenord.

1692 99. Pen and ink, 26.9 by 19.6 cm. (Kunstbibliothck, Berlin).
the laurea did not disappear. Half

triangolo per amor della of
volta che vi 3 sotto ... con suethe angels
legature per farli spianarc scu
c collegare acci6 si uniscono con la volta ... Muro di tav.za che ricresce( dictro al
Alexander's vault are laureati.
ultimo gradile When
sino al vano del occhio the
che da luce allasouth portal
volta per spianare c far w
on Piazza S. Eustachio in 1664-65,
pianta al tempietto sopra detta volta .. .con l'astrico it featured
che fii fatto sopra (love fti poi a
spicconato per piantare il tempictto
emblems which, when deciphered, complements th
ing of the spiral (Figs.61 and
2.Chain at the base of the vault (May 62)."'
1652) The book, s
scales at the left stand forJustice; the snake staring at
[Bernardo Paciano's accounts br the iron chain weighing 949 pounds; U 109,Jfl.421 un cer-
in a mirror at the right chiostands
di no. 7 pezzi, & riguastatofor Prudence.
due volte rifatto a capriccio di detto architetto, The
reads, 'A winged laurea (thecon gran perdimento
emblem di tempo, e carbone in the centre),
[U 198,fol.52r] Per la mettitura in opera della catena di feirro c(he gira attorno) a dcltta
Prudence [awaits the student who goes through thi
di 7 pezzi con soi paletti et sci sprangorli[?]
The door faces, of course, in the direction of the
Romano. 3. Stair systemsfor ascendingfrom the loggia scoperta to the roof of the cupola
Columbia Universiy, JNew York [U 115,fol. 375v] Per haver refatto un pezzo di cornicione a detto tamburo dove fiu
tagliato per pogiarvi la volta che fu fatta per la scala per salire al padliglione (he
poi fu levata per le ragioni sopradette [the piece in question measured 8 by 2jby 3 palmij
[ I 115,fol.332v] Segui ii archi, e volte, et altro per fare la scala, (chel dovva salire alla
Appendix scalinata del Padiglione al tempietto sopra detta loggia scoperta in fianco la
libraria e la penultima volta a semicirculo, (he pogiava da una I)anda sopra al cor-
A. Documents relating to the construction of the lantern, spiral andnicione, del fianco della libraria e andava A impostar nel fianco del tamburo della
south-east portal of S. Ivo alla Sapienza.
chiesa, e do[?] poi un altra volticella fatta in pcnlenza, che di sopra detta volti-
cella impostava, e andava a finire con un 4.o di circolo alla cima del cornicionl
The abundant documentation fbr the construction qf S. Ivo in the Fondo Universita of the Archivio
del tamburo dove andavano messi Ii scalini per salire sopra la volta della chiesa, c
di Stato di Roma has been sorted in the documentary thesis by CIRIELLI and MARINO, cited at note
sopra al tempietto edificato sopra detta volta furno murati quando si pensava, chc
13 above. Thef/llowing transcriptions represent my own selection of documents relating to the
la facciata verso la piazza di S. Eustachio andassi il cornicione tutto tirato in piano
lantern, .piral and southeast portal. They have been been taken e.pecially from the two misure c
d'una linea sola, ma inanzi che s'alzasse detta facciata si conobb)e, (hc( haverebbe
stimcf.or mason ' work in ASM?, lbndo Universith (here abbreviated as U) vols. 115 and 198 (the
levato la vista alli fenestroni della chicsa per(6 fu risoluto di lasciare la tfabrica bassa
firmer being generally more complete), and the ironsmith 's accounts in vol. 109. They have been
come stava prima, e alzare solo nella parte che copre la libraria pero if' risoluto cli
rearranged to correspond to the order in which the objects they describe were built. levarle
IU 115,fol.358v] Segue l'archi, e volte fatti sopra il pian di detta loggia per far( ie
1. Vault (September to October 1644)
scale per salire alla scalinata del tempietto ... Muro di 2 archi che fiancheggiano
la volta, che va sotto la scala di misura simile all'altri gia detti soi compagni incon-
I l. 115,rbls. 46v 47r1 Si dovrebbcI) crescere tutta la quantitA del muro della grossezza
tro refiancato ... Muro della volta di p.za[?] in mezzo a detto archi con fattura e
della volta essendo essa pi6 grossa di quello che & stata posta nella misura spedita
misura simile alla detta di sopra sua compagna . . . Muro dell'augumento dcel-
dal S. I:rancesco Boromini come anco si vede dalla misura fatta dal G. Domcncio
l'imposte di tev.a simile all'altro ... Muro della volta della tromba del primno I)ran-
de ( uartis ... Nella prcsentc misura non si & havuto riguardo alle stravagante fat-
co della scala simile all'altra giA detta incontro sua compagna ...
ture e mostre diverse fatte per detti lavori come anco alle cose fatte pii volte e [U
poi198,fol.26v] Per haver tagliato il muro della fabrica vccchia in fianco a detta log-
buttate con gran sprego di calce c quantitA di giornate de mastri che questo ci si
gia dove habita il S.r Pallamolla [i.e., in the south wing] che era per gettar un arco tra
lascia pensarc A, chi spettara la fabrica vecchia e la nova per salir sopra al tamburo della volta della chiesa loingo
[Among the masons' long list o'complaints about Borromini:s low valuation oftheir work; U 198,
palmi 15 alto palmi 3 grosso palmi 114
fol. 152v] La partita dell'armatura della volta sopra il tempio, quale si vede esser di
fattura straordinaria centinata a molti corpi con fattura dell'armatura straordi-
4. 'Porticelle' and curving buttresses
naria e di molte spIse
I U 115,fil. 3Iv; repeated in U 198,Ibl. 36v- 37r] 12 gradili che ogn'un di loro forma un [U 115,fol.33r] porticella dove sta posto il globbo
"'ASR U 108.115v; U 115.437r. Similar emblems for Justice and Prudence had emblems were recorded by Oppenord in the Berlin sketchbook (Kunstbibliothek,
already appeared on the frontispiece of F. MARTINELII: Rome ex ethnica sacra, Rome OZ 90, Hdz.2405, fol.55v; Fig.62).
[1653]; Albertina It. AZ Rom 527 is Borromini's sketch for Prudence. All three
680
[U 198,fol.38r] li 6 contraforti sopra al pian delle signore Spada, Patriarca

