Interior view
by BORROMINI, Francesco, Photo
In 1634, the Procurator General of the Spanish Discalced Trinitarians commissioned Borromini to build the monastery of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Borromini first built the dormitory, the refectory (now sacristy), and the cloisters, and the layout proved him a master in the rational exploitation of the scanty potentialities of the small and irregularly cut site. In 1638 the foundation stone of the little church itself was laid. Except for the fa�ade, it was finished in May 1641 and consecrated in 1646.
In Borromini’s plan of San Carlo extraordinary importance is given to the sculptural element of the columns which are grouped in fours with larger intervals on the longitudinal and transverse axis.
The photo shows a view towards the altar.
View the ground plan of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome.