Dome

Frontal view of the southeast corner, depicting stylized pilaster and Falcon capital; The building plans of the Florentine Falconieri family were less grand and more realistic. From 1646 to 1649 Borromini enlarged their newly acquired 16th-century palazzo on the banks of the Tiber behind the Palazzo Farnese by adding a framed doorway and three bays to the original seven. He paid tribute to the name of his client in the falcon herms on the angles of the façade. The garden side opened to form a U-shaped courtyard running down to the Tiber, and the river-front was topped by a roof loggia articulated in the manner of Palladio's basilica at Vicenza (ca. 1550), with a degree of plasticity that increased rather than diminished with each ascending storey. In the interior Borromini used completely unconventional solutions to great effect for the ceilings, basing their symbolism on 16th-century emblem books. The delicacy and cool elegance of much of the stucco ornament bring to mind late 18th-century English interior decoration. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/2/2007)