cornicie della di Costantinopoli
sommita e del rettore di detto Studio, dalli mastri
tam-
buro, dove son le porticelle, e dove commipcia la Giovanni
scalinata Antonio per Conti,salire
et Egidio al
Tanaglini compagni indoratori a tutta loro
tempietto
in cima alla volta quali contraforti nel principio robbe fa eornamento
fattura a dette porticelle, e
poi salendo per la volta orbicolati si vanno a unire [U 108, fol.105; 2nd January 1653(?),
alla sommitA della 46 scudi paid] per saldo di ordine del S.r
balaustrata
in cima a detta volta Cavagliere per havere indorato la croce, e la palla della Sapienza
[U 198,fol.39r] la porticella ... le due porte orbicolate alto dal basamento fin sotto
la cimasa palmi 52 globo di trevertino, diametro palmi 3 7. Interior vault of lantern
[U 115,fol. 42v] Per haver fatto la palomba scolpita per il spirito santo in mezzo detta
5. Lantern - well inside the northeast pier and hollow chamber inside the spiral
volta con abbozzatura e stuccatura attorno palmi 2N longo nel maggiore palmi
[U 198,fol.47r] tromba cavata nel muro d'un pilastro di detto tempietto dove ? la 41 di sporto palmi 21 relevata che pare che venga da celo in terra mantenuta con
scala di ferro che commincia al pian della balaustrata sopra la volta della chiesa ferri fatta con stucco di marmo con suoi raggi che fanno splendore attorno con
in un guscio dove e una porticella ch'entra a detta tromba qual e di vano palmi lingue di fuoco in guisa della venuta dello spirito santo che porti la vera Sapienza
3 [?].3, e salle in detto stantiolo e di li si usce poi per un altra porticella nella stra-[20th May 1653; U 113,fol.57r] Misura e stima del lavoro, che si & fatto nella volta
da che gira attorno a detto finimento tra una cortina e l'altra dove si puol sallire del tempietto sopra al tempio della Sapienza per ordine dell'Ill.mo, et Rev.mo
sopra l'ultima corona di trevertino e girar attorno tutto l'ornamento come s'e Mons. Spada, Patriarca di Constantinopoli e Rettore dello Studio dalli Mastri
detto longo stesa in giro reguagliato palmi 12, alto palmi 422 longa quadrata Rutilio(?) etJacomo Capelli compagni indoratori per haver messo A oro la gloria
palmi 90 dove stA il Spirito Santo e colorito di smaltino tutto il campo, che & restato nella
[U 198,Jbl.47v] 47 ferri che fanno scalini per detta scala volticella di detto tempietto
[U 109,fol.46v: lock madefor the door of the 'lanternino' in October 1652] Per haver messo a oro a mordente lo splendore di detta Gloria attorno allo
[U 115,fol.38v; repeated in U 198,fol.46r] Seguita il il stantiolo tondo cavato in mezzo Spirito Santo longo in pelle steso in circonferenza regguagliato palmi 521 largo
al massiccio del muro che fA finimento dove sono le corone dove che puol fermare regguagliato in giro palmi 5, segue l'oro delle 15 lingue infiammati ... segue l'oro
e riposare quelli che sagliano sopra detto finimento e poi uscire e caminar per del campo dove & lo Spirito Santo di diametro palmi 5j ... che sono in tutto con
tutto il s[?]tio fogli tremila, e trecento settantacinque e mezzo havendo havuto riguar-
[ 198,fol. 46v] Mattonato tagliato il detto stantiolo fatto per difender dall'acqua che do per lo scomodo a ragione di 12 scudi il migliaro tra oro e manifattura ... 40.50
scudi
portasse il vento dentro detto stantiolo accio non penetrasse nella volta dove
scolpito il spirito santo E piu per haver colorito di smaltino torchino il campo che resta tra li razzi
nella volta di detto tempietto con haver prima dato una mano di bigio per il fondo
6. Spiral, crown and ironfinial di detto, et due mani di smaltino ... 5.25 scudi
[U 198,fol.48v] Per le rose e gigli... che fa ornamento nel fregio cio? numero 36
8. Southeast portal on Piazza S. Eustachio
rose variate e numero 18 gigli [also: 12 composite capitals, 12 stuccoed columns with
membretti and bases] [U 1 5,fol. 437r] Per l'aggetto bozzatura e stuccatura della corona di mezzo in teatro
longo palmi 7 largo palmi 8 con sui legassi a svolazza armata in aria sopra l'ar-
