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Why were the planned towers on the facade of St. Peterās Basilica removed?
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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.
The planned towers on the facade of St. Peterās Basilica were removed because they were structurally unsound.
Although Carlo Maderno originally designed the facade with provisions for campaniles (bell towers), only one was eventually constructed, based on a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1637. By 1641, technical deficienciesāspecifically the immense weight of the towerācaused the building to crack. Consequently, in 1645, a commission ordered the removal of the structure.123
Francesco Borromini, who had previously worked under Maderno at St. Peter's, became a vocal critic of Bernini during this period, publicly accusing him of incompetence regarding the failed project.1