San Lorenzo Maggiore

Dating from the 4th century AD, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maggiore is the oldest church in Milan. With ancient architecture that might seem more at home in Ravenna, San Lorenzo recalls the days when Milan was the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

Founded in the 4th century, San Lorenzo Maggiore was at the time one of the largest buildings in the west. The foundations were made of enormous blocks taken from other Roman sites and the interior was decorated with marble along the lower half and mosaics up higher.

The church was rebuilt in the 11th century and heavily renovated in the 16th century. The church was restored in the 1930s.

Sixteen ancient Roman columns line the front of the church, which retains its original octagonal floor plan. Also outside the church is a copy of a statue of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. The great dome, the highest in Milan, is a 16th-century addition.

The Cappella di Sant'Aquilino (Chapel of St. Aquilinus) is the highlight of the interior, where fourth-century Byzantine mosaics (one depicting a beardless Christ) can be seen. A mosaic in the left apse has crumbled away, revealing the artist's drawings beneath.

A sarcophagus in the chapel is said to hold the remains of Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius, last emperor of Rome and wife of Ataulf, king of the Visigoths. Her legacy lives on in several Italian cities: her mausoleum is one of the mosaic masterpieces of Ravenna, yet it is most likely she is buried in Rome where she died.

Even earlier history can be seen by following the stairs from behind the altar to a crypt-like room that contains the original foundations, materials for which were taken from a Roman amphitheater.