[U 198,fol. 45v] Per il muro delli zoccoli fatto sotto li 6 torcieri di trevertino che pos-
sano [i.e., poggiano] sopra al pian del cornicion del tempietto matura di ferro fatta dallo scultore per essere fatto e disfatto piu volte ... 40 scudi
[U 198, fols.45v-46r] Per haver posto in opera li 6 torcieri di travertino con suePer l'aggetto bozzatura e stuccatura delle 2 imprese dalli lati uno dove & la
fiamme alto l'uno palmi 142 giustitia con il libro e bilancie e spada e dal altra parte lo spechio con 2 palme
attorno e un serpente ... [?] ... nel piede di detto specchio longo l'uno palmi 4
[Another of the masons' complaints about Borromini's low valuation of their work; U 198
alto palmi 5 nel maggiore armato in aria sopra l'armatura di ferro fatte dallo scul-
fols. 154r-v] La partita del castello per alzare il finimento del tempietto si deve con-
siderare la gran fattura et altezza . . . Si deve accrescere la fattura delli muri tore e per esser fatte e disfatte piu volte ... 45 scudi
orbicolati dovendo lavorare con molto disvantaggio per li piombi, e centini, che
questo importa 280 scudi
[U 115,fol.36r; repeated in U 198.fol.42r] Muro del finimento del tempietto sopra la
cornice il quale forma una scala fatta A corona e tra la grossezza d'una corona e
l'altra resta un stradella per salire in giro all'ultima corona alto palmi 371B.di
Partial bibliography of interpretations of the spiral of S. Ivo alla
Sapienza.
diametro palmi 15 ragguagliato. Si difalca il vano dello stanzino tondo di
diametro palmi 10 alto palmi 10 ragguagliato fa canne 7.50 che resta con l'agu-
W. BORN: 'Early European Automatons', Connoisseur, C [1937], pp.123-29 and
mento dell'armatura alla volta di detto congionto con il muro del massiccio
sopra ... 246-52; idem: 'Spiral Towers in Europe and Their Oriental Prototypes', Gazette des
Beaux-Arts,
[U I 15,fol.36r; repeated in U 198,fol.42v] muro della corona che fa parapetto XXIV [1943], pp.234-48 (automaton in the shape of Babel); H. OST:
che gira
'Borrominis
attorno a detto finimento e lascia detta strada per poter salir alla corona che romische
stAi Universitatskirche S. Ivo alla Sapienza', Zeitschrift fir Kunst-
su la sommita longo steso in giro palmi 1972 alto palmi 51 reguagliato fin sopra
geschichte, la
XXX [1967], pp. 10 1-42 (Babel converted, Domus Sapientiae); E. BATTISTI: 'II
cimasa simbolismo in Borromini', Studi sul Borromini. Atti del Convegno promosso dall'Accademia
Nazionale di San Luca, Rome [1970], I, pp.231-84 (Domus Sapientiae); M. FAGIOLO DELL'
[U198,fol. 43v-44r] Per l'aggetto rustico bozzatura e stuccatura delle fasce che recin-
gono le gioie delle corone a numero 25 quadri longo stesi l'uno palmi 182ARCO: . . . 'Sant'Ivo, "Domus Sapientiae"', in Studi sul Borromini, Rome [1972], II,
pp. 151-65 (Domus Sapientiae, bee, star, Ripa's Philosophy); P. DE LA RUFFINIERE DU PREY:
cima[?] orbicolata, che regira attorno alla corona, che fa parapetto alla strada,
che va per tutto sino sopra l'ultima corona di trevertino 'Solomonic Symbolism in Borromini's Church of S. Ivo alla Sapienza', Zeitschrjfiftir
[U 198,fol.44v] Per la muratura rustica con l'aggetto bozzatura e stuccaturaKunstgeschichte,
delle XXXI [1968], pp.216-32, revised as 'Revisiting the Solomonic Sym-
gioie, e fiori numero 22 nelli requadramenti che fanno fregiatura alle coronebolism of Borromini's Church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza', Volume Zero (The Rensse-
laer Polytechnic Institute Architectural Journal) [1986], pp.59-71 (Domus Sapientiae
[U 198,fol. 44v] Per la muratura aggetto bozzatura e stuccatura delle gioie, e orna-
menti che fan i razzi alle corone che gira attorno a tutta la strada quale and
vanstara of Solomon); P. PORTOGHESI: Borromini. Architettura come linguaggio, Rome and
diminuire
Milan [1967], 2nd ed. [1990], pp. 151-64 (Scienza, papal tiara, Scala Coeli); M. FAGIO-
[U 109,fol.43v] E pilI a di 6 agosto per haver fatto un cerchio tondo [ofiron] a com- LO: 'Francesco Borromini' (review of recent publications), Storia dell'Arte, I-II [1969],
