Tra Richini, Bianco e Rainaldi. Un inedito disegno secentesco per la chiesa della Missione di Genova

An interesting and hitherto unpublished drawing, preserved in the archive of the Collegio Leoniano in Rome, shows the plan of a Church which, according to the autor, is that of Lazarist Fathers in Fassolo near Genova. The building, begun in the second half of the 17th century, was completed with substantial changes nearly a century later. The shape of an elongated Greek cross with four apses is widely used in religious architecture of the Baroque age: one of the first architects to experiment with this type was Francesco Maria Richini, whose influence was felt by Genoese architects such as Carlo Mutone, Bartolomeo Bianco and many others. Some details evident in the drawing of the Leoniano that bear resemblance to Roman projects by Carlo Rainaldi were disregarded when the building was actually carried out, demonstrating the moderate trend of Ligurian architectre. The anonymous drawing remains, therefore, the only evidence of an idea closer to the most innovative aspects of the Baroque