Description

Essentials about the Basilica of San Lorenzo in brief

Basilica San Lorenzo di Milano (Basilica of St. Lawrence of Milan) is one of the oldest churches in the city and one of the most important places of worship in Western architecture. Dedicated to St. Lawrence, the early Christian church was built as early as the 4th century. Despite fires, collapses and extensive reconstruction work, the basilica still has its original structure of a central building with four apses and four corner towers dating from the Romanesque period.

The history of the Basilica of San Lorenzo

The origins of the Basilica of San Lorenzo are unclear. Some researchers assume a start of construction under the Arian bishop Auxentius in the middle of the 4th century, others assume a function as an imperial burial ground. The church was first mentioned in documents around the year 500. Due to fires in 1071 and 1104, the church had to be rebuilt. The four towers, which serve as abutments for the dome, date from this time.

In 1573 the dome collapsed and was renewed in the late Renaissance style and completed in 1619. The porch placed in front of the building, with its facade of high portal arches, was built in 1894 in the spirit of the Neo-Renaissance. During restorations in the 20th century, some early Christian and Romanesque parts of the walls were uncovered.

The architecture of the Basilica of San Lorenzo

Inside the church, the early Christian architectural character is more recognizable, with the four apses and the two-story galleries arcades. The construction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the oldest central buildings in Western art. The name basilica, by the way, refers to its ecclesiastical rank and not to the type of building.

The original spatial impression of the central building has been considerably altered by the renovations of the 16th century. For the early Christian-medieval period, one must imagine a square instead of octagonal position of the space-defining segmental arches. However, the double-story arcades already belong to the oldest motifs and already anticipate similar solutions as in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul or in the Aachen Cathedral.

The former baptistery, which is attached to the south, contains important remnants of furnishings from the early period. A passageway with marble reliefs from Roman times forms the connection. The mosaics of the teaching Christ between the apostles in the southern apsidal dome and a fragment depicting the Old Testament prophet Elijah on the chariot of fire give an idea of the original furnishings not only of this chapel room.

In the square in front of the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo is a monument to Emperor Constantine I, a recent bronze copy of the Roman original in the Lateran. In 313, with the so-called Edict of Milan, Constantine had for the first time allowed the practice of Christian worship also in the Western Roman Empire. The square is closed by 16 columns moved here already in the 4th century from a thermal or theater building of the 2nd-3rd century, the so-called “Colonne di San Lorenzo“, one of the few remains from the time of the Roman city of Mediolanum.

Website

sanlorenzomaggiore.com

Opening hours

Admission fees

Free.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Bus line 94: Stop Colonne Di S. Lorenzo

Tram line 3: Stop Colonne Di S. Lorenzo

By car:

The nearest parking lot is Largo Tommaso Gallarati Scotti Parking.