passo di larghezza palmi 61 di grossezza once 21 sa[l]dato, e per detto occhio, si pp.200-05; L. MCGINNISS: Royal Chapel Projectsfor Louis XIVat St. Denis, the Louvre and the
fatta una fucina a posta in mezzo la bottega, e messovi gran tempo, e carbone, e Invalides 1664-1683, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1974,
giornate d'huomini per farlo venire tondo perfetto, e per non essere a gusto di pp. 138-79 (turris-ecclesia and pharos-ecclesia); v. POULSSON: The Iconography of Francesco
detto architetto bisogn6 fare un foco grande nel cortile, quanto era il detto cerchio Borromini's Church S. Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome, suggested as a Case of High Baroque Papal
per aggiustarlo conforme la corona di travertino in cima la cuppola di peso lb. 140 Patronage and Spiritual Ideology, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oslo, 1976, copy in
[U 198,fol.42v-43r] Per haver messo in opera la corona di trevertino nella sommita the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome (Mount Purgatory); L. STEINBERG: Borromini's San
di detto finimento di diametro nella maggior circonferenza palmi 12 alto palmi 6 Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. A Study in Multiple Form andArchitectural Symbolism, New York
grosso nel maggiore palmi 21 con mettitura della sua catena di ferro tutta di un [1977] (Domus Sapientiae, pillar of the Church); M. MALMANGER: 'Form as Iconology
pezzo fatta come un anello incastrata nel giro di dentro di detta corona per ten- The Spire of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza', Acta adArchaeologiam etArtium Historiam Pertinen-
erla unita tia (Institutum Romanum Norvegiae), VIII [1978], pp.237-49 (pillar of fire); M. FAGIOLO:
[On 23rd September 1652, the six iron rods, each 30 palmi long, were bent into shape byfour men 'La Sapienza di Borromini: un progetto per il Palazzo dell'Universita; l'emblemati-
ca / la natura / la struttura significante', Storia dell'Arte, 38/40 [1980], pp.343-51
over afire in the courtyard; U 109,fol. 44v] e non si poteva lassare l'opera perche il Sig.
Architetto, e Mons.re [Spada] non volevano per la prestezza e per fargli venire (many readings); K. JOHNSON: 'In Ivonem Explanationes: The Meaning and Purpose
detti ferri eguali alla centola del disegno of S. Ivo alla Sapienza', Artibus et Historiae, V [1982], pp.91-107 (Fludd, clavis Sala-
[U198fol.43r] Per haver messo in opera li sei ferri che reggono il globo e la croce monis); J. BELDON SCOTT: 'S. Ivo alla Sapienza and Borromini's Symbolic Language',
[Lead purchased on 19th October 1652;U 108,fol.105r] per mettere su la palla, che ser-Journal of the Society ofArchitectural Historians, XLI [1982], pp.294-317 (bee plan, tiara,
orations in honour ofS. Ivo, flames of Ivo's charity); A. HERZ: 'Borromini, S. Ivo, and
vono in coprir i ferri, et anelli sotto la palla... per coprire li sei cornici sopra le
sei colonnate del lanternino... Adornamenti di piompo molti intorno alla croce Prudentius', Journal of the Society ofArchitectural Historians, XLVIII [1989], pp.150-57
di ferro ciod tre gigli quattro fiamme, e due ali di giglio a piedi di detta croce ...(Temple of Solomon as described by Prudentius); T. ZADROZNY: 'Jeszcze o pru-
dietro alli piedestalli alli 6 candelieri dencjuszu i S. Ivo alla Sapienza. Uwagi na marginesie artykulu Aleksandry Herz',
[24th October 1652; U 113,fols.54v-55, in DEL PIAZZO, op. cit. at note 8 above, p. 237] Kwartalnik Architektury Urbanistyki [1992], pp. 17-29, with English summary (Pruden-
Misura e stima del lavoro fatto per indorare li ferri, il Globo e la Croce che stan- tius as moral allegory); s. SINDING-LARSEN: 'Borromini's Sant'Ivo Spire: must a work
no sopra il tempio della Sapienza per ordine dell'Ill.mo e R.mo signore mon- of art mean something?, Pratt Pamphlet No.1 [n.d., c. 1989] (no meaning other than an
681
allusion to baroque geometrical culture); S. MACIOCE: 'La/ di"chiocciola"

