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WHEN RIVALRY NURTURES GENIUS

WHEN RIVALRY NURTURES GENIUS

Rome

Piazza Navona

It is said that Bernini and Borromini weren’t the best of friends. An emblematic location of their rivalry is certainly Piazza Navona. Some insinuate that the attitude of the statues composing the Fontana dei Fiumi by Bernini, depicting the Nile and the Rio de la Plata, hide a sense of disgust and fear in the church of St. Agnes by Borromini. The Nile turns its back to it to not see such an ugly sight. The Rio de la Plata extends its arm towards the church’s façade as if to protect itself by an imminent collapse, and almost praying the statue of St. Agnes – atop the building’s roof – to be careful. But "sora Agnesina" (sister Agnes), as the Romans amicably call it, holds her hand on her chest as if to guarantee, from the bottom of her heart, that Borromini’s construction will not fall down.
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