MIT Libraries homeDome

Frontal view of the colonnade; Borromini also worked at the Palazzo Spada in Piazza Capodiferro near the Palazzo Farnese. In the garden he created a folly known as the Prospettiva (1652); this was to become more famous than the actual palazzo, which had been altered by Paolo Maruscelli before 1649. With its slanted walls, floor and vault, this corridor conjures up the illusion of a Doric colonnade 20 m long, whereas its length is only 8.6 m. The ideas tried out in this small garden building were picked up in Bernini's Scala Regia (1663-6) at the Vatican. The mathematical basis for Borromini's witty little building was probably provided by an Augustinian mathematician, Giovanni Mario da Bitonto. [The "lifesize" sculpture in daylight beyond is only 60 cm high.] Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/9/2007)