ognipalmo di
lunghezza di linea in circon S. Ivo
- /ferenza alla
dico 1/8 //Seconda girata salira oncie
/ dueXPamphi
Sapienza', in A. ZUCCARI and s. MACIOCE, eds.: Innocenzo p[er] ogni palmo dij.lunghezza
Arte / come sop[ra] dico a
epotere 1/6Roma
// Terza girata salira oncie tre
nell'eta barocca, Rome [ 1990], pp.75-96. p[er]ogni / palmo come sop[ra] dico \\Si oserui p[er] regualiare le altezza / delle girate p[er]
The pharos interpretation was first advanced by F. DESEINE:
essere maggiore Description dedipiu
la / prima girata li dui terzi la /ville de
della ultima bisognia scompartire [? era-
Rome, Lyon [1690], II, pp.224-28; then by R. WITTKOWER:
sure] / il tutto'Un libro
in tre parti di Schizzi
uguali [erasure] di
/ tanto l['] una Fil-
quanto l'altra / accio il maggior
ippoJuvarra a Chatsworth', Bollettino della Societa Piemontese
giro n[on]di
ocupi
Archeologia
/ la maggi[or] parte del
e altezza
di Belle
p[er] se / Arti,
che no[n] ui restarebbe distanza /
III [1949], p. 106; M. PRAz: Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery,
p[er] 2ndtanto
le altre parti superiori ed.,
/ piuRome [ 1975],
per l['] ingan[no] del occhio / la maggio[re] girata sali-
p. 145; and w. HAUPTMAN: 'Luceat Lux Vestra coram Hominibus: A diNew
rapiu / dolce... [?] e tutte mano in manSource for
/ secondo[.1 the
saran[o] minore o maggio[re] / sali-
Spire of Borromini's S. Ivo', Journal of the Society of ran[o]
Architectural
asai o pocho accio / ... inHistorians,
tre altezze / uguali'; XXXIII
to the left of the spiral, near the
[1974], pp.73-79. The last article should be used with caution:
torches: 'Si ricorda li bugi /although it never
p[er] l[']acqua nel / primo zoccolo / sop[ra] alla cornice / si
cites the great emblem dictionary by A. HENKEL and A. SCHONE
meteran[?. (Emblemata.
li[.]] cond[ot]ti Handbuch
/ di tera cota'.Just below this inscription, very faint, turned
90 degrees and[1967]),
zur Sinnbildkunst des XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart written along itedge explains
of sheet: 'Architraue
thecomincia
spi-/ sop[ra] il capitello'
ral of S. Ivo by fusing the picture of one emblem (the spiral
Lit.: H. EGGER: pharos)
Architektonische with the
Handzeichnungen altermotto
Meister, I, Vienna and Leipzig
of another (quoted in the title); the two emblems are completely
[1910], unrelated
p. 12 and pl. 30; HEMPEL, Op. cit. underbut hap-
no. 1 above, pl. 72; H. THELEN: 70
pen to follow one another on col. 1482 of HENKEL anddisegni SCHONE.
di Francesco Borromini dalle collezioni dell'Albertina di Vienna, exh. cat., Gabinet-
to Nazionale
The interpretations of the plan as a bee and as a star delle Stampe, Rome
of Solomon are[1958], cat.no. 32 (first
surveyed in layer 1649, redrawn
J. CONNORS: 'S. Ivo alla Sapienza. The First Three Minuses',
summer 1652); P. Journal of the
PORTOGHESI: Borromini nella Society
cultura europea,ofRome [1964], fig. 53;
Architectural Historians, LV [ 1996], pp.38-57. idem: op. cit. at note 6 above, fig. Iv and p. 155 ('una vera epropria radiografia'); idem: Dis-
egni diFrancesco Borromini, exh. cat., Accademia di San Luca, Rome [1967], cat. no.
50.
C. Drawings for the cupola and spiral of S. Ivo, and

