Short answers, pulled from the story.
The English word baroque comes directly from the French. Some scholars state that the French word originated from the Portuguese term 'a flawed pearl', pointing to the Latin 'wart'. Other sources suggest a Medieval Latin term used in logic as the most likely source.
The Baroque style of architecture was a result of doctrines adopted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1545 and 1563. The Council of Trent decided instead to appeal to a more popular audience and declared that the arts should communicate religious themes with direct and emotional involvement.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed a new quadruple colonnade around St. Peter's Square from 1656 to 1667. He also created a remarkable series of monumental statues of saints and figures whose faces and gestures vividly expressed their emotions under the patronage of Pope Urban VIII.
Common use of the term for the music of the period began only in 1919 by Curt Sachs. It was not until 1940 that it was first used in English in an article published by Manfred Bukofzer.
The main centres of American Baroque cultivation that are still standing are Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Of particular note is the so-called 'Missionary Baroque' developed in areas extending from Mexico and southwestern portions of current-day United States to as far south as Argentina and Chile.