Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza is a baroque church in Rome , built in 1642–1664 by Francesco Borromini . It is dedicated to St. Ivo , the patron saint of lawyers , and is located on Corso del Rinascimento east of Piazza Navona . The unique architectural design of this central building and its complex concettist symbolism make it one of the most original and beautiful churches in Rome .
history
Sant'Ivo was built as a chapel for the papal study urbis , founded in 1303 , which later became La Sapienza University . The church had to be fitted into the already existing building complex of the Palazzo della Sapienza, which encompassed a rectangular courtyard , which was built gradually from 1564 to around 1630, mainly based on designs by the late Renaissance architect Giacomo della Porta . The church was originally dedicated to St. Fortunatus consecrated, later other saints were added: St. Leo the Great , St. Ivo as patron of the consistorial advocates who appointed the rector of the university, and St. Alexander Martyr , whose bones were transferred to the church on the occasion of the consecration.
Giacomo della Porta had already planned a central building for the university chapel, but did not realize it. Pope Urban VIII (term of office 1623–1644) appointed Francesco Borromini in 1632 as architect and builder of Archiginnasio, as the university was officially called at that time. In January 1643, Borromini began building the university chapel. During the reign of Innocent X (1644–55) the outside of the church was completed, but the inside was still undecorated when he died. In the same year, on July 16, 1655, Innocent's successor Alexander VII ordered the continuation of the work.
On November 13, 1660, the “Cappella della Sapienza” was inaugurated. Several church consecration sermons dealt with the patron saint of the church and the iconological motifs of its decoration, which entwine around the topics of divine wisdom and charity. A commemorative coin minted in the same year shows the portrait of Alexander VII on the obverse and the facade of Sant'Ivo in the courtyard of the university on the reverse, surrounded by the words "OMNIS SAPIENTIA A DOMINO" ("All wisdom comes from the Lord" ( Sir 1.1 EU )).
Sant'Ivo served as the university chapel until 1935, when the university moved to the Città Universitaria , established under Mussolini . Since then, it has been mainly a tourist attraction on the busy path between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon . Concerts are also held in the courtyard of the Palazzo della Sapienza.
architecture
The church is fitted into the complex of the university building that already existed at the time of construction. It closes off the elongated, rectangular inner courtyard to the east and uses its two-storey, concave curved arcade row as a church facade. The flanks of the facade are crowned by sculptural elements from the family coat of arms of Pope Alexander VII. Chigi : three rows of hills ("monti") illuminated by an eight-pointed star.
The concave facade contrasts with the convex wall of the drum above, behind which the dome is hidden. A lantern in the form of a richly decorated round temple, the windows of which are framed by pairs of columns, sits enthroned on the domed roof, which is covered by steps . The contrast between concave and convex shapes is repeated in the entablature . The lantern is in turn crowned by an extravagant spiral-shaped attachment that ends at the top in a laurel wreath and a crown of flames.
inner space
The contrasting and attractive interplay of concave and convex shapes continues in the interior of Sant'Ivo. The floor plan of the church interior is often incorrectly represented as an overlay of two equilateral triangles that are supposed to represent a hexagram .
In reality, however, the plan is developed from a single equilateral triangle, the tips of which are cut off circularly by circular strokes ; in the middle of the triangle, the space is expanded by a semicircular bulge with the same radius. As a result, six niches are formed around the center of the sacred space, with a concave and a convex niche facing each other. This creates a complex three-dimensional shape that is axially symmetrical in three directions .
This original basic shape has a high aesthetic appeal, but also serves as a carrier of ingenious symbolism. The equilateral triangle on which the interior is based traditionally stands for the Trinity in sacred architecture . In addition to the triangle, the hexagon also plays a role: On the one hand, all surrounding rooms, such as the sacristies , are hexagonal, and on the other hand, a regular hexagon can be inscribed in the sacred space itself. The large number of hexagonal rooms probably alludes to the honeycombs of the bees, the heraldic animals of Pope Urban VIII. Barberini .
A monumental Corinthian order of pilasters divides the surrounding wall by an alternating rhythm of narrow and wide intervals. On the main altar in the eastern niche, the spatial destination of the richly curved wall architecture, there is a large altarpiece by Pietro da Cortona (1680) depicting St. Ivo as the advocate of the poor. A baroque tapestry blows down from the sky, on which the Trinity and the other church patrons appear.
dome
The dome vault rises above the strong, surrounding main beam. It is structured by plastic stucco ribs , which continue the pilaster structure of the wall and flow into the circular foot ring of the lantern.
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The six alternating convex and concave curved dome segments , pierced by bright windows, gradually transform the complex shape of the floor plan into a simple circle. The lantern, which is also brightly lit by six windows, is divided into six columns.
The stucco decoration of the dome refers to Pope Alexander VII , under whom the interior was completed: The Pope's coat of arms is three times above the six windows of the dome. A flaming crown on the top of the hill refers to the flaming crown that crowns the turret. The other three reliefs show other motifs from his family coat of arms (oak wreaths, crowns) and from Christian iconography ( lilies of the Virgin Mary and palm branches for the martyr buried in the church ). Six pairs of cherubim are found above the windows, six seraphim below the lantern. Their wings are alternately spread or crossed and combine decorative shape variation with geometric order.
The dome is not only an architectural masterpiece, but also steeped in Christian symbolism: In the crown of the lantern there was once a stucco dove mounted on a metal rod, apparently floating freely. Stuccoed tongues of flame in the vault of the lantern refer to the Pentecostal miracle , in which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and was carried into the world by them. The twelve stars in the foot ring of the lantern can be understood as symbols of the apostles. Rows of eight and six-pointed stars along the pilaster strips mark the path of the Holy Spirit to earth. The dome tells the observer in an artistic way about the Pentecost miracle, which happens again and again for the church visitor in the service . Another interpretation interprets the shape of the dome as a transition from a simple, all-pervasive cause, namely God , to a complex world (or vice versa).
