Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore

Brief information

The name “basilica” is a little misleading here: a typical basilica is an elongated church, while San Lorenzo Maggiore grew out of a centrally planned late Roman temple. Its plan is a tetraconch: a square beneath the dome is surrounded by four semicircular apses. As a result, the building reads not as a long hall, but as a complex form arranged around a center.

The church is considered one of the oldest in Milan. The first church on this site was built from stones taken from the nearby ancient Roman amphitheater, while later reconstructions gave it the appearance of a basilica without destroying the interior layout. In this way, Roman material, an early Christian scheme, and later additions came together in a single structure. The key fact that changes how you see it: this is not simply an old church, but a building whose very structure shows the transition from ancient Milan to a Christian city.

What to notice right away

Outside, the most important thing is to compare the church with the sixteen ancient Roman Corinthian columns and their entablature. They were brought, possibly from the baths or palace of Emperor Maximian, and in the 4th century were set in a row as the facade of the quadriporticus of an unfinished basilica. Beside them, the three-arched portico-loggia at the entrance shows how ancient details were incorporated into a new church shell.

Inside, the same principle can be read in the plan. Four exedrae, resembling large niches, open into the central square hall, with an ambulatory gallery running around it. The umbrella dome is also worth viewing as an engineering feature: hollow tubes and clay amphorae were inserted into its mass to reduce weight and improve acoustics. Late antique mosaics survive in the chapels of Sant’Ippolito and Sant’Aquilino; they remind us that the building’s early history is visible not only in its plan, but also in individual fragments of decoration.