Which Baroque architect designed the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale?

Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome.

The church was commissioned in 1658 for the Jesuit novitiate on Rome’s Quirinal Hill. Construction began soon afterward, and the building was substantially completed by 1661; interior decoration continued until about 1670. Giovanni de’ Rossi assisted Bernini, but Bernini is the architect conventionally credited with the design.

Sant’Andrea is celebrated as a concentrated expression of Roman Baroque architecture. Its oval plan, curved entrance porch, dramatic layering of forms, and richly colored interior create a theatrical sense of movement. The main altar and the chapel arrangement guide the visitor’s attention toward the sanctuary and the upward-lit dome.

A common mix-up is to attribute the church to Francesco Borromini, another major Roman Baroque architect whose buildings often have more restless, geometrically complex façades. Bernini’s better-known architectural projects include the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square and the design of the baldachin inside St. Peter’s Basilica.