The Life and Works of Guarino Guarini

Guarino Guarini (1624-1683) was an Italian architect, priest, mathematician, theologian, and writer. His major spheres of influence were in Northern Italy and Central Europe. Turin, Italy is home to Guarini's San Lorenzo church with its Cappella Sindone, or Chapel of the Holy Shroud. In the centrally planned space, an intricate lattice of masonry arches seem to rise infinitely upward. This structure references Spanish Moorish elements with its geometric star patterns as well as the French Gothic with its emphasis on verticality.

 San Lorenzo, Trip Advisor, http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187855-d595928-Reviews-Royal_Church_of_San_Lorenzo-Turin_Province_of_Turin_Piedmont.html

Another of Guarini's famous works is the Palazzo Carignano (1679), also in Turin. It has a distinct "billowing" facade (Brittanica.com) and a magnificent staircase, shown below. The patron of Guarini's designs was "deaf-mute Prince Emanuele Filiberto Amedeo of Savoy-Carignano (1628–1709), descendant of a cadet branch of the ruling dynasty but at that time heir to Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy" (Guarini from Oxford Art Online, provided on eCampus).

Palazzo Carignano, http://www.museotorino.it/view/s/626afe674cf94760881325345648e4c6

Scala del Guarini (Guarini Staircase), Palazzo Carignano, https://www.flickr.com/photos/delphaber/ 6783508767/

The following helpful links display a 3D animation of the Cappella Sindone, a virtual tour of the San Lorenzo church, and a comprehensive timeline on the life and works of Guarini.

http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zzB5iuAIWg

http://politube.upv.es/play.php?vid=2442

http://guarinoguarini.blogspot.com/