Saint Charles at the Four Fountains

San Carlo alle Quattro fontane is a tiny church not far from Via Nazionale. It is one of the masterpieces of the roman baroque. It was realised by Borromini from 1634 to 1644, but the facade has been completed several years later. The romans call this church with the name of San Carlino (small San Carlo) because of its small dimensions: it is so small that the entire church could be fit inside one of the fours pillars which sustain the dome of Saint Peter. The dome is wonderful and imaginative: there are geometric shape like hexagons and octagons alternated with crosses. Have a look at the small intersection in front of the church: this is the only point in Rome where you can see three obelisks at the same time. They are: the obelisk of Piazza del Quirinale, the one in Trinità dei Monti and the one at the back of the church of Saint Mary Major.

                                                                                                 

             

                      The dome of St. Charles at the Four Fountains

                                                                     

Costantine

Costantine was a roman emperor from 306 till 337 A.D. He was one of the most important characters of the roman empire and his reign represented, especially for the christians, a fundamental moment. In fact, in 313 he issued the Edict of Milan with which he granted freedom of worship to the so far persecuted christians helping this way the spread of Christianism throughout the whole empire. Undoubtedly he was the first one to understand the importance of the new christian religion to strenghten the political and cultural cohesion of the empire. The Edict of Milan and his conversion were probably due because of political reasons but they had a great importance for the subsequent european history. Thanks to Costantine, many churches were built in Rome. Among them: S. Peter in Vatican, S. John in Lateran and S. Paul outside the Walls. Moreover, in 326, he founded the city of Costantinople (today Istanbul) that till 1453  remained the capital of the Bizantine Empire.