4. Albertina, vedute
Vienna, It. AZ Rom before
514 (Fig.47). By 1655.
Francesco Borromini, 1652. 24.4
by 20.9 cm. Scale: 20-palmi, with 2 palmi cut off at the top of the sheet, so that 18
palmi = 13.2 cm. Borromini,
1. Albertina, Vienna, It. AZ Rom 512 (Fig.45), by Francesco (1:30). 1651. 25.7
Lit.: THELEN,
by 18.6 cm.; inscribed on the recto: 'le [be]Ullezze della citaop. cit. under no. 3 above,
difiorenza p. 18, no.da
scritte 33 (1650-52).
M.
francesco bocchi infiorenza 1591'; many numbers and sums inscribed on the verso, as
well as the inscription 'bataglianofalegname'. 5. Albertina, Vienna, It. AZ Rom 509 (Fig. 49). By Francesco Borromini, 1651-52
or 1659-60.and
Lit.: E. HEMPEL: Francesco Borromini, Vienna [1924], fig.36 35.5 byp.
29.5120
cm.; no scale, but
(one ofone side of
the the generating triangle of
most
the plan,
beautiful pages in that perceptive book, although he does which shouldattempt
not be 96 palmi, equals
to 20.8 cm. (1:103).
date the
Lit.: P.and
drawing); PORTOGHESI, op. cit. at note 6 above, p. 155 PORTOGHESI
fig. Disegni
liv; diPOULSSON,
Francesco Borromini,disser-
exh. cat., Accademia di San Luca,
Rome
tation cited in Appendix B, above, p.29f.; KIEVEN, op. [1967],
cit. atp.20,
noteno. 53;10
STEINBERG,
above, op. p.70,
cit. in Appendix
no. B above, p.381, fig.
13. 179A.
The inscription on the recto refers to Francesco Bocchi's famous guidebook, Le
bellezze della cittd di Fiorenza, Florence [1591] (facsimile with introduction byj. SHEAR- 6. Albertina, It. AZ Rom 506a and 511 (Figs.50 and 51). By Francesco Righi,
MAN, Gregg Press [1971]). The book contains many perceptive passages on 1653-55. The two drawings, which fit together to form a single large elevation,
Michelangelo's architecture and would have been of interest to Borromini even have a total combined dimension of 131.7 by 46.1. The scales are nearly identi-
without the possibility of travel to Florence (see E. STEINMANN and R. WITTKOWER: cal, 1:48 on Alb. 506a and 1:52 on no.511. Inscribed by Righi at right of 511:
Michelangelo Bibliographie 1510-1926, Leipzig [ 1927], no. 205). But if we can establish 'ossasura delle . .. solo p.6'.
the fact of such a trip, or at least identify a prolonged period of time in which Bor- Lit.: Alb. 506a: KIENE, loc. cit. at note 5 above, p.254, note 163, fig. 30; R. STALLA: 'Der
romini was absent from Rome, then it would help establish a date for the sketch. Elis- romische Palazzo della Sapienza als "Gymnasion". Ein Hauptwerk Pirro Ligorios
abeth Kieven has noted that work halted at S. Ivo on 24th March 1643 'quoniam erat - Planung und Zuschreibungsfrage', in An Architectural Progress in the Renaissance and
absens ab Urbe architectus Borrominus' (from DEL PIAZZO, op. cit. at note 8 above, p. 133); Barock. Essays in Architectural History Presented to Hellmut Hager on his Sixty-sixth Birth-
she has dated the sheet accordingly. However, this was a bad time to visit Florence, day, ed. H. MILLON and s. SCOTT MUNSHOWER, University Park [1992], figs. 5-7, and
since Borromini's presence was urgently needed at S. Ivo, and in any case the pope p. 126, note 30, (dated c. 1664). Alb. 511: EGGER, op. cit. under no. 3 above, p. 12 and
and the Grand Duke were at war. On the other hand, the perfect opportunity for a pl.31; HEMPEL, op. cit. under no. 1 above, pl. 73; PORTOGHESI, op. cit. at note 6 above,
long trip arose in the second half of 1651. In December 1649 Borromini had been fig.li.
implicated in the death of a wayward cleric, Marc Antonio Bussoni, who had been The drawings have not been coupled before, and have always been given to Borro-
caught vandalising marble ornament at the Lateran and who was bound and beat- mini.
en, apparently on Borromini's orders. On 28th August 1651 the court accepted a
petition to annul the indictment for manslaughter, but Borromini had to accept a 7. Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, inv. 1035 (Fig.52). Here attributed to Domenico Barriere,
temporary banishment from Rome 'for as long as the pontiff saw fit'. It is not known 1653-55. 31.5 by 18.6 cm., pen and light brown wash over pencil.
how long he was gone or where he went, only that he had to leave. By the end of the Lit.: PORTOGHESI, op. cit. at note 6 above, fig. lvi; S. JACOB: Italienische Zeichnungen der
year he was back in Rome and the pope rained favours on him, beginning with a Kunstbibliothek Berlin, Berlin [1975], p. 77, no. 346 (always attributed to Borromi-
large gratuity on 19th December 1651, then a knighthood on 16thJuly 1652. These ni).
