|
The church is built on the place
where, according to tradition, St. Agnes, one of the
more popular Roman virgins was put to the pillory
and displayed in all her nudity: her hair
miraculously grew and covered her. The church, of
medieval origins, was rebuilt halfway through the
1600s through the interest of Pope Innocent X.
|
|
|
At first, the Pontiff commissioned
Girolamo and Carlo Rainaldi (1652) to carry out the
plan, but was not satisfied. The following year, the
two were replaced by Francesco Borromini, who
accepted for the most part, the ideas of his
predecessors with regard to the plan and the
arrangement of the interior
|
|
|
(only the altars between the main
pillars and the balconies, the plan of the sacristy
and the doors flanking the altar of it are by
Borromini), radically changing, however, the design
of the facade, conceived with a large concave front,
that reconnects to the shape of the square which is
the focal point. The two side campaniles frame the
dome with the high tambour. |
|
