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It is the Florentines' church in
Roma. Pope Leo X, of the Medici Family, gave the
commission to build it to various architects
including Michelangelo and Raphael; it was, however,
Jacopo Sansovino who began it in 1519, but was
forced to abandon the work because of an accident on
the building site. The work was continued by others
and completed towards the end of the century by
Giacomo Oella Porta.
The dome is by Carlo Maderno while the faqade is
from the 18th century. The interior of the church,
in the shape of a Latin cross with side aisles
divided by pillars, houses sculptures by Gianlorenzo
Bernini and Alessandro Algardi and paintings by
Lanfranco. Carlo Maderno and Francesco Borromini
were buried in the church.
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The High Altar is the result of
the work of two great Baroque protagonists, Borromini and
the artist and architect, Pietro da Cortona. It was he who
first received the commission from arazio Falconieri, who
was part of the noble family owners of the famous palace in
Via Giulia. In 1634, Cortona created a wooden model, which
was left on exhibition for a good twenty years, influencing
artists like Algardi, Bernini and Borromini himself. In
1656, the architect from Ticino lent a hand in the
arrangement of the altar carrying out several modifications
that, however, did not cancel Cortona's mark.
The funeral monuments of the Falconieri on the sidewalls of
the presbytery were begun by Borromini and completed by Ciro
Ferri. The former created the shape of the aedicule; the
latter, the design of the coronation after the style of
Cortona.
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The Falconieri family crypt is under the
high altar, and is reached by way of a small staircase
placed behind the altar itself. It was not used because the
nearness of theTiber frequently caused the intrusion of
water. Borromini designed this room. It is oval with a
lowered vault and a run of ribs which, starting from the
wooden frame, they converge on an oval enclosing a stucco
relief with two I palm branches, ribbon and garland. The I
frame juts out linking the eight half columns which frame
the four doors which in turn have oval windows above them.
Despite the small size, the design of the whole emits a
sense of great energy and lightness. The entire chapel has
recently been restored and painted white.
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