facts are not by themselves proof for a Pamphilj dating of the sheet, but they open In about 1658-59 Chigi ornament was added in pencil at bottom of the cupola and
the way for it. (See A. BERTOLOTTI: Artisti lombardi a Roma nei secoli XV, XVI e XVII, also, very faintly, on the balustrade at the foot of the lantern. The dove added in pen-
Rome [1881], II, p.37: 'Riservato tamen eidem exilio ab urbe et suburbis ad beneplacitum eius- cil at the summit of the spiral may be by Borromini.
dem S.mi D.APP sub poena relegationis in civitate Urbevetana per triennium in casu contraven-
tionis etc. etc'. DEL PIAZZO, op. cit. at note 8 above, p.28, mistakenly interprets this 8. Allegorical etching with the cupola of S. Ivo in the background (Fig.55). By
document to mean that Borromini was to be confined at Orvieto for three years; but Domenico Barriare, 1653, from A. BLANCARIO: Ivonianum Templum sive de S. Ivone
this is not the punishment, only the sanction if a shorter, indefinite exile were to be Pauperum Patrono Oratio, Rome [1653] in BAV Barb. stamp.VVII. 100 [19]. (This is
broken.) one of the group of orations treated by SCOTT, loc. cit. in Appendix B above,
pp.310-13)
2. Getty Research Institute, Santa Monica CA (Fig.46). By Francesco Borromini, The concetto of the print, 'Merito Sacrvm - Honori Sacrvm', derives from the double tem-
1652. 48.5 by 36.5; scale: 20 palmi= 14.6 cm. (1:30); the spiral measures 17.6 cm. ple ('Gemino Templo') of Honour and Virtue, built by Marcellus the conqueror of Syra-
or 241 palmi across. Inscribed in left margin: '* / si saglia solo / oncie nove ogni / qua- cuse and dedicated in 205 B.C. (L. RICHARDSON: A New Topographical Dictionary of
tro p[al]mi di altezza'; around spiral: 'A / principio della salita / fine della prima girata'; Ancient Rome, Baltimore [1992], p. 190). When adapted to the iconography of educa-
in right margin: 'Prima strada gira / parte 30 / Seconda strada gira / parte 20 / Terza tion, the double temple became a rite of passage through Virtue (banalised in the
strada gira / parte 10; Lower left below scale: gira nella ... circonferenza[?] p[al]mi 160 Barriare print as Merit) to Honour. The image of the double temple had already
/ delsuo principio alfine / sia [sin.?] alzarep[al]m[z] 35 / vere sono gia alzatip[al]mi 2 [?] been used on a foundation medal of S. Ignazio, the church of the Collegio Romano,
del suo principio quale / recingie atorno . . . p. 3] / ognip[al]mi 4 lunghezza in circonferenza in 1626. Here it is shown as two two-storey tempietti set on a common podium, with
sale . . . dieci / si . . .'; at lower right: 'Ci vole o[ncie] 10 e mezo p[er] ogni 4 palmi di I doors facing one another; the motto reads 'Sic Per Pietatem Aditus ad Sapientiam Aperit-
unghezza et ...' ur' ( see Ragguaglio della solennita Con che l'lllustrissimo Sig. Cardinale Ludovisi Pose la prima
The drawing was copied twice by Borromini's assistant Francesco Righi, each time Pietra della nuova chiesa di S. Ignatio Nel Collegio Romano della Compagnia di Giesu, Rome
at a different scale (Albertina, It. AZ Rom 507 [1:67], and It. AZ Rom 508 [1:52]); [1626], p.24).
the latter shows a trio of plans taken at the level of the spiral, the lantern windows,
and the lantern cornice; it served as the basis for pls. XXVII and XXIX of Gianni- 9. View of the cupola of S. Ivo (Fig.54). By Erik Jonson Dahlberg, 1656. Stockholm,
ni's Opera published in 1720. Kungliga Biblioteket, inv. 10862.
I first learned of the drawing through the kindness of Arnold Nesselrath, and Lit.: w. NISSER: Die italienischen Skizzenbiicher von Erik Jiinson Dahlberg und David Klicker
examined it at Sotheby's New York in February 1989. Ehrenstrahl, Uppsala [1948], pp.31-32, 110 and fig. 93; and T. MAGNUSON: Rome in
the Age ofBernini, I, Stockholm [1982], p.315.
3. Albertina, Vienna, It. AZ Rom 510 (Fig.48). By Francesco Borromini, 1652. 90.4 Nisser interprets the inscription 'Sapientia Babilonia' as an expression of Protestant
by 37.1 cm. Scale: 20 palmi = 14.5 cm. (1:30). Inscribed to the right of spiral: 'Si regret that so beautiful a building should serve Catholic education. According to
augumenteran[o] / le misure qui sotto p[er]che / si risolue di redure / tutte tre le girate al' / CHIOMENTI VAssALLI, op. cit. at note 19 above, p.153, Salvator Rosa wrote a satire enti-
altezza dip[almi] dieci / l[ luna dico p. 10 // Prima girata salira oncie / una e mezza p[er] tled La Babbillonia in Rome during the Holy Year of 1650.
682

