Interior view
by BORROMINI, Francesco, Photo
Next to the church is the cloister, which is a two-story arrangement. The space is longer along the entrance axis than it is wide, but the rectangular ordering is interrupted by cutting the corners so it could also be understood as an elongated octagon. Further complexity is introduced by the variation in the spacing of the twelve columns carrying alternating round and flat headed openings, the curvature of the corners, and the inventive balustrade. Geometrical themes are reinforced by the central octagonal wellhead on an oval base and the octagonal capitals of the upper columns.
The photo shows the interior of the cloister.