Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
| Church of Saint Ivo at La Sapienza Chiesa di Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (Italian) |
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Sant'Ivo, embraced by the wings of the Palazzo alla Sapienza
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°53′54″N 12°28′28″E / 41.89833°N 12.47444°ECoordinates: 41°53′54″N 12°28′28″E / 41.89833°N 12.47444°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Year consecrated | 1660 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Rectory Church |
| Leadership | Msgr. Agostino de Angelis |
| Website | Official website |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Francesco Borromini |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | 1642 |
| Completed | 1660 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | ENE |
| Length | 27 metres (89 ft) |
| Width | 26 metres (85 ft) |
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (lit. 'Saint Ivo at the Sapienza (University of Rome)') is a Roman Catholic church in Rome. Built in 1642-1660 by the architect Francesco Borromini, the church is a masterpiece of Roman Baroque architecture.
The church is at the rear of a courtyard at 40, Corso del Rinascimento; the complex is now used by the Archives of the City of Rome.
In the 14th century, there was a chapel here for the palace of the University of Rome. The University is called La Sapienza, and the church was dedicated to Saint Ivo (or Yves, patron saint of jurists). When a design was commissioned from Borromini in the 17th century, he adapted to the already existing palazzo. He choose a plan resembling a star of David - which would have been recognized at the time as a Star of Solomon, symbolizing wisdom - and merged a curved facade of the church with the courtyard of the palace. The corkscrew lantern of the dome was novel. The complex rhythms of the interior have a dazzling geometry to them.
The main artwork of the interior is the altarpiece by Pietro da Cortona, portraying St. Yves.
The church rises at the end of a courtyard, known as the courtyard of Giacomo della Porta. The façade is concave, molding the church into the courtyard as if completing it rather than disrupting it. The façade itself looks like a continuation of the courtyard arches except with the openings filled in with small windows, a door, and a larger glass window above the door. Above the façade is a large parapet structure so that only the higher stages of the church is seen past the façade. A key exterior aspect is the top of the church: the lantern of Sant'Ivo is topped with a spiral shape, surmounted by a Cross.
The interior of Sant'Ivo is unique because of the shapes incorporated into the rotunda. Borromini was well known for fusing of geometrical shapes as well as his pairing of columns in order to facilitate curves, incorporating them in an harmonious manner in his project at San Carlino. But for Sant'Ivo, Borromini did not blend the different shapes. The rotunda of Sant'Ivo is contrived of distinct shapes, a triangle with its three angles cut as if bitten off, and semi-circles located in between the triangle’s three lines. Despite the shift from the smooth geometrical alignments of San Carlino to the sharper abrupt geometrical bends in Sant'Ivo, both buildings exhibit harmony between the sharp edges and the curves and spheres. Borromini utilized curves (semi-circles) and edges (clipped triangle tips) in equal amounts to define the shape of the rotunda. This blending of edges and curves is arguably Borromini’s most distinguishable signature.
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