The Baroque, for many the most thrilling architectural style ever created, was born in Rome and reached its apogee in the work of three geniuses--Gianlorenzo Bernini, Francesco Castello Borromini, and Pietro Berretini da Cortona. Perhaps the greatest student of the Baroque was Anthony Blunt, who spent a lifetime studying and teaching the history of the buildings and their importance to us now. This elegant and concise introduction to the style and its flowering in Rome was first published in an anthology of essays in 1978, and represents a summation of his work. Many of the ravishing images included have not been republished since the beginning of the 18th century.