Just a few blocks from our apartment near Mercato Centrale is the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the oldest church in Florence. It was consecrated in 393 AD by San Ambrogio and dedicated to Lorenzo the martyr, but little is left of that structure today. The church was rebuilt first in 1059, and then again in 1425 by Brunelleschi who was commissioned by the Medici family. The new building became the Medici parish, church, and mausoleum. (The Cappelle Medicee we saw during Martedi in Arte is part of this complex.) Michelangelo submitted several designs in white carrara marble for the exterior in 1518 but the work was never done and so the outside has a rough and unfinished appearance.
The complex is broken up into sections (with separate entrance fees and tickets). First we saw the biblioteca (library), whose staircase, ceilings, and reading benches were all designed by Michelangelo. (That guy sure seems to have his stamp on all sorts of things. Designers today would love to have had his product diversity and desirability.) Then we saw the basilica.
The stairs of the biblioteca were nice, but not breathtaking. The interesting thing, I thought, about this library was that the books were stored in the reading benches – you found the book by the labels on the side of the bench then slide onto the bench and start reading. The marble floor and the carved wood ceiling both had a similar pattern. There was an area set up with illuminated manuscripts on medicine and surgical techniques, surgical devices and even the cast of Lorenzo Medici’s skull. (Apparently, Lorenzo di Medici suffered a skull fracture from a gunshot wound in 1517 and required surgery. In 1937 they opened his tomb and took a cast of his head that proved indeed he had a healed head wound. That cast is now on display.)
After a walk around the cloister where various people are interred, we then went on to the basilica. Now, some churches only allow photos without a flash but some of the churches do not allow photos at all. I think they want you to buy the books or postcards in their bookstores, but I find many of their photos are not very well done and we could do better ourselves. So the photos of the church interior are from the internet.
After the grandeur of the Cappelle Medicee, the interior of the basilica was quite subdued from what I expected. Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful, the columns of pietra serena (soft grey stone), the white ceiling adorned with gold leaf, the beautiful fresco on the interior of the dome, and the incredible mosaics of colorful semi-precious stones on the alter panels depicting scripture scenes.
After the basilica it was on to the museum. From outside a gate you could view the burial site of Cosimo il Vecchio Medic, who is buried within a pier supporting the floor above. There is a collection of relics and religious art. All except one relic was not as impressive as the relics which are in Cappelle Medicee. The one religious piece that was extraordinarily gorgeous was a monstrance (the thing Catholics put the host in that looks like a candlestick with a radiating star on top). Again I couldn’t take a picture, but let me say the gold, the silver, and the 50 or 60 BIG precious stones were serious bling. I can’t imagine what it would cost to make something like that today.
After the basilica it was on to the museum. From outside a gate you could view the burial site of Cosimo il Vecchio Medic, who is buried within a pier supporting the floor above. There is a collection of relics and religious art. All except one relic was not as impressive as the relics which are in Cappelle Medicee. The one religious piece that was extraordinarily gorgeous was a monstrance (the thing Catholics put the host in that looks like a candlestick with a radiating star on top). Again I couldn’t take a picture, but let me say the gold, the silver, and the 50 or 60 BIG precious stones were serious bling. I can’t imagine what it would cost to make something like that today.