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How did Francesco Borromini design the facade of St. Philip Neri to relate to the nearby street?
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Francesco Borromini
Piazza Navona, Rome, with the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, designed by Francesco Borromini, and (foreground) the Fountain of the Moor, originally designed by Giacomo della Porta and revised by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Francesco Borromini designed the facade of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri with a deep sensitivity to its urban context, specifically composing the bell-tower facade to conclude and monumentalize the street that leads up to it.1
Beyond this urban relationship, Borromini also imbued the facade with anthropomorphic symbolism. He viewed the concave design as a welcoming gesture, likening the central unit to a human chest and the two-part wings to an arm and forearm.1