Borromini, Francesco, << `bawr` uh MEE nee, fran CHEHS koh >> (1599-1667), was a major Italian architect during the baroque period of the 1600’s. Baroque architecture is dominated by the rise of complex and sculptural curved lines. Borromini is noted for the imagination and originality with which he emphasized the use of space and mass in his buildings. His work greatly influenced later baroque architects of northern Europe.
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Borromini was born in Bissone, in what is now Switzerland. He went to Rome about 1619. There he worked as an assistant to Gian Lorenzo Bernini on the construction of the great baldacchino (canopy) over the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Borromini’s first project as an architect was the small church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (begun in 1638). His most significant work is considered to be the church of Sant’ Ivo della Sapienza (1660). From 1653 to 1657, Borromini worked on the church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone.
