Paper: Bernini architect and the antique: structure and illusionism of the dome of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale

Bernini architect and the antique: structure and illusionism of the dome of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale The relationship with the antique is a well known interpretation key of the works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His classicism appears in the works of the maturity conceived during the pontificate and under the cultural influence of Alexander VII, from the church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale to the Assunta in Ariccia and the colonnade of St. Peter. The architect has consistently considered classical models as starting point for his creative acts, with direct references to public monuments of Imperial Rome, but without any academic concern, claiming instead the right to experimentation and ‘inventio’. Much less clear, however, remains the debt to the antique derived by architectural ideas and solutions offered by his own rivals, in particular by Borromini and Cortona, the first of which, according to recent surveys carried out for the restoration of the plaster decoration of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale, surprisingly appears to be the very inspirer of the structure of the dome.