The Oval Form in Cloister Design: The Case Study of Sant Antoni de Viana in Palma de Mallorca

Abstract

This research is part of a broader investigation focused on the use of the oval form in cloister architecture, with particular reference to the cloister of the Church of Santa Maria della Sanità in Naples (Italy), designed in the early decades of the seventeenth century by Fra’ Nuvolo. This cloister represents a unicum within the Neapolitan architectural tradition and, due to its oval layout, constitutes a deliberate departure from the canonical orthogonal model, as well as a tangible manifestation of the ‘creative tension’ between measure and excess. Within this research focus, the present study expands to consider new models by examining the cloister of the Church of Sant Antoni de Viana in Palma de Mallorca. This example is approached not only as a point of comparison, but as a paradigmatic case of reception and reinterpretation of the oval model beyond the Italian context.
In both case studies, the oval form assumes a value that is not only technical and compositional, but also symbolic and representative, as it spatially expresses a specific conception of order, centrality, and the relationship between architecture, faith, and the human figure. Accordingly, the comparison between the two cloisters provides an opportunity for a comparative morphological and geometric analysis, as well as a broader reflection on the role of oval geometry in the redefinition of the Baroque cloistered landscape within the European context.