Basilica of San Lorenzo

Overview

San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence Outside the Walls) is one of the historic Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. It is a deeply complex, highly fascinating architectural hybrid of two massively distinct ancient basilicas smashed brilliantly together.

Highlights

• The Tomb of Pius IX: The heavily elaborate, deeply massive 19th-century crypt housing the wildly controversial Pope Pius IX (the longest-reigning pope in history).
• The Choir: The brilliantly raised, fiercely ancient choir area built seamlessly over the tomb of St. Lawrence, heavily featuring an incredibly magnificent massive Cosmatesque mosaic floor and deeply ancient massive marble columns.
• The Catacombs: You can access the massive, deeply winding ancient Catacombs of Cyriaca located directly beneath the church complex.

History

The original basilica was fiercely built by Emperor Constantine directly over the tomb of Saint Lawrence (famously martyred by being brutally roasted alive on a massive iron gridiron in 258 AD). In the deeply chaotic 13th century, Pope Honorius III brilliantly, aggressively reversed the entire massive orientation of the church, tearing down the apse and heavily extending a completely new massive nave towards the city, creating the bizarre, highly beautiful architectural frankenstein seen today. It is also fiercely famous for being one of the only major Roman churches heavily, devastatingly bombed by Allied forces strictly during WWII (1943).

Visitor Tips

• Cimitero del Verano: The church sits aggressively right next to the monumental Verano Cemetery, definitively the largest, most spectacular aristocratic monumental cemetery in Rome (highly worth exploring if you love deeply gothic, massive 19th-century marble tombs).