Connors, Borromini&#39;s S. Ivo Alla Sapienza. The Spiral

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Connors, Borromini&#39;s S. Ivo Alla Sapienza. The Spiral

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Borromini's S.

Ivo alla Sapienza: The Spiral

Borromini's S. Ivo alla Sapienza: the spiral*

complementing A. ZUCCARI: 'Borromini tra religiositA borromaica e cultura scien-

although heraldry and even much of the basic structure

The Church under Urban VIII (1642-44)

In the terrible, war-torn years at the end of the Barberini

niece, Olimpiuccia Giustiniani, to Maffeo Ba

., 4 ,' / ? moved to the

'.i 1 6 I~mrr ~a~ ~~-*7.~C~ej~?(

By the next drawing (Fig.46; see Appendix C, no.2) the 1 I

considerable use to the masons who had to build this strange r,

curves of the top half of the drawing are semicircles generat-

semicircles generated from a centre that has been moved :$ ? a "-----~r~;~-c~:s...

about 1 palmi up and to the left. The inscriptions both on this

not for Cartesian geometry but for optical illusion, I'inganno

?~ .?ry i.: i!7~:~'i;?k~`~~:

ic~/k' *cr L~~?,,.~FCIOI

'' ,4 c,?.. ?t~';

49. Plan of the cupola

The next draw

thrusts still see

albeit one that

?? ?~~?;?? ?-- ?I--?

":? ." "~? *,

,;i. : The last image we have before Alexander VII's changes is

The spiral of S. Ivo was in former times one of the great

the lantern as follows:

un tempietto, o torre, cinta di loggia incoronata a chiocciola, et in essa

And an anonymous but well-informed French guidebook

This is not simply metaphorical ascent. The earliest veduta of

the climb during his years in Rome in 1692-99."" There were

south is still visible on old photographs (Fig.57).") The stepped

'"laine Evans I)ee

crown, a twisting parapet studded with giant jewels and i, j?

it, is a key to the social history of the Sapienza in the seven-

non-exclusive right to confer it in other fields, such as theolo-

cates counter-attacked with a lawsuit enjoining theJesuits to

b; '~f1P r rrl ii! '6~~ t tt~ c-- --e

62. Sketches of ornaments from the Sapienza, by Gilles-Maric ppenord.

the laurea did not disappear. Half

[U 198,fol.38r] li 6 contraforti sopra al pian delle signore Spada, Patriarca

allusion to baroque geometrical culture); S. MACIOCE: 'La/ di"chiocciola"

C. Drawings for the cupola and spiral of S. Ivo, and

You might also like

Connors, Borromini's S. Ivo Alla Sapienza. The Spiral

Connors, Borromini's S. Ivo Alla Sapienza. The Spiral