The spiral
On the lantern there is a spiral crown that winds up as a narrow ramp with three turns. The outer surfaces of the spiral are covered with a crown-like cornice and gemstones formed from stucco (Borromini himself spoke of “corone” , crowns, and “gioie” , jewels). The spiral is completed by a protruding round bar, which is crowned by a laurel wreath and a crown of flames. Above it rises a wrought iron crown made up of six curved brackets that carry a gold-plated metal ball. On this sits the dove with the olive branch, the coat of arms symbol of Pope Innocent X. Pamphili , above which the final cross stands.
The unusual appearance of the Sant'Ivo lantern is a visible sign of Borromini's claim not to repeat himself in his architectural form, but to create a new, original and attractive design language for every building. Its design conceals metaphorical and playful allusions to the function of the building.
A whole series of interpretations deals with the structural symbolism. An interpretation is plausible that assesses the tower as an architectural allusion to a type of snail from the Mitra snail family , whose shell is twisted in a spiral. Such snail shells were found in many collections of curiosities , just as Borromini owned one. Not only the shape, but also its name Mitra papalis , also called corona papale in Italian in the 17th century , "papal crown", refers to the tiara , the symbol of papacy .
From the shortened perspective that a viewer standing in the inner courtyard has, the spiral actually appears as a sequence of three crowns - the classic shape of the tiara. Designs of buildings that use the papal crown as an architectural element can be found both by Borromini and by other builders of his era.
The spiral-shaped structure bears a striking resemblance to depictions of the Tower of Babel from the 16th century, so that it has been interpreted by some art historians as the Tower of Wisdom - an interpretation that speaks against the fact that the Tower of Babel is strongly negatively documented. The Pharos of Alexandria was also named as a model.
Finally, in 17th century iconology, the wreath of flames mostly stands for charity ; the patron saint St. Ivo was especially venerated as an advocate for the poor. It can also be associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecostal miracle, which is alluded to in the interior of the church.
Sant'Ivo as an allegory of wisdom
As early as the middle of the 16th century, the papal Archigymnasium was nicknamed "La sapienza", the wisdom . Above the gate of the university building Sixtus V had an Old Testament inscription affixed, which expresses the relationship between religion and learning in Christianity: "INITIUM SAPIENTIAE TIMOR DOMINI" - "The beginning of all wisdom is the fear of God" - thus confirming the epithet of the Structure.
Divine wisdom stood in opposition to worldly erudition , which man acquires through laborious study, but which is subject to impermanence . Divine wisdom, on the other hand, is given to man by God; it can only be acquired through faith . The church of the papal university was intended to appear as an architectural allegory of wisdom .
Above the central window of the drum there is a relief depicting a lamb on a book with seven seals. According to Cesare Ripa's Iconologia , these elements stand for divine wisdom. The allusion to the Pentecost miracle in the dome can also be seen in this context. The cherubim above the domed windows represent divine wisdom, the seraphim represent charity . Last but not least, the bees of the Barberini are evidence of the work of divine wisdom.
The bees of the Barberini
As a member of the Barberini family , Pope Urban VIII carried three bees in his papal coat of arms. In his time the bee was a symbol of divine wisdom. In the inner courtyard of the Palazzo della Sapienza, these bees can be found in medallions under the eaves as sculptural architectural decorations. The shape of a bee was also often suggested in the floor plan of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza; the tradition originated during Borromini's lifetime and is first documented in 1661.
Honeycombs form a regular hexagon . Her body can also be brought into conformity with this geometric shape: her six legs then mark the corners of the hexagon, while her four wings, her head and her abdomen correspond to the number of niches in the floor plan of Sant'Ivo.
One must assume that Borromini did not take the shape of the bee as a basis when he designed the floor plan. But he did not contradict the equation either. A presentation drawing drawn by Borromini's own hand actually shows bees drawn into the floor plan.
opening hours
The church is only accessible on Sunday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and mass currently begins at 11 a.m.
literature
- Alexandra Herz: Borromini, S. Ivo, and Prudentius. In: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 2/1989, pp. 150-157.
- Hans Ost: Borromini's Roman University Church of S. Ivo alla Sapienza. In: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 30/1967, pp. 101–142.
- Paolo Portoghesi: Borromini: architettura como linguaggio. Milan 1967.
- John B. Scott: S. Ivo alla Sapienza and Borromini's symbolic language. In: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 4/1982, pp. 294-317.
- Felix Thürlemann : From Image to Space: Contributions to a Semiotic Art History. Cologne 1990, pp. 153-179.
- Rudolf Wittkower: Art and Architecture in Italy 1600–1750. Harmondsworth 1982, pp. 206-212.
- Joseph Connors: S. Ivo alla Sapienza. The spiral. In: Burlington Magazine 138/1996, pp. 668-682.
- Joseph Connors: S. Ivo alla Sapienza. The first three minutes. In: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 45/1996, pp. 38-57.
- Martin Raspe: Borromini and the ancient world. In: Borromini, architect in baroque Rome. Exhibition catalog Milan 2000, pp. 89–100.
Web links
- Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza. In: arch INFORM .
- Historical illustrations and detailed recordings
- Look into the dome
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Scott 1982
- ↑ Thürlemann 1990
- ↑ Who exactly suspects that? And how does Urban relate to this building and its client?
- ^ East 1967
- ^ Heart 1989
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 53.5 " N , 12 ° 28 ′ 29.6" E