Bernini

American  

[ber-nee-nee, ber-nee-nee] / bərˈni ni, bɛrˈni ni /

noun

1. Giovanni or Gian Lorenzo 1598–1680, Italian sculptor, architect, and painter.

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Bernini British  

/ berˈnini /

noun

1. Gian Lorenzo (dʒan loˈrɛntso). 1598–1680, Italian painter, architect, and sculptor: the greatest exponent of the Italian baroque

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Other Word Forms

• Berninesque
  adjective

Example Sentences

The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina is one of Rome's oldest churches and features artwork by Baroque masters Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Guido Reni.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

Outside, under the warm April sunshine, groups of joyous African pilgrims in flashy head wraps ate gelato by the Bernini fountain, seagulls circling overhead.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2025

Upstairs, near the relics of the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian, is the last work of 17th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini – a wild-haired bust of Jesus in milk-white marble.

From National Geographic • Apr. 15, 2023

Just days ago, activists pressing for more action on climate change dumped black dye into the waters of a monumental fountain sculpted by Bernini at the foot of the Spanish Steps.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2023

Incidentally, from your description, the Bernini you refer to is the one in the Piazza Barberini, not the Piazza Navona.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan