Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

The swirling, curling dome of this baroque church plays peek-a-boo with pedestrians on the surrounding streets—good thing, as the church itself is hidden in a courtyard

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
Corso Rinascimento 40
tel. +39-06-361-2562
Courtyard open irregular hours (roughly business hours), but closed Saturdays
Church open Sundays 9am–noon (closed July–Aug)

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The culy-cue dome atop Sant'Ivo
The curlicue dome atop Sant'Ivo.Beyond a nondescript doorway halfway along the boulevard that parallels Piazza Navona, it a courtyard hiding one of the loveliest baroque churches in Rome.

Borromini designed the courtyard of Giacomo della Porta's Palazzo della Sapienza in the 1640s, surrounding three sides with porticoes and the back with the magnificent glowing white facade of Sant'Ivo church.

This geometrically complex and highly influential baroque playground of concave and convex curves is topped by a remarkable spiraling oval dome that looks an awful lot like soft-serve ice cream and subsequently became a favorite feature on baroque churches throughout northern Europe.

Although the light-filled oval interior is fine as well, don't let the church's brief open hours put you off, because the best part really is that facade.

Tips

Planning your day: It's really all about seeing the dome, which takes all of 30 seconds. It's really just a "see it in passing" sort of sight. The church itself is rarely open, and not worth bothering, so budget a grand 5–10 minutes for this one, most of which you'll spend simply finding it.
How to see it, even if it's closed: If the building's courtyard is closed, you can still see the cool dome, peeking above the Roman rooftops, if you go to the west side of nearby Piazza Sant'Eustachio (home to the famous Caffé Sant'Eustachio coffee shop with fab cappuccino) and look up to the east.
Attend mass: Sundays at 9:30am (except July and August, when it is closed).

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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

The swirling, curling dome of this baroque church plays peek-a-boo with pedestrians on the surrounding streets—good thing, as the church itself is hidden in a courtyard

Tips

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