Basilica di San Lorenzo, Florence
Exterior of San Lorenzo. Photo: Mark Leicester.
Facade of the ancient Basilica di San Lorenzo. Photo by Clare and Ben.
Side view of San Lorenzo, all domes and corners.
View of San Lorenzo from the Duomo. Photo by Clare and Ben.
The light, airy nave of San Lorenzo. Photo by Clare and Ben.
View across the nave to side chapels. Photo by Clare and Ben.
The cloisters of San Lorenzo. Photo by Miles Berry.
The Basilica di San Lorenzo (Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest and oldest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s main market district.
History
San Lorenzo was consecrated in 393 AD and is one of the many churches that claims to be the oldest in Florence. For 300 years it was Florence's cathedral before it lost that status to Santa Reparata.
San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici offered to finance a new church to replace the Romanesque building. Brunelleschi was commissioned to design it.
The Medicis gave large amounts of money, but to this day nobody has financed a façade (although Michelangelo designed one). The campanile dates from 1740.
What to See
The Renaissance interior is huge, cool and airy and is lined with chapels.
Opening off the north transept is the domed Sagresta Vecchia (Old Sacristy), the oldest part of the present church, which contains the tombs of several members of the Medici family. It was the only part of the church completed in Brunelleschi's lifetime.
Opposite it in the south transept is the Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy), begun in 1520 by Michelangelo, who also designed the Medici tombs within.
The most celebrated and grandest part of San Lorenzo is the Cappelle Medici (Medici Chapels) in the apse. The Medici were still paying for it when the last member of the family, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, died in 1743. Almost fifty lesser members of the family are buried in the crypt, designed by Bernardo Buontalenti.
Above is the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of the Princes), begun in 1604, a great domed octagonal hall where the grand dukes themselves are buried. At its centre was supposed to be the Holy Sepulchre itself, although attempts to buy and then steal it from Jerusalem failed.
Notable Works of Art in San Lorenzo
- Bronzino (fresco of The Martyrdom of St Lawrence in the north aisle)
- Desiderio da Settignano (Pala del Sacramento, tabernacle in the south aisle)
- Donatello (two bronze pulpits, his last works; frieze, reliefs, tondi and bronze doors in the Sagrestia Vecchia)
- Antonio del Pollaiuolo (wooden crucifix in the south transept chapel)
- Fra Filippo Lippi (altarpiece of the Annunciation in the north transept chapel)
- Rosso Fiorentino (Marriage of the Virgin in one of the south aisle chapels)
- Verrocchio (tomb of Giovanni and Piero de Medici in the Sagrestia Vecchia)
Tombs and Monuments in San Lorenzo
- Bernardo Cennini (goldsmith and printer) (south transept)
- Donatello (north transept)
- Francesco Landini (south aisle)
- Niccolò Martelli (north transept)
- Cosimo de' Medici (in front of the high altar)
- Cosimo I de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Cosimo II de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Cosimo III de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Ferdinando I de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Ferdinando II de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Ferdinando III de' Medici (crypt)
- Francesco I de' Medici (Cappella dei Principi)
- Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (Sagrestia Vecchia)
- Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici (Sagrestia Vecchia)
- Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici (Sagrestia Nuova)
- Giuliano di Piero de' Medici (Sagrestia Nuova)
- Lorenzo I de' Medici (Sagrestia Nuova)
- Lorenzo II de' Medici (Sagrestia Nuova)
- Piero di Cosimo de' Medici (Sagrestia Vecchia)
Quick Facts
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| Photography: | Not permitted and closely watched. Seems to be allowed in the frescoed cloisters, however. |
Location Map
Below is a location map and aerial view of San Lorenzo. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Florence Map or get our free Google Earth download.
