Francesco Castelli,
who, from 1628 signed himself as Borromini -from "Bromino"
or "Brumino'; a nickname used by his family and coming
from the name of an ancient locality or from the ties
with the Borromaos - was born in Bissone, near Lugano on
the 27th September 1599. He was the first-born of four
children and was the son of art. Both the paternal
family and that of the mother, a Garvo, had in their
lines, architects, engineers, stonecutters and sculptors.
It is no wonder since there were numerous families of
stonecutters and architects coming from theTicino Canton
that were active all over Europe. Francesco left the
town at the age of only nine, in 1608, to go to Milan "to
learn the art of stone cutter': After his apprenticeship,
he took part, among other things, in the building site
for the Cathedral.
In 1619, "he got in with some young people of his own
age'; He went to Roma where he was guest of his cousin
Leone Garvo, who is the acquired nephew of Carlo Maderno.
It was the latter, noted architect, who introduced
Borromini to the St. Peter's building site. Again, it
was Maderno, having noticed the passion with which the
young Francesco carried outthe assignments given to him,
"gave him work and trace clean designs'; a task that
Borromini took to heart: "The designs were his children':
After the accidental death of his cousin on the St.
Peter's building site, Francesco acquired some goods
from the unfortunate relative (marble and work tools)
and replaced him in society with another two Ticino
tablets.
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Leone Garvo, probably, lived in
the same house where Borromini could have lived, in Via
dell'Agnello, 3, not far from the church of San Giovanni dei
Fiorentini. With Maderno, Borromini also worked on the
building sites of the church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle (decorations
of the lantern) and the Barberini Palace, then under
Gianlorenzo Bernini. With the latter, he collaborated in the
construction of the canopy in the Vatican basilica (1631-
33). The great rivalry between the two artists had already
begun. On one side, Borromini, saturnine and melancholic
with great moral sensitivity proud and intransigent in his
profession so much as to be the subject to neurosis. On the
other, Bernini, astute and casual in moving among the high
papal hierarchies of Roma. Under Urban VIII, the
architectfromTicino had only one official commission, and
what is more, under the indication of Bernini: the
appointment as architect for the university of the Sapienza
(1632).The works for
the university church, St. Ivo, began, nevertheless, only
ten years later.
Between 1634 and 1641, he was occupied with his first work
as an independent architect. The church and convent of the
SpanishTrinitari of St. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
Evidently, the commissions from the religious orders were
more suited to Borromini, who in those years worked mainly
for the Oratorians of St. Filippo Neri (until 1650).
The astonishing design for St. Carlino, impressed the
Neapolitan Archbishop Ascanio Filomarino, who gave him the
work on the altar in the chapel of the Annunciation in the
church of the Apostle in Naples. In the Parthenopean city he
also did the lost decoration for the apse and ciborium of St.
Maria a Cappella Nuova (1639 - 42). |
He did not abandon the craft of
stonecutter because he designed and made the Merlini
monument in St. Maria Maggiore in 1642.
After the election of Pope Innocent X, Pamphilj, a period of
great success began for Borromini, to the detriment of
Bernini who had temporarily fallen into disgrace. He worked
on the palace in Piazza Navona and on the church of St.
Agnes for the papal family, he planned the hunting lodge for
the Pamphilj villa near the St. Pancras gate and worked at
St. Martino al Cimino (the Roman gate, perhaps the design
for the city wall and the winding stairway in the family
palace). On the commission of Innocent X, he took charge of
the restoration of the basilica of St. John in Lateran, for
the Jubilee of 1650. During the same period, he worked on
the church and convent of Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori and
also for the noble families of the Spada's, the Carpegna's
and the Falconieri's.
In the meanwhile, between 1645 and 1648, he worked forthe
Spagna palace and in 1646 was appointed Architect of the
Streets and the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide. He also
worked on the Giustiniani Palace and in Sant'Andrea delle
Fratte and, outside Roma, he planned the high altar and
ciborium in St. Paul's in Bologna. In 1652, he received the
appointment of Cavalier of the Order of Christ from the
Pamphilj pope, but, after the death of the pontiff in 1655,
a period of serious crisis began, where his creativity
interweaved psychological torment and pain.There is clear
evidence of this in the suicide by the architect during the
night of 2nd August, 1667. |
