Basilica of San Lorenzo, Milan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Basilica of St. Lawrence, Milan | |
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Milan |
| Geographic coordinates | |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Year consecrated | 370 |
| Ecclesiastical status | Basilica |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Basilica |
| Architectural style | Byzantine |
The Basilica of Saint Lawrence (Italian: Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maggiore) is a church in Milan, northern Italy, dedicated to the Christian martyr St. Lawrence.
Contents |
[edit] History
Founded in c.370.[1], the Basilica of San Lorenzo was renovated and redecorated in the 16th century. It has however maintained the original Byzantine structure[1] , with a dome and four towers resembling those of Constantinople's Hagia Sofia.
[edit] Architecture
[edit] Interior
The church is a quatrefoil central-plan building, with a double-shell layout, consisting of an open central area (the inner shell) surrounded by an ambulatory (the outer shell). The quatrefoil design is expressed in four exedrae (semicircular recesses) of two stories, with five arches per exedra. As usual for the period, the interior had a matroneum (balcony for female worshippers), now partially disappeared. Also the polychrome interior decoration is now missing. The dome was also rebuilt in Baroque style after the original had crumbled down.
[edit] Chapel of Saint Aquilino
Other chapels were added to the original edifice. Notable is the octagonal Capella di Sant'Aquilino (chapel of St. Aquilino), adjoining the main church to the south. The chapel, which may have originally been built as an imperial Roman mausoleum [2] [3], features important 4th century Paleochristian mosaics. Among the mosaics is included a formulaic depiction of Jesus, as "Christ the Lawgiver" ("Traditio Legis" - "handing over the law") or possibly "Christ the teacher." Jesus is seated on a throne, flanked by a "school" of his Apostles, with a scroll box at his feet. [4] The chapel was later dedicated to the martyr Saint Aquilino of Milan (or Saint Aquilinus of Cologne), with his remains being housed in the chapel.[2] A 17th century reliquary ark for the saint was crafted by Lombardian architect Carlo Garavaglia (flourished 1634-1635). The fresco The Rediscovery of Saint Aquilinus of Cologne's Corpse, by Carlo Urbino, decorates the wall behind the main altar in the Sant'Aquilino chapel.
[edit] Colonne di San Lorenzo
The square facing the basilica features the so-called "Colonne di San Lorenzo" (Columns of St. Lawrence), one of the few remains of the Roman "Mediolanum", dating from the 3rd century AD and probably belonging to the large baths built by the emperor Maximian. They were carried in the current place when the basilica construction was finished.
The apse area of the ancient basilica is now a park. Previously the area was occupied by a channel or a lake (probably with a port), while later it was used in public executions, one of which is recounted in Alessandro Manzoni's Storia della Colonna Infame.
[edit] Gallery
 Façade of the basilica. The freestanding pronaos was constructed in 1894. In front stands the monument to the Emperor Constantine. |
 External view, as seen from Piazza Vetra square, in the Parco delle Basiliche ("Basilica Park"), of the apses of the basilica. At left the Chapel of Saint Hippolytus (Ancient Roman, late Empire period, ca. 5th century), at right, the romanesque church tower (12th century). In the forefront, the baroque monument to Saint Lazarus, erected in 1728. |
 The interorior of the basilica still reflects the original plan of the imperial basilica. The plan has been adapted, though, since the church and its too-vast dome collapsed twice. |
 View looking up into the 16th century dome. |
 Cappella S. Aquilino: Reliquary ark of Saint Aquilino, by Carlo Garavaglia (fl. 1634-1645). |
 Finely inlaid antependium of the altar in the Chapel of Saint Aquilinus. |
 Saint Hippolytus chapel, built in the 5th century. Its Ancient Roman decoration is now completely lost, apart for the elegant columns in coloured marbles. |
 12th century fresco showing Helena of Constantinople (below) and 14th century fresco with Madonna and Child (above). |
 Fresco depictiing the Pietà, St. Martin of Tours, and a donor. |
 Fresco of Saint Anthony of Padua, by Bolognese painter Simone Cantarini (1612 - 1648). |
 Tomb of Giovanni del Conte, sculpted by Marco d'Agrate and Vincenzo Seregni (1568). |
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
[edit] Notes
[edit] Sources
- Beckwith, John [1970] (1979). "Early Christian Art: Rome and the Legacy of the Caesars", Early Christian and Byzantine Art, 2nd edition, The Pelican History of Art, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 31. ISBN 0-14-0560-33-5.
- A. Calderini, G. Chierici, and C.Cecchelli (1951). La basilica di S. Lorenzo Maggiore in Milano (in Italian).
- de Capitani d'Arzago, A. (1942). Architettura dei secoli quarto e quinto in Alta Italia (in Italian).
- de Capitani d'Arzago, A. (1948). "Actes du VIe Congrès International des Études Byzantines" vol. II: p. 80.
- Krautheimer, Richard (1965). "Christian Architecture in the Capitals 335-400", Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, The Pelican History of Art. Baltimore: Penguin Books, pp. 55-57.
- Staddon, Jackie and Weston, Hilary (2005). Milan's 25 Best, Fodor's CITYPACK. New York: Fodor's Travel Publications, p. 35. ISBN 1-4000-1516-2.
- Sutton, Ian (1999). "The Christian Legacy of Rome", Western Architecture: From Ancient Greece to the Present, World of Art. London: Thames and Hudson, p. 24. ISBN 0-500-20316-4.
- Verzone, Paolo (1942). L'architettura religiosa dell'alto medio evo nell'Italia settentrionale (in Italian).
- Ward Perkins, J. B. (1947). "The Italian Element in Late Roman and Medieval Architecture". Annual Italian Lecture of the British Academy.
