Guarino Guarini was a Theatine monk, philosopher, mathematician, playwright and an ingenious architect. He lived in the 17th century and left behind buildings with strong dynamics and an original character, especially in Turin. After his death, the plans for twelve unrealised projects were published, which triggered a strong interest among many architects across Europe at the time and were regarded as very modern. Buildings inspired by Guarini can be found in churches from Cadiz to Vilnius, from London to Prague and from Legnickie Pole (Wahlstatt) to Nice. In Germany, buildings like the Frauenkirche in Dresden or the churches of Dientzenhofer and Neumann would be unimaginable without these models.
Since most people find it hard to imagine buildings based on sections, ground plans and elevations, images created from the plans make the evaluation of the buildings much easier. Only perspective prawings can convey a vivid spatial impression. The Guarini sketches and the insights drawn from the interior and exterior views do not only enrich our perception of the boldly conceived and origninally designed baroque rooms. They are also of interest to our own century, because they make use of elements of space which are clearly distinct but connected to each other, as do many contemporary architects. Only rarely have buildings of such imaginative diversity been designed. In the end, the intellectual achievement and the importance of a building are not diminished by the question whether or not it has